Dell gets rugged to pump up sales

The Latitude XFR D630 from Dell is not sexy.

But that's not the point. The PC maker's first ruggedized notebook isn't having a New York coming-out party with runway models a la the colorful Inspiron and XPS laptops from last summer. But the company does hope that an option for a tough exterior whets the appetites of some of its most loyal customers, large IT departments.

Dell's first rugged notebook, the Latitude XFR D630.

(Credit: Dell)

The Latitude XFR D630 is basically a Latitude D630 in full body armor built to withstand extreme temperatures, falls, moisture, dust, and more.

Dell isn't really breaking any new ground here. Panasonic has been doing its Toughbook thing for a while now, and neither is Dell trying to beat Panasonic with lower prices. At a starting price of $3,899, that's more than the lowest-priced configuration of the Panasonic Toughbook CF-30, the Latitude's closest equivalent. So why rugged and why now?

Dell has been in turnaround mode for about a year now. Recent earnings reports seem to indicate that there's still much more that needs to be done. Sure, Dell has been trying a lot of new things, all at the same time, and, yes, it can be a tad dizzying. One need only review its stream of press releases over the past year to understand the cacophony that is its corporate message. The slew of new products and strategies, many taken directly from its own customers' suggestions, do include some trendy and new (for Dell) ideas: Linux! Colors! Green computing! New focus on design! Retail!

But it's the arguably boring, ostensibly more practical enterprise niches Dell is going after that might be the keys to reinvigorating the company. Dell is spending a lot of energy lately on the business notebook segment. (See the Latitude XT Tablet announced in December.) The people who buy the XFR D630 likely won't buy it for its looks or cost, but for easy compatibility. The Latitude XFR D630 is just a ruggedized version of the Latitude D630, which is a standard issue for many IT departments. Dell is hoping that its customers will simply swap in the XFR version for certain employees that require tougher notebooks.

Director of product management for Dell's commercial notebooks Brett McAnally says the ruggedized Latitude is "100 percent compatible" with other Latitude D-series notebooks. That means common batteries, AC adapters, software, and more. "When IT wants to update, it can update in a standard way," McAnally said.

Dell's consistent mantra for the past year has been "simplifying IT," and this fits in well enough with that strategy. But there are lots of questions the company still needs to answer. Will Dell be stuck playing catch-up with its peers after abandoning the one thing that made it different--and incredibly successful--from everyone else? And it's still defining exactly what kind of company it wants to be. Consumer friendly? Or business focused?

With a bit of momentum in product shipments on its side, a renewed sense of purpose, and no pesky corporate scandals hanging over its head, the company has a clean slate and a chance to stake out a new identity over the course of this year. So far, what that will be is still a little murky.

[idreamincode]

How is that NOT Sexy??!?

That is one sexy beast. I think some people just find certain types of laptops attractive, and I believe this one is hot! and rugged! Much better for things I do than that stupid Macbook Air.

[bryanwalker]

Dell Who?

Dell is gonna need a heck of a lot more than what they have been trying! Why not simply go back to OUTSTANDING customer service?
Dell sucks, from now on I will be purchasing HP systems!

[dzrtram]

How much?

No one I know is going to pay that much for a laptop computer. That's CRAZY!

[skrubol]

Target users..

Nobody you know is in their target demographic. Azonix makes ruggedized computers for the military that start around $10,000.

[groink_hi]

This is not just a laptop...

I've worked with the Panasonic Toughbooks for several years now, working with various utility companies and the U.S. government. Rugged laptops are NOT for the average user. To give you a perspective, these Toughbooks are used as servers in Iraq. No other server would withstand the terrain and heat these units are put through. You can drop them several feet onto a concrete surface. You can throw this thing in an oven at 350 and it may still run. I once even heard of it being shot with a bullet, and it still ran despite a bullet hole in the screen. While running and the ports covered, you can throw this thing into a pool of water. An officer I worked with even became irate mad and threw one of these laptops against a brick wall, breaking only the handle. But the damn thing keeps ticking!!!!

The $5000 laptop market may be expensive for 95-percent of the world. But you should see the R&D put into these units. For me, the price is right!

[AMRCC]

Compatible till the E series comes out...

E-series parts are not going to be compatible with D-series models.

[eggsngrits]

Is this the same as the Augmentix stuff?

Augmentix put a shell around Dell D6xx (don't remember which) machines. Horrible. Didn't look like it was able to withstand a stiff wind, much less a military test of any kind.

The Augmentix case looks like this one. Hmmm...

[ruggedlaptops]

Is This Really News

Are you sure you understand the rugged niche? 810F is military spec. Dell admittedly was not even interested in this niche only just a few short years ago.

Do a search. The information was widely reported. They are jumping on the wagon because of OLPC and 3rd world lappies that are the trend and happen to be semi-rugged, Everything will be rugged eventually...hardly a revelation.