On March 16, 2009, General Dynamics Itronix released the GD8000 , a fully rugged notebook computer and successor to the company's XR-1 model. Goals for the new machine were maximum reliability under even the most extreme operating conditions and state-of-the-art electronics with increased emphasis on long battery life in the field. Based on the critically acclaimed XR-1 platform, the GD8000 is an evolutionary second-generation product that preserves the many qualities of its predecessor, but offers a larger display and significantly longer battery life thanks to a powerful but very frugal ultra-low voltage 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. This machine is what General Dynamics Itronix terms "Fully-Rugged+," essentially taking ruggedness to the next level. The GD8000 is intended for any application that requires strong processing and wireless performance and maximum battery life in a machine that is rugged enough for any job.
Featuring elegant high-tech design, the GD8000 is the second General Dynamics Itronix machine to leave the venerable "GoBook" moniker behind, together with the smallish 12.1-inch display of the XR-1 that's been replaced with a larger 13.3-inch touchscreen. What hasn't changed is the platform's superb outdoor view ability , thanks to the patent-pending DynaVue technology that greatly adds to the utility of this machine under any lighting conditions.
The GD8000, which measures 11.8 x 9.65 x 2 inches and weighs about eight pounds, also perpetuates another General Dynamics Itronix tradition, that of facilitating excellent wireless performance via integrated antenna systems for fast and accurate fixes, advanced RF shielding and noise filtering, and specially designed "CRMA" wireless modules. The GD8000 also offers good onboard connectivity and expansion potential via externally accessible card slots and a flexible-use media bay.
Existing XR-1 customers will appreciate the new GD8000's compatibility with what appears to be all XR-Series docks and peripherals, and the significantly longer battery life of the GD8000 will be a strong upgrade and expansion incentive as well. Overall, the GD8000 is a machine that combines consumer notebook performance and features with superior battery life and a degree of ruggedness that makes this machine suitable for any application.
Performance
While being the formal successor of the critically acclaimed XR-1, the GD8000 is more than just a technology update. This is essentially a new machine with somewhat different goals and priorities from the older XR-1. Whereas in the past, Itronix generally aimed for having the most powerful notebooks in its class, the emphasis now seems to have shifted towards providing a more balanced combination of performance, ruggedness, usability and battery life. This is what Panasonic has been doing for years with its flagship CF-30 model and its predecessors, and so it's no surprise that GD-Itronix, probably having been stung a bit over the years by reports of shorter battery life, is taking aim at Panasonic's successful formula.
As a result, instead of using one of Intel's many hot-running high-performance processors, the GD8000 comes with a reasonably power-efficient 1.86GHZ Core 2 Duo SL9400 that's just a bit quicker than the 1.6GHz SL9300 Panasonic currently uses in the CF30. Coincidence? We think not. The SL9400 is a modern 45-nanometer technology chip that provides good performance while sporting a thermal design power of just 17 watts, about half that of standard notebook computer processors, and also 14 watts less than the XR-1's T2400 chip that ran at the same clock speed. The SL9400 also comes with 6MB of L2 cache and a speedy 1066MHz front side bus. This is a processor that will reliably power mobile systems for many years to come.
