The challenge for designers and manufacturers of rugged Windows tablets is creating a very compact package that not only accommodates a whole PC with all requisite connectivity, but also one that's sealed against dust and liquids, and can handle drops and vibration.

Given Dell's status as one of the world's PC makers — they are third behind only Lenovo and HP — you'd think they'd simply start with one of their consumer or enterprise designs and reconfigure that for a smaller, tougher, better sealed tablet housing. But laptops are laptops and tablets tablets, and besides that, Dell doesn't make any small 10-inch laptops.

But how about just shrinking the existing 12-inch Latitude 7230 Rugged Extreme Tablet? That's more like it, and that's what Dell did when they created the 7030. Comparing the inside of the 7030 to that of the larger 7230, we found the same layout and a lot of the same components.

Unlike most Windows laptops and many tablets, the Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet doesn't have multiple removable covers on its back to provide access to RAM memory and internal expansion slots. So if you want to add or replace anything inside or if maintenance becomes necessary, you have to open up the tablet. Even then, RAM is soldered on, and there isn't an easy way to replace storage.

Opening, though, is easy (if you have a Torx 8 screwdriver bit). Undo 16 small Philips screws and the halves come apart. There are two ribbon cables between the halves, one for battery and the other for the fingerprint reader in the back of the tablet.

The seal between the back and the front part of the housing — both made of impact-resistant, flame-retardant, glass fiber-reinforced PC-GF20FR(40) polycarbonate — is a hard plastic lip on the backside that presses onto a thin black (in designs like that, we like to see the seal in a contrasting color; that makes it much easier to examine it for damage) rubber o-ring seal sitting in a channel on the front side. The o-ring seal is long and complex but seems replaceable. What's interesting here is that the seal doesn't just go along the perimeter of the tablet. Instead, it weaves in and out, protecting the electronics inside, but leaving anything I/O-related outside.

The reason for this is that it is not easy to properly seal rugged tablet ports and connectors. In many rugged devices those ports are not actually sealed well to the inside. Instead, rubber plugs and hinged doors provide the sole protection. If one of them isn't closed properly, liquids can enter the inside of such devices. With Dell's design, it can't. Note the red highlight in the image to the right. That's the seal that keeps liquids outside even if a port should fail or forgotten to be closed.

Given how likely it is that a port cover isn't properly in place or hasn't been properly closed, doing it Dell's way is more complex, but potential damage would be limited to a replaceable I/O module and not the entire tablet. And I say "potential" damage, because Dell actually applies what they call HZO liquid protection and describe as a "nanotechnology solution that inoculates electronic components from damage and failure." An additional advantage of separating I/O modules from the motherboard is that this makes it much easier to upgrade and/or customize I/O. No need to redesign the motherboard.

The internal layout of the Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet is quite complex and components such as WiFi (ours had an Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 802.11ax with MIMO + Bluetooth 5.2 card) and PCIe NVMe SSD mass storage aren't as easily accessible as in the larger 7230. The socket for optional wireless modules as well as the various antenna blocks, though, are all in plain sight once the tablet is opened.

Overall, component modularity is in Dell's DNA as the result of decades of offering a vast number of permutations of options available right on Dell's website. So almost any feature for which there might be alternatives — or of which a customer might want more or less of — is not on the motherboard but designed as modules.

One thing that's immediately obvious is the Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet's thermal management. That includes a small fan with a plastic enclosure that, of course, is sealed towards the interior of the device (see red highlight). A black-coated copper pipe conducts heat away from the processor, ancillary electronics, and also the PCIe-based SSD.

Interestingly, the original Dell Rugged Tablet of 2015 only had a tiny and nearly invisible fan and no heat pipes. Why the change to beefier thermal management? That's because the original tablet's relatively low-performance processor had a Thermal Design Power (a measure of CPU performance) rating of just 4.5 watt whereas the one in this tablet is high-power, high-performance design that can go up to as high as 55 watts.

But isn't the processor trio available for the 7030 still considered "ultra-low voltage" by Intel? And aren't all ultra-low voltage processors supposed to be able to operate without potentially noisy and troublesome fans in Windows tablets?

Only under certain circumstances. That's because years ago Intel's ultra-low voltage processor did not have a "turbo" mode that allows CPUs to briefly run much faster than their nominal clock frequency, as long as temperatures don't exceed certain levels.

As in cars, "turbo" is a great thing, but it does require proper cooling and management. When a rugged tablet gets too hot out there on the job and there is no active cooling, performance will drop, sometimes to unacceptable levels. That's why Dell chose to go with a fan in the Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet. This way, performance will not drop due to overheating.

The pictures above show the Dell Rugged Extreme Tablet's thermal engineering, taken with our FLIR One Pro infrared camera during a strenuous PCMark 10 performance test benchmark run.

The bright yellow areas are the hottest, and that is where the heat is conducted away from electronics via the system's thermal pipes. On the left you can see the 7030's front with the hottest spot just about human body temperature. On the right a look at fan/heat exchanger are on the backside of the tablet. Here we're seeing a max of 117F, very acceptable, and actually cooler than what we sa in the 12-inch 7230 that at times reached high spots of almost 140F.

Bottomline of this inside checkup of the Dell Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet is that it is a complex, sophisticated design that nicely highlights Dell's great experience in mobile computing technology. Components and modules are clearly marked and have their own 2D scan code. Wires that go from modules to their respective antennae located around the perimeter of the tablet for best reception are guided and held in place with little loops and guides. The what seems magnesium frame adds to the overall ruggedness and rigidity without making the tablet too heavy or look like a tank.

But, regardless of size or sharpness, providing the right display for a system that's being used outdoors is much more difficult than for one that's mostly used indoors in an office or at home. That's because we now have incredibly sharp, photorealistic-grade displays for indoor use, displays that one can't imagine getting much better. But outdoors is a totally different story.

Outdoors is a) way brighter outdoors than indoors, and even the brightest display isn't a match for sunlight, and b) because outdoors there are always reflections that can quickly make a display unreadable.

With regard to making LCD screens usable outdoors, Dell was a pioneer. As far back as 2007, Dell had laptop displays that had their screen cover optically bonded to the LCD, and display layers also bonded directly to each other, thus eliminating the number of reflecting surfaces, eliminating the need for multiple AR-coatings, and eliminating potentially troublesome air gaps between display layers.

The methods Dell applied reduced brightness-sapping reflectivity and resulted in a very good effective contrast ratio. Back in 2007, we termed it "definitely readable in sunlight." That was high praise in those days.

Time doesn't stand still though, and good outdoor-viewable displays are now available from all of the major rugged laptop vendors. Some are offering very high screen brightness of up to 1,500 nits, and optical treatments are continually refined. In the past, Dell favored advanced optical treatments that concentrated on reducing reflected light as opposed to using battery-draining super-bright backlights. That made for impressive outdoor viewability even without a strong backlight — a Dell rugged tablet we tested in 2017 had just 560 nits luminance and still provided good outdoor viewability.

560 nits was respectable back then, but Dell went on to amp up brightness in more recent models. The Latitude 7220 tablet we tested in 2019 clocked in at a measured 1,020 nits. The current Latitude 7230, rated at 1200 nits, scored a very impressive 1337 in our testing, the highest we've seen in this class. And the new Latitude 7030 tablet, rated at 1,000, also turned out to be an overachiever, clocking in at 1,195 nits.

The picture series below shows the 7030 outdoors with, from left to right, first looking straight at the display, then angling it slightly so that the sky now reflects on the upper half of the display, and then angling it more so that the sky is reflecting on the full display.

Note the total absence of reflections on the left-most picture, and in the next two as well. That's a big plus of the 7030's semi-matte display compared to the glossy displays that used in almost all smartphones, consumer tablets and in most rugged tablets. Semi-matte displays mute reflections.

There is, however, always a tradeoff with current display technologies. Reflections don't just go away; they are an optical reality. The trick with semi-matte display is that they diffuse the light instead of harshly reflecting it back the way glossy display do. The flipside is that the muting also makes the screen look dimmer. Glossy display "pop" nicely for very vibrant pictures. But reflections are distracting and you constantly have to reposition glossy displays to avoid them. For many users, semi-matte is a better solution for outdoor work.

Also of note: the Dell Optimizer. It's like getting a checkup for your tablet, without having to resort to third party utilities that may or may not be legit. Support Assist makes sure you have the latest drives and downloads, scans the hardware for problems, cleans files, tunes performance, optimizes the network and nukes viruses and malware. It then logs a history so users have a record of how the system has been doing. SupportAssist also provides easy ways to contact an agent , submit files, and get online support.

Cameras: good enough for many jobs

The Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet can be ordered with an optional integrated 5MP video front webcam with a hand-operated privacy shutter, and also an 11MP (up from 8mp in the 7220) rear camera with LED flash that also has a manual privacy shutter. We used to question the need for such shutters, but no more. Privacy shutters are clever low-tech solutions to guard against the potential of unauthorized snooping via spyware or malware.

Virtually every smartphone and tablet has front and rear cameras these days, so excluding them in rugged tablets would probably be considered a negative by many customers. Cameras directly integrated into tablets can be used to document work, and, of course, having a camera with a 10-inch screen elevates picture-taking into an entirely new realm.

Below is a compilation of sample pictures taken with the 7030's rear camera. Tap on the image collection to bring up a full size version in a separate window.

We are not generally fans of the standard Windows Camera app. It's just too basic and generic to take full advantage of integrated cameras. The one in our review 7230 was rev 2023.2312.3.0. For image resolution there are just two settings, 3840 x 2160 for 16:9 format, and 3648 x 2736 for 4:3 aspect ratio. No problem with that; the 7030 has plenty of storage space even for a large number of high-res images.

You can set a number of framing grids, you can set contrast, brightness, sharpness, saturation and privacy via the System camera settings, there's time lapse, and several flash settings. If you turn on "advanced controls" you get manual shutter and ISO control, exposure compensation, six white balance settings, timer, and digital zoom. There are several shooting modes: panorama, video, photo, document, whiteboard and barcode. The documentation camera also lets you get as close as four inches — good for sharp close-up details.

For video, there are six resolutions, starting with 480p and going up to 2160p (which is pretty much 4k video), all at 30 frames per second.

Bottomline here is that Dell gave the 7030 significantly better cameras than most rugged systems have. That's good because today's users are spoiled by the excellent cameras built into smartphones and also by the sophisticated camera imaging apps that are available. As is, this tablet's cameras are good enough for many documentation tasks, and certainly good enough for very good quality conferencing.

Tough and rugged

Ruggedness and durability are sore subjects with consumer tablets where almost universally style prevails over substance. Largely because of that, Dell points out that the 5-year total cost of ownership of a rugged solution is actually only half that of a consumer product.

As is, there are lots of options in the rugged tablet space. When Dell initially announced their Latitude-based rugged Tablet several years ago, a product manager pointed out that fully-rugged tablets tend to be heavy and quite expensive, while lower priced tablets didn't have the kind of features and performance that many prospective tablet users need. So Dell aimed in between and has pursued that approach ever since.

As a result, while the Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet looks and feels solid and trust-inspiring, it is and feels light and definitely isn't a tank. Dell simply designed its rugged tablet to handle whatever hazards and conditions might be encountered in the real world.

Rugged tablets may be used in a wide range of temperatures, and so the Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet can operate within an extremely wide temperature range of -20° to 145° Fahrenheit (-29° to 63°Centigrade), which means practically anywhere.

As for resistance to dust and liquids, the tablet carries an IP65 rating, where the "6" means the device is totally dust-proof, and the "5" that it can also handle low pressure water jets from all directions, albeit with "limited ingress permitted." Using the tablet in the rain is okay, spilling liquids on it is okay, but guard against submersion.

Drop tests were conducted in accordance with MIL-STD-810H. The 7030 passed the transit drop tests up to six feet, and 78 drops of single operating unit unit from three feet. That's impressive, but we like to see the ability to survive 4-foot drops while open and operating, because that is the height at which a laptop might be held while in a standing position.

Dell says the device is also independently tested according to MIL-STD-810G and the newer MIL-STD-810H procedures for transit drop, blowing rain, blowing dust and sand, vibration, functional shock, freeze/thaw cycles, and more.

Dell generally has ruggedness testing done by SGS United States and SGD Taiwan, SGS being one of the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification companies. Additional testing was done by the Taiwan and China locations of UL, a global independent safety science company. The images below were taken at a tour of Dell's own ruggedness testing facilities in Austin, Texas.

For use in hazardous locations, C1D2 certification is available. These are becoming more and more important, and they are a prerequisite for deployment in industries such as oil, gas, and petrochemical manufacturing, and many others where ignitable gases or vapor may be present.

Overall, the Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet is just that, rugged. It's very well built, very sturdy, rubber bumpers provide good protection, and ports are well sealed with both plugs and sealing inside. That said, the emphasis here is on an intelligent balance of toughness and ease-of-use, not on heavy, vault-like invulnerability.

Summary: The Dell Latitude 7230 Rugged Extreme Tablet

Compared to Dell's overall sales volume (about $100 billion), the market for rugged tablets is fairly small, perhaps $700 million per year worldwide. Now having very competitive rugged tablet options not only in the 12-inch class, but with the new 7030 also in the 10-inch market will undoubtedly add to Dell's rugged sales.

The new Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet has a lot going for it. Its starting weight of just 2-1/4 pounds makes it a good deal lighter than the competition. In terms of tech and performance it is virtually identical to the powerful 12-inch 7230. It has excellent connectivity. It's nicely customizable, has a great detachable keyboard option, and also a roster of very useful accessories.

Its semi-matte 10.0-inch 1920 x 1200 pixel display is very bright and offers superior reflection control, making it easy to use outdoors and even in direct sunlight. It also provides effortless multi-touch capability that works even with gloves on. The included narrow-tip capacitive stylus works well, and there is also an active pen option. With a weight as low as two and a quarter pounds, the tablet is remarkably light and handy for a ruggedized device.

The Dell 7030 tablet covers connectivity basics (USB Type-A and dual Thunderbolt 4 or USB4/Type-C, Micro SD card) and can also be configured with fingerprint and standard or contactless smart card readers. For on-the-road use, there's a variety of Havis vehicle dock solutions with additional connectivity, for the office a handy desk dock with dual battery charging.

Available with a choice of three Intel 12th generation Core processors, the Dell Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet combines very good performance with good power management, easily making full shift operation without battery recharging possible. Helping to achieve this high performance are very fast 5200MHz LPDDR5 RAM and PCIe NVMe solid state storage.

As the name implies, this is a rugged device designed to hold up to harsh conditions in the field. All ports have protective doors, there are fully integrated protective bumpers, the construction is very solid, and Dell provides comprehensive ruggedness testing data.

Add to that Dell's significant corporate capabilities and services and one-stop shopping appeal, and this new 10-inch rugged Windows tablet should very likely become quite popular. – Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, February 2024

Dell Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet Specifications

Added/changed	Introduced 10/2023, full review 02/2024
Type	Rugged tablet
CPU	Intel 12th Gen Core i3-1210U, vPro, 6 cores/8 threads, up to 4.40GHz turbo Intel 12th Gen Core i5-1240U, vPro, 10 cores/12 threads, up to 4.40GHz turbo Intel 12th Gen Core i7-1260U, vPro, 10cores/12 threads, up to 4.70GHz turbo
Thermal Design Power	All 9/29 watts
OS	Windows 11 Pro
Graphics	Core i3-1210U: Iris Xe with 96 graphics EUs Core i5-1240U: Iris Xe with 80 graphics EUs Core i7-1260U: Intel UHD Graphics
Memory	Integrated 8GB, 16GB or 32GB 5200MHz LPDDR5 RAM
Display	"Direct-View" outdoor-readable, anti-smudge, anti-glare, LED backlight, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protective front glass, 1000 nits (1195 nits as tested)
Display size and resolution	10.0-inch/1920 x 1200 pixel, 16:10 aspect ratio, 224 pixels per inch
Digitizer/Pens	Capacitive multi-touch, water/glove-capable; optional active pen
Keyboard	Onscreen, optional external
Storage	M.2 socket PCIe/NVMe Cl 35 256 GB M.2 socket PCIe/NVMe Cl 35 512 GB or M.2 socket PCIe/NVMe Cl 35 1 TB or M.2 socket PCIe/NVMe Cl 25 2 TB or M.2 socket PCIe/NVMe Cl 35 256 GB or M.2 socket PCIe/NVMe Cl 35 512 GB or
Multimedia Pocket	None
Slots	1 x Micro SD card, 1 x Micro SIM (dual battery configurations only); optional Smart card reader slot, NFC reader
Housing	Plastic resin and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), VESA 50 mounting points
Temperature	-20° to 145°F (-29° to 63°C)
Humidity	MIL-STD-810H, Method 507.5, Procedure II, 10-90% noncondensing
Vehicle vibration	Est: ASTM D4169-04 (99), Schedule E, Truck Assurance Level II
Salt Fog	MIL-STD-810H, Method 509.5, Procedure I (optional)
Enclosure Class	IP65
Altitude	MIL-STD-810H, Method 500.5, Procedure II (15,000 feet operating)
Shock: Transit Drop	MIL-STD-810H transit drop (48")
HazLoc	Optional: ANSI/ISA.12.12.01 certification capable (Class I, Division 2, Groups A, B, C, D)
Certifications	See test report here (PDF).
Size (inches)	10.33 x 7.40 x 1.00 inches (263 x 188 x 25 mm)
Weight	Starting at 2.24 lbs. (1.016 kg)
Power	Internal 36 Wh Li-Ion; optional dual 18 Whr Li-Ion replaceable, hot-swappable
Cameras	Optional: User-facing 5mb RGB/VGA IR camera and 11mb documentation camera, both with mechanical privacy shutters
Scanning	Optional: 1D/2D barcode scanner
Security	TPM 2.0 FIPS-140-2 and TCG certified, fingerprint reader, chassis and battery intrusion detection, lock slot; optional: Fingerprint reader, Contacted Smart Card reader, NFC, and Control Vault 3
Sensors	Hall sensor, gyroscope, eCompass/magnetometer, accelerometer, ambient light, proximity
Communication	Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 802.11ax with MIMO + Bluetooth 5.2; opt. Qualcomm Wi-Fi 6E WCN6856-DBS, 802.11ax with MIMO + Bluetooth 5.3, 4G Qualcomm Snapdragon X12 Global LTE-Advanced (DW5825e), eSIM/SIM Dell Global 5G (DW5931E), eSIM/SIM
GPS	GPS: uBlox NEO-M9N, L1 (1575.42 MHz)
Interface	2 x Thunderbolt 4 with Power Delivery (Internal battery Option) 2 x USB 4 DisplayPort Type-C ports with Power Delivery (Hot Swap Battery Option) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A with PowerShare optional expansion I/O (top) barcode scanner OR USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A OR RJ45 Gbit Ethernet
Price	As of end of February 2024, per Dell website the 7030 starts at $2,379
Website	Dell Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet
Spec sheet	Dell Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet spec sheet
Warranty	Standard 3-year mail-in service after remote diagnosis. Optional 3-5 year support, accidental damage, next-business-day