GDI’s GD8000 Laptop Offers Tough Competition for Dell, Panasonic

Photos Courtesy of GDI

The General Dynamics Itronix GD8000, available March 16, is the long-coming update to its GoBook XR-1. General Dynamics purchased Itronix in the fall of 2005, and the GD8000 name is a move toward emphasizing the General Dynamics brand.

The GD8000 is geared toward military personnel, field service workers and first responders and features a magnesium chassis and polycarbonate casing. General Dynamics Itronix saw improving impact resistance as its number one challenge, and so each GD8000 can resist 26 drops to concrete from a height of 42 inches, while turned on.

The GD8000 features a 13.3-inch screen with a DynaVue touchscreen display. DynaVue technology balances brightness and contrast ratio to reduce the internal reflections that diminish display clarity. It makes the screen viewable in all lighting conditions, including direct sunlight, and meets military specifications for flight displays.

The GD8000 features an Intel Core 2 duo SL900 processor and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator, which help to boost battery time up to 10 hours. The rugged notebook features integrated Gobi 2000 technology for connecting to EV-DO and UMTS cellular networks, as well as connectivity via WiFi, WLANs and Bluetooth.

The GD8000 can withstand temperature extremes from -22 degrees F. to 140 degrees F. Tests to insure that it’s watertight included blowing 30 gallons of water at it over four hours, at 40 mph – while the notebook is turned on.