Dells targets education market with cut-priced Latitude 10 tablet

Dell has announced a cheaper configuration of its Latitude 10 tablet, which the firm claims will be ideally suited for use by the education sector and SMBs.

The configuration starts at 430 (ex VAT and delivery), and will retain most of the options of the full-priced device.

Dell offers a 10.1in HD touchscreen display with a 1366 x 768 resolution. Under the hood it is powered by an Intel Atom 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 2GB of RAM. These parts are non-upgradeable at this time.

Other core features include 64GB of internal memory, USB 2.0 and HDMI ports as well as a full-size SD memory card reader and docking connection. There is also a 2-megapixel front camera and an 8-megapixel camera on the rear.

The device includes the full version of Windows 8, allowing users to access legacy applications, making it more useful than the Surface RT. Users can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for an additional 30. However, this edition will ship with a 2-cell battery and without an active stylus.

Theoretically, the Latitude 10 can be used by business users as their main PC via a docking station which could again help cut the costs of having multiple PCs.

Dell is particularly keen to muscle into the education market, which is shaping up to be lucrative. Interactive books and video tutorials will provide invaluable teaching resources, but the market may soon be dominated by the iPad, which already has a number of textbooks available in the App Store.

"Our commitment to innovation in education runs deep, and the Latitude 10 essentials configuration offers the robust accessibility features and personalised learning experience educators, students, and parents tell us they need for a productive classroom," said Mark Horan, Dell global education vice president.

"Dell designed this tablet with schools in mind to provide an affordable, efficient device that is a snap to manage and deploy while protecting previous investments in applications and other classroom devices"

The 64GB device will start at 430, and if ordered today will start shipping at the end of January. Dell also plans to launch a 32GB edition starting at 391 in the coming months.