With industry and research, computers are needed everywhere, including various harsh environments for which companies develop ruggedized PCs, tablets, or smartphones. But there are also hazardous environments that not only pose danger to devices for whatever reasons, but which are potentially explosive because they are filled with gases, vapors, combustible gases, and other flammable components. The use of regular electronics in such environments is dangerous, but Dell has developed its Latitude 7220EX Rugged Extreme Tablet just for this purpose.

The Dell Latitude 7220EX Rugged Extreme Tablet is designed for engineers working in agriculture, chemical, manufacturing, and oil & gas sectors who encounter potentially explosive environments every day. To meet their safety requirements, Dell took its recently introduced Latitude 7220 Rugged Extreme Tablet and redesigned it in order to eliminate any possibility that the device could be the source of an explosion (which may be caused by an overheating or malfunctioning component, a spark caused by an unsealed electric circuit or whatever other reason).

To ensure that the Latitude 7220EX Rugged Extreme Tablet is safe and meets all formal safety requirements in the North America, Europe, and other parts of the world, the machines are Class 1, div 2 certified in NA, ATEX certified in the EU, and IECEx certified for International markets. Meanwhile, in a bid to incorporate

Since the Latitude 7220EX Rugged Extreme Tablet is a version of the non-EX model, their technical specifications are very similar. The tablet is equipped with an 11.6-inch Full-HD display with 1000 nits brightness to make it usable even under direct sunlight. Inside the tablet designed for the most extreme environments is Intel’s Core i7-8365U (Whiskey Lake) processor with four cores and Intel’s UHD Graphics 620. The SoC is accompanied by 8 GB of LPDDR3-2133 memory and a 512 GB Class 40 M.2 SSD with a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface.

When it comes to wireless connectivity, the machine is equipped with Intel’s AX200 Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.0 adapter, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X20 4G/LTE modem. On the wired side of I/O matters, the Latitude 7220EX Rugged Extreme Tablet includes a USB 3.1 Type-C connector that can be used for charging and external display connectivity, a USB 3.0 Type-A port, a micro RS-232 port, a POGO connector for the keyboard, an SD card reader, and a 3.5-mm audio jack for headsets. Interestingly, the tablet also retains all the imaging and multimedia capabilities of the original one, which includes Windows Hello-compatible front camera, a rear camera with a flash, and stereo speakers. As for security, the machine is equipped with a fingerprint reader, Dell’s ControlVault advanced authentication, Intel vPro remote management, a TPM 2.0 module, optional encryption for SSDs, and NIST SP800-147 secure platform.

Dell’s Latitude 7220EX Rugged Extreme Tablet is powered by two hot-swappable batteries, each with a 34 Wh capacity, but the manufacturer does not disclose battery life of the device because special-purpose software used by the target audience will have different effects on power draw.

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Specifications of the Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme Tablets
  Latitude 7220EX
Rugged Extreme
Latitude 7220
Rugged Extreme
LCD Diagonal 11.6"
Resolution 1920×1080
Features Brightness: 1000 cd/m²
Outdoor-readable, anti-glare, anti-smudge,
polarizer, glove-capable touchscreen
CPU Intel Core i7-8665U: 4C/8T vPro Intel Core i7-8665U: 4C/8T vPro
Intel Core i5-8365U: 4C/8T vPro
Intel Core i3-8145U: 2C/4T
Graphics Intel UHD Graphics 620
(24 EUs)
RAM 8 GB LPDDR3-2133 8 GB or 16 GB LPDDR3-2133
Storage Class 40, 512 GB, PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 SSDs:

Class 35: 128 GB;

Class 40: 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB;

Class 40 SED: 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB.
Wireless Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth options
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200, 2x2, 802.11ax with MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0 Wireless LAN Options:

Intel Wireless-AC 9560, 2x2, 802.11ac with Bluetooth 5.0

Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200, 2x2, 802.11ax with MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0

Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200, 2x2, 802.11ax with MU-MIMO, without Bluetooth
Mobile Broadband
(optional)
DW5821E Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 4G/LTE Wireless WAN card for AT&T, Verizon, Sprint optional DW5821E Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 4G/LTE Wireless WAN card for AT&T, Verizon, Sprint
GPS Dedicated u-blox NEO-M8 GPS card
Additional ? ?
USB 3.1 1 × USB 3.0 Type-C w/ DP, PD
3.0 1 × USB 3.0 Type-A
Cameras Front 5 MP RGB + IR FHD webcam with privacy shutter
Back 8 MP rear camera with flash and dual microphone
Security

Steel reinforced cable lock slot

TPM 2.0;
ControlVault advanced authentication;
Dell Security Tools;
Dell data protection encryption
Contactless/Contacted SmartCard reader;
Fingerprint reader;
NIST SP800-147 secure platform;
Dell Backup and Recovery.

Steel reinforced cable lock slot

Optional Security includes:

TPM 2.0;
ControlVault advanced authentication;
Dell Security Tools;
Dell data protection encryption
Contactless/Contacted SmartCard reader;
Fingerprint reader;
NIST SP800-147 secure platform;
Dell Backup and Recovery.
Other I/O TRRS audio jack, micro RS-232, SD Card reader, etc. TRRS audio jack, micro RS-232 (optional), POGO, SD Card reader, etc.
Battery Dual Hot-swappable 34 Whr, 2 Cell, ExpressCharge, Lithium Ion Battery

or

Dual Hot-swappable 34 Whr, 2 Cell, Long Lifecycle
34 Wh Primary
(ExpressCharge)
34 Wh Secondary (optional?)
Dimensions Width 323.4 mm | 12.73 inch 312.2 mm | 12.29 inch
Height 214.2 mm | 8.43 inch 203 mm | 8 inch
Thickness 26.2 mm | 1.03 inch 24.4 mm | 0.96 inch
Weight 1650 grams | 3.65 lbs (tablet) 1330 grams (tablet)
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit
Regulatory and Environmental Compliance MIL-STD-810G Transit drop (48”/1.22m; single unit; 26 drops), operating drop (36”/0.91m), blowing
rain, blowing dust, blowing sand, vibration, functional shock, humidity, salt fog, altitude, explosive atmosphere,
thermal extremes, thermal shock, freeze/thaw, tactical standby to operational.
Operating thermal range -20°F to 145°F (-29°C to 63°C)
Non-operating thermal range -60°F to 160°F (-51°C to 71°C)
IEC 60529 ingress protection IP-65 (dust-tight, protected against pressurized water)
Hazardous locations ATEX, IECEx certification for Zone 2 and Zone 22; ANSI/ISA.12.12.01 certification (Class I, Division 2, Groups A, B, C,D) ANSI/ISA.12.12.01 certification capable (Class I, Division 2, Groups A, B, C,D)
Electromagnetic interference MIL-STD-461F and MIL-STD-461G
Optional Accessories ? Rugged Tablet Dock
Keyboard with Kickstand
Havis Vehicle Dock
PMT Vehicle Dock
Gamber-Johnson Vehicle Dock
Carrying accessories
Scanner module
Extended I/O module
Dell monitors (with USB-C or over a USB-C-to-DP adapter)
Dell wireless keyboard and mice
Price ? Starting at $1,899

Dell will start sales of the Latitude 7220EX Rugged Extreme Tablet in the near future. Pricing will depend on exact configurations and region.

Related Reading:

Source: Dell

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  • MenhirMike - Monday, December 30, 2019 - link

    Seems like there is a stray sentence just above the picture: "Meanwhile, in a bid to incorporate"
  • Cullinaire - Monday, December 30, 2019 - link

    I think these would be a great replacement for the Galaxy Note 7!
  • waterdog - Monday, December 30, 2019 - link

    Did anyone ask the workers how they feel about using a touchscreen (or any computer) in a level A suit?
  • khanikun - Monday, December 30, 2019 - link

    Says it's glove capable and it looks like there's a stylus tethered to it. Course if you're wearing a suit, the fingerprint reader is worthless.
  • StevoLincolnite - Tuesday, December 31, 2019 - link

    Many suits these days have capacitive touch-screen compatibility in the gloves these days. (I am a Hazmat operator with my fire brigade.)

    It's always going to be cumbersome though, but it can be done.

    Just not sure how a windows UI would translate over though...
  • Duncan Macdonald - Monday, December 30, 2019 - link

    With the three grill covered apertures on the back and the USB ports, I am surprised that it can meet an IP65 rating.
    If the USB sockets and the SD card reader depend on covers to maintain the rating - how robust are they and how easy is it to swap them if they are damaged ?
  • drexnx - Monday, December 30, 2019 - link

    so they say its class 1 div 2 group a,b,c,d
    but what type of protection? explosionproof/flameproof/type n? intrinsically safe? non-incendive?

    FM or CSA approval or both?
  • drexnx - Monday, December 30, 2019 - link

    I followed the link. It's intrinsically safe, but even in their doc library I couldn't find any of their actual certs.
  • wr3zzz - Monday, December 30, 2019 - link

    I am assuming the ports have covers but with a U-series CPU how about the cooling vents deal with dusts?
  • Zharoc - Thursday, January 2, 2020 - link

    Reading some of the comments about working in a Div 2 environment. Most Div 2's you don't need breathing or filtered apparatus or even gloves. I've been working in a Div 2 for 25 years. I work with solvent based inks that have a flash at 70 F. No electronics are allowed unless certified explosion proof. Just the enclosure for my work PC cost $27k.

    I'm looking at this tablet and thinking it would be great to have...

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