E6400 XFR takes Dell into the battlefield

by Stevie Smith - Mar 10 2009, 18:20

Looking like a piece of tech hardware that would be more at home on the set of a James Cameron movie, computer manufacturing heavyweight Dell has this week unveiled its next-generation take on the rugged notebook.

Arriving as a robust and sturdy entrant to the company’s Latitude series, the new E6400 XFR has been designed to meet the needs of ‘in-the-field’ mobile professionals working in potentially precarious environments and industries.

As such, the E6400 XFR meets a total of 13 different military-grade hardware specifications, which makes it all-but impervious to impact, fog, extreme temperatures, thermal shocks, invasive dust, water and even explosions – though The Tech Herald wouldn’t recommend attempting to test that last attribute.

Equipped with Dell’s proprietary Ballistic Armour Protection System, which is formed from extremely tough PR481 (offering double the resistant strength than magnesium alloy and utilised in military, scientific, and aerospace-based fields), the rugged notebook will handle all manner of situations users can throw at it – or throw it at.

In terms of features and functions protected within the E6400 XFR, Dell’s latest delivers a 14.1-inch sunlight viewable and impact-resistant display, and is powered by an Intel Centrino 2 processor with vPro technology. Memory demands are handled by up to 8GBs of RAM, while NVIDIA’s Quadro NVS 160M 256MB DDR2 card takes care of graphics requirements.

Other contributing interior and exterior aspects include Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth and GPS, PrimoSeal casing protection with compression gaskets, and also QuadCool thermal management to cope with testing operational temperatures.

Despite the E6400 XFR’s obviously robust construction, prospective users can expect a thickness of just 2.2 inches and a respectable physical weight of just under four kilos (8.5 pounds). They can also expect to pay a starting price of 2,679 GBP plus VAT for the base spec.

Learn more about the E6400 XFR by watching the video below.

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