While it's not quite as rugged as some nine-pound military-grade beasts we've seen, the semi-rugged Dell Latitude E6410 ATG (starting at $2,114) is still pretty tough. At 5.5 pounds, it's not that heavy for a 14.1-inch notebook, and yet it's so much more durable, thanks to a design that meets the MIL-STD 810G standards for shock, vibration, altitude, humidity, and temperature extremes.
New with this version is a 1280 x 800 display that's not only outdoor viewable but has an optional touchscreen. Dell is also now offering a battery with a guaranteed three-year lifespan. It also has a backlit keyboard and gesture-enabled touchpad, snazzier touches than we're used to seeing on rugged notebooks.
With this generation of the notebook, Dell also upgrades to faster DDR3 RAM and is offering users one of two Intel Core i5 processors or one Core i7 option. Hard drive options include 7,200 rpm hard drives as large as 500GB, 5,400 rpm hard drives as large as 160GB (we're guessing Dell doesn't want you to choose these, otherwise they'd offer larger ones), or a 256GB solid-state drive. A six-cell battery is standard; a nine-cell, optional. In addition to standard 802.11n wireless and Bluetooth, users have the option of adding modules for GPS, mobile broadband, or even WiMax.
The Latitude E6410 ATG starts at $2,114.
