If you’re a parent, your teen may try to convince you that they need the top-of-the-line MacBook Pro with Retina for school or they’ll face educational ruin. But contrary to what they may say, your kids’ll probably do just fine with this budget-friendly 13.3-inch Dell Latitude 3330 in their backpacks.
Though it isn’t as thin or expensive as an Ultrabook, the Latitude 3330 is a full laptop. Even its base configuration gives you a decent machine for $419. According to the press release, it’s packed with a 13.3-inch, 1,366 x 768 pixel resolution display with an anti-glare coating so it will be easier on the eyes, an Intel Core i5 3337U processor, 2GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD.
Since Dell is targeting schools with this laptop, it should fit into any high-tech curriculum. It comes with an HD 720 webcam for video conferencing, as well as Wi-Di support so students can send their PowerPoint slides wirelessly to the HDTV for presentations. The laptop also has all the ports and connectors you need: a VGA socket to plug into a projector, HDMI to plug into the HDTV, and USB 3.0 ports to keep their smartphones powered and transfer files quickly from hard drives. The laptop also supports Windows 8 and 7, as well as Ubuntu.
School IT departments will also love this laptop for its security features like Dell Data Protection Encryption, where data can be managed remotely to protect student data. Dell is also introducing a Mobile Computing Cart to make it easier for IT staffers to safely transport a classroom full of tablets, laptops, and Ultrabooks from classroom to classroom – it can fit as many as 30 Latitude 3330s at a time. The “unmanaged cart” model with no remote management and IT updates starts at $1,900.
Dell’s school-friendly Latitude 3330 will be available later this month.
