Design
With its matte, black design and solid form, the Dell Latitude E5470 has the look and feel of a serious productivity machine. The notebook can take a beating, thanks to its carbon-fiber reinforcements, spill-resistant keyboard and optional scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass touch display . The E5470's 180-degree hinge allows you to lay the screen flat and parallel with the keyboard for easier collaboration.

Dell says the notebook has been built to pass the military-grade durability testing to the MIL-STD-810G standard. That means it can be operated at temperatures as high as 140 degrees Fahrenheit and as low as negative 20.2 degrees, and at heights as high as 15,000 feet. The E5470 can also be used while sand and dust are blasted at it for 12 hours.

Keyboard, Touchpad
Dell gave the Latitude E5470 an excellent keyboard. Using the 10FastFingers.com typing test, I typed my way to 79 words per minute with 100 percent accuracy. That's better than my average score on a desktop (69 wpm, 99 percent), and I credit this bump to the E5470's bouncy, responsive keys, which have a generous 1.93 millimeters of travel.