Dell introduced four new notebooks Wednesday featuring Intel’s Core Duo processors, various options for wireless broadband connections, hardened shells for more durability, and an upgrade path for Microsoft’s delayed Windows Vista.

introduced four new notebooks Wednesday featuring Intel’s Core Duo processors, various options for wireless broadband connections, hardened shells for more durability, and an upgrade path for Microsoft’s delayed Windows Vista.

At a press preview Tuesday evening in New York, Dell demonstrated the notebooks and described how the portable computers are thinner and lighter than previous models with similar capabilities. The Intel dual-core processors also offer greater speeds than earlier generations of Intel processors.

The Dell Latitude D620 and D820 notebooks provide a choice of wireless broadband connection options through either Cingular Wireless or Verizon Wireless in the United States, or Vodafone in Europe.

Cingular has been building HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) connectivity into 16 major markets across the U.S. so far, according to Jeff Bradley, vice president of the business markets group at Cingular.

The Latitude notebooks also include built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, along with a feature known as a Wi-Fi Catcher that enables users to find out if one of their preferred Wi-Fi hot spot networks is within range just by flicking a switch, without even needing to boot up the computer.

The Latitudes also come with a variety of security features, including biometric fingerprint readers, smart cards, and the trusted platform module encryption supported by a variety of computer makers.

A security feature built into the BIOS hardware allows a network administrator to disable a stolen notebook as soon as it comes within range of a wireless network.

Shares of Dell rose $0.28 to $30.02 in recent trading.

Toughening Up Dell

Dell has also built the products to be more durable with a magnesium alloy shell. The Round Rock, Texas-based company distributed a notebook durability study that it commissioned from Lionbridge Technologies’ VeriTest unit, favorably comparing the Latitude D610’s survival during drop, shock, spill, and dust tests to notebooks from Acer, Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo.

Hewlett-Packard

To demonstrate the durability of the notebooks, Alex Gruzen, senior vice president of the Dell product group, opened one of the notebooks, stood it on its edges on the floor, and climbed on top, even though he had recently been injured in a ski accident.

To demonstrate the durability of the notebooks, Alex Gruzen, senior vice president of the Dell product group, opened one of the notebooks, stood it on its edges on the floor, and climbed on top, even though he had recently been injured in a ski accident.

“We don’t just stand by our notebooks, we stand on our notebooks,” he said.

In addition to the Latitude notebooks, he also unveiled the Dell Precision M65 and M90 notebook workstations with Intel Core Duo processors and Nvidia Quadro FX OpenGL graphics. The Precision M90 includes a 17-inch widescreen display.

Starting prices of the notebooks range from $1,149 to $2,239.

Vista Upgrade Ready

Dell Product Manager Robert Thompson said some of the notebooks would come with Windows Vista Ready logos that would indicate they would be upgradable to the upcoming version of Microsoft’s operating system. He said the upgrade cost had not yet been set.

Last week, Microsoft said it would delay the consumer version of Vista until next week, but the business versions would go out on schedule (see Microsoft Delays Vista, Again).

Mr. Thompson said Dell was able to detect when businesses were buying its notebooks as they are directed to a different web page than consumers are, so the company knows which version of Vista should be shipped.

Mr. Gruzen commented on Dell’s acquisition of Alienware last week and said Alienware would continue to operate as an independent company in Florida (see Alienware Abducted by Dell). So far, Dell has not included any of Alienware’s technology in its own computers, pending the close of the acquisition.

He said that Dell was experiencing 37 percent year-on-year growth in its notebooks, but admitted the company still sells more desktop computers than notebooks. However, the growth in desktop sales has slowed compared to notebooks.

Dell also introduced several of its customers at the event who plan to buy the new notebooks. They included Autodesk, Care Level Management, Intrawest, SAS Institute, and the Tarrant County Assistant Criminal District Attorney’s Office.

Intrawest

Assistant DA Miles Brissette described how his office uses the notebooks to carry the extensive files it needs for criminal cases in Texas and said the prosecutors in the office don’t need to carry paper files into court anymore.