The rugged laptop was designed according to U.S. military specifications and is being targeted at users such as military personnel and first responders.

The laptop can withstand rain and wind gusts of up 70 miles per hour, and can work in temperatures from -20 degrees Fahrenheit (-33.88 degrees Celsius) to 145 degrees Fahrenheit (63 degrees Celsius), the company claims. It can also work for an hour at an altitude of 15,000 feet.

The laptop is also designed to withstand drops of around 4 feet (48 inches) when not operating and 36 inches when operational. The LCD screen floats a little bit within the LCD cover so it can take impacts and shock, said Jeremy Bolen, a Dell spokesman.

During a laptop demonstration provided by Dell, the laptop weathered jetted water and 3-foot drops while running, but the non-operational 4-foot drop proved to be a problem. After a third drop from 4 feet, the LCD screen's protective plastic cover shattered.

Dell responded to the crack by saying that the demo laptop was a pre-production model that had already been dropped a hundred times. There's a three-year warranty on the machine and a cracked screen will be replaced immediately, Bolen said.