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Mike Elgan's picture
Mike Elgan

The World Is My Office

New rugged Dell -- the 'Anti-Air'

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- Dell unveiled today its latest (and definitely greatest) rugged laptop, the Dell Latitude XFR D630. The device is the polar opposite of the Apple MacBook Air. The XFR D630 is thick and ugly. The Air is thin and pretty. The D630 is "IT-Friendly." The Air, well, isn't.

Most fully ruggedized products are marketed at government, military and commercial users. But they're forgetting the extreme telecommuters, the "anywhere computing" crowd and people who like to take a laptop along during adventure travel. Dell's brand-new Latitude XFR D630 looks ideal for underserved segment.

The laptop meets the U.S. military's standards for indestructibility (the Pentagon's MIL-STD 810F standards). It can handle extreme humidity, extreme tempuratures (-20 all the way up to 140 degrees), extreme altitudes (15,000 feet) and extreme dust (it's completely sealed).

Dell is seeking to differentiate the system from other ruggedized laptop makers (i.e. Panasonic) by emphasizing performance, not just durability. The XFR D630 runs a range of Intel Core 2 Duo processors and can handle up to 4 GB of RAM. It has a 80 GB shock-resistant hard drive. It also sports a pretty big screen for a rugged laptop: 14.1 inches. Dell says a patent-pending thermal management system makes possible super fast graphics performance.

The company's press release brags that the XFR D630 offers:

  • "Five times more data durability than leading competitors with solid state drives
  • Latitude ExpressCharge batteries that charge at least 30 minutes faster than competitors
  • Outdoor readable screen at 500 nits
  • Integrated resistive touch technology
  • Shock isolated mounting to help protect hard drive, LCD and core electronics
  • Dual locking butterfly mechanisms for easy access to components
  • Sealed keyboard designed to withstand driving rain and dust"

The XFR D630 is really a fully ruggedized version of the D630. That's a good thing. It means, for example, that the XFR D630 uses a totally conventional software configuration and doesn't require special firmware upgrades. It also doesn't require special batteries or AC adaptor.

The XFR D630 is the anti-Air: It's bulky (2.6 by 13.9 by 10.2 inches), heavy (8.9 pounds), has plenty of ports and comes in black or desert tan. And, unlike the Air, the D630 is expensive -- pricing starts at $3,899. It ships today.

The timing of Dell's announcement is unfortunate for DRS Technologies, which also announced today new rugged mobile computers: The ARMOR C12 notebook, and the ARMOR X10 Tablet. Here's the release.

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What People Are Saying

The report is incorrect

Mike is wrong about this story and this is not an Anti-Air. This is that Dell's design team has come up with as an answer to Apple's air. It's their version of an ultralight laptop.

I see what you tried to do

I see what you tried to do there, but...

Fail, epic fail.

Well,

I'll bet it has a real Delete key though.

Press Fn-Delete. Just like

Press Fn-Delete. Just like on every Mac. Nice try though genius.

Comparing this to the

Comparing this to the macbook air is pointless when considering that dell's computer main objective is being efficient and durable. Macbooks are crap.

Blow me, macbooks are not

Blow me, macbooks are not crap. You are ignorant. Dells are clearly not efficient, especially with that new rugged design. Efficiency means doing more with less, and that design clearly does less with a lot more. Macbooks are clean, simple, intuitive, and powerful. And Mac OS X is by far a better operating system at this point in time. Windows may be better in the future, but not now.

With nearly half the amount

With nearly half the amount of money you spend on buying a mac you could buy a PC just as powerful, and with just a fraction of the extra money take decent computer classes, this way you wouldn't have to visit Best Buy every time your PC acts funny. Unfortunately most people are lazy, like to be shepherded, and usually become fashion victims of the latest item out there.
Apple is like a parasite that exploits people's most basic weaknesses. Combine this with their constant ad bombarding and the attractive, stylish looks of their features-lacking products and you produce macfans. Any windows power user knows that there is not point in switching to a mac unless you are stupid enough to waste away hundreds of dollars.

Well the whole point of this

Well the whole point of this dell is to work in harsh conditions. Thats why its ugly, it has nothing to do with efficiency

I agree most people are missing the point

This laptop is for use in Harsh Conditions. Not targeted at people to carry around on Holiday, Business Trips and taking to the Coffee shop. It will survive Sand, Mud, Water, Heat, Icy conditions, gravity, impacts etc better than the Apple Air.

I'd also bet that if you did take it to the coffee shop it would even survive a hot cup of Latte over it.

As always people here are making a judgement on it's looks and above all else.

A buddy of mine has

A buddy of mine has conducted his PhD research for eight (often twelve) hours a day, for three years, using a pre-Intel MacBook. The only fault he's found so far is that the hand-rest is now a little off-white where his skin oils have stained the plastic - other than that, it's 100%. MacBooks may not be as imperfect as you think.