We've always been drawn to the
rugged Latitude E6400 ATG, and now we're even more in love -- Dell just announced the second-gen Latitude E6400 XFR. Carrying on in the tradition of the
Latitude XFR D630, this newest model is a little more visually amped up than its all-business Latitude roots would suggest, and we'd say some showing off is in order -- not only can the XFR handle the DoD's MIL-STD 810F heat, dust and vibration requirements, the PR481 "ballistic" armor provides twice the impact protection of magnesium alloy and the whole thing is well-sealed enough to handle direct blasts of pressurized water. Inside, you're looking at a Core 2 Duo paired up with both a 256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M and an integrated Intel 4500MHD driving a sunlight-readable 14.1-inch WXGA display, all in a 2.2-inch thick and 8.5-pound package that's 15 percent thinner and 5 percent lighter than the previous XFR. Yeah, we want one. No detailed pricing yet, but you'll have to save quite a few pennies to get rough with this one -- the starting number is $4,299. Hit up a bunch of pics in the gallery and head after the break for a promo video of the XFR taking quite a beating.
posted Mar 9th 2009 11:58PM
I'll kick its @$$
engadget, please stop teasing me...
Talk about Macbook Air thickness.
Talk about MACbook Air flimsiness - I could sneeze and crack that display. This Dell on the other hand is up to the task it looks like. This would be awesome for in the field video production.
When will some company make a tough netbook?
When you step up and found Wesley's Tough@$$ Netbooks, INC. Do it, man!
Dell? I'd take a Panasonic Toughbook or MacBook Air over that thing any day.
Whether this is better than a toughbook or not, the fact is that Panasonic has had a ruggedized notebook monopoly for too long. I for one am glad to see some competition.
You would take an Air over that? The ToughBook I can understand, but the Air in no way at all competes with this. It would break before you're even half way done with the tests that the XFR and the ToughBooks take.
(augh stupid me)
Well... with the MBA, at least you know it can cut cake.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/01/hp-exec-cuts-birthday-cake-with-macbook-air/
Panasonic toughbooks have a high price and low spec, not worth it for me.
Corporations that the Toughbooks are targeted to don't care about cutting-edge technology. They care about lifetime cost and reliability out in the field (or in the boardroom displaying Powerpoint presentations). Having a 30% faster CPU makes Excel calculations and slide switching slightly faster, but a screen, graphics adapter, or disk which suddenly stops working could cost the company millions in a lost deal. Panasonic has a long history of putting older, tested technology in its laptops, and charges a premium for the quality of the manufacturing (the laptops are made in Kobe, Japan). Although many of the components are obviously still made in Taiwan or China, Panasonic custom makes more components of the Toughbooks than most PC manufacturers do (the optical drive and battery are produced by Panasonic). There is a page detailing all of this here: http://panasonic.jp/pc/appli/f8/quality.html (sorry, it's in Japanese, but the photos are interesting).
For personal use, however, I'd rather have the cutting edge technology, so I tend to use VAIOs. I used to have a Toughbook ("business-rugged", or "Let's Note" model), and loved it. However, I wanted a screen that was better for graphics, a discrete video card, and also features like a microphone and Bluetooth, which are, even now, lacking in the Panasonics (with a few exceptions).
You would take an Air over that? The ToughBook I can understand, but the Air in no way at all competes with this. It would break before you're even half way done with the tests that the XFR and the ToughBooks take.
If it doesn't blend, then we're talking.
Why would you want this... its HUGE. This would only be good if you were a construction worker.
Thats what she said.
Appropriately used "That's what she said".
You shall pass.
This is awesome, nwdarkness if you think only construction workers would use this why dont you go b ack to your cubicle! Anyone who does real work (out of the office) on a computer would need this, construction workers, audio engineers, videographers firemen, military architects engineers mechanics, installers consultants designers basically anyone who has a job that does not suck. This is awesome!
A 1.41" display with WXGA resolution... Sounds AMAZING
Engadget must be laying off editors due to the recession.
Who said anything about inches? That could be in mm for all we know.. or maybe it's a 1.41 dpi WXGA.. which would be HUGE...
As cool as it is to have something small and sleek like a netbook, it would be just as cool to have something you can toss around and run over without anything going wrong.
I hear there are a few people who walk by students drinking their starbux and twittering like starlings ... on their way to working outside of climate controlled offices.
I know ... it's probably just an urban myth ....
I want one with kevlar, then I can put it in my backpack and be invincible.
oh so it only has a 1.41" display engadget?
fix it!
"265MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M and an integrated Intel 4500MHD driving a sunlight readable 1.41 WXGA display"
265 and 1.41? you guys need some copy editors...
Have you noticed our economic status?
They can't afford it! Guys, don't be so harsh on Engadget!
That sounds awesome. It would suit me just fine. I'm tired of all the cheap, thin, and generally flimsy (hello MacBook Air?) laptops. This would just be nice to have, secure in he knowledge that your laptop is basically invincible.
Tougher than me?
I dunno, I can handle a BSOD without rebooting...
Looks like a tough little bastard.
I really wish they would lower the price in th eoutlet for the xfr's like they had a month ago.
850.00 for a loaded xfr now they are 1400+ and dont have crap in them.
i hope the new xfr's are cheap id buy one.
It's nice and all,..
But unlike the military,..most of us can't buy one and have the taxpayer's foot the bill.
Is there such a thing as a "ruggedized" case for a PC tower? I mean: not a tough case in which to ship your PC, but a case in which to build your PC that happens to also be designed with toughness in mind?
I move a lot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
This is the current case that I use. People have likened it to a bunker, and it is big enough inside to hide a midget. Coolermaster even includes four small wheels which can be used to replace the "feet" of the case in the event that you need to turn your rig into a mobile weapon.
I'd love to see this and a Panasonic Toughbook fight it out to see which one is more durable. What would happen if we launched the two into each other on a collision path?
But - the million dollar question - is it tougher than Chuck Norris?
When useless meets ugly.
Toughbook is garbage. Ask any soldier and they will explain how those things have the life expectancy of a lovebug. This Dell looks somewhat promising........if you want a real tough laptop look up Armor C12's and X10's.
I take it Dell's accidental damage warranty wouldn't be needed with this?
On the read link, first video, around 4:20. This machine can have up to "8MB" of ram.
briefcase laptop. nice.
the laptop is good and sturdy but it is very much similar to the Panasonic toughbook Cf-52 -
http://www.techreviews4u.com/2009/02/05/panasonic-toughbook-cf-52/
http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/05/panasonics-toughbook-52-upgraded-shows-its-touchier-side/
I noticed in some other photos that the Dell has cooling vents. That seems like a no-no from a crap-intrusion standpoint. I'm pretty sure the Toughbook 30 is ventless, though I don't know about the 52.
Not that I'd want a Toughbook for my own use, but having used them in the past, I can definitely see where you wouldn't want anything else.
And some people say Apple stuff is overpriced lol!!!
But no one says you can spray Apple stuff with a pressurized water hose and have it still work after.
Idiot.
im afraid the haf932 is full of holes so it would be caught lacking when faced with the water jet, although feel free to test this with your system and let us know how you get on.
i guess you could make a sealed case and use passive cooling which has its heat pipes exposed to the outside of the case, would probably be best with a slim fit gpu so the depth of the case can be reduced, plus it would produce a lot less heat.
too bad sager doesn't make one of these but then it would cost 20,000$