Dell targets new tablet for government use.

• Author: Insinna, Valerie
• Position: COMPUTING DEVICES

* Dell Inc. launched in February an enhanced security version of its Latitude 10 tablet, aiming for potential federal government customers who want the capabilities of the iPad, but with added protections.

The new tablet would be easier and less expensive to integrate into a Windows environment than an iPad, Dell officials said.

The enhanced security version has fingerprint and smartcard readers, which offer two-factor identification.

"There are no additional forms of authentication for an iPad. So if I crack your four-letter code, ... I have every piece of information that you have on there," said Rob Orlando, end-user computing field marketing manager for Dell.

Dell is currently working on getting the tablet certified for government use under the federal information processing standard.

Certain federal agencies would require changes to the device at the BIOS level, which is the software used to load a computer's operating system, Orlando said. "We would work with those agencies to do that."

Dell is also offering a ruggedized case for the...