14 DAY TRIAL // Dell has just unveiled a new toughbook PC system, the Latitude XFR D630. This kind of notebook is extremely exotic and is always in the spotlight when it get official. Designed especially for harsh environments, toughbook computers are the IT equivalent of a Hummer SUV, and they can easily survive even the physical feedback of an user driven mad by blue-screens.
Seriously, now, the Toughbooks are computing systems designed to work in harsh, industrial environments that would transform a regular notebook into a pile of plastic and metal before its time. Dell has built the XFR D630 on the experience with its previous Latitude ATG D620, the company's first toughbook, released last year. The company's second attempt at the ultra-rugged market is as bold and promises as much resistance, but more horsepower.
Panasonic has also released its own line of rugged notebooks, but Dell's Latitude is faster. Compared to the Toughbook CF-30 series, the Latitude can offer a performance boost of over 23 percent, while offering up to four times more graphics horsepower. Just in case you manage to render the Toughbook useless, it can be fixed by Dell's on-site service team during the next business day if phone tech support won't solve the issue first.
The notebook meets the MIL-STD 810F standards from the Department of Defense, a mandatory standard for electronic devices that are able to operate in extreme temperatures, moisture and altitude. The Latitude comes with a price tag ranging between $3900 to $5500, which means that you'll have to pay a little extra than for a Toughbook CF-30, that only costs between $3000 and $4500.
The notebook has some features that distinguish it among conventional laptops. It comes with a sealed keyboard that does not allow rain or dust to infiltrate and leak on the computer's motherboard. More than that, the external ports come with rubber covers that shields them from the elements. The special display has a brightness of 500 nits, which allows the user to continue working even when in direct sunlight.
The rugged notebook can be customized to meet the users' needs, and includes faster processors than the previous model (the top offering is Intel's Core 2 Duo T7500), a 14.1-inch touchscreen, 4 GB of system memory, a 32 GB or a 64 GB solid state disk drive to replace the more fragile 80 GB hard-disk drive, a DVD burner and a mobile EVDO card. According to Dell, the ExpressCharge technology allows the battery to be fully charged 30 minutes earlier than other models of laptops.