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Talking Rugged Notebook
A rugged notebook offers mobile professionals the ability to
work in any environment and in any location. Versatile and
powerful, rugged notebook computers are designed specifically
for both in-plant and outdoor industrial (and military)
applications. Built to handle the toughest environments, fully
ruggedized notebooks should have IP54 environmental protection,
meet MIL-STD 810F and have heavy duty - generally magnesium
alloy - cases. Rugged notebook computers enable professionals to
work smoothly in adverse environments and are adequately
equipped to face almost any tough situation with ease.
Naturally, these rugged notebook computers are heavier than
non-rugged models but offer substantially more protection than
standard laptops. RuggedNotebooks.com offer a variety of
semi-rugged and rugged notebooks, wireless tablets and even
rugged PDAs in their Recon series. They also offer custom
solutions.
Arguably the most rugged and heavy-duty notebook available is
the Rough Rider III from www.RuggedNotebooks.com. Meeting IEC
and MIL-STD 810F, temperature, humidity, altitude, shock,
vibration and drop standards, the case also conforms to IEC 529
and Ingress IP 54 requirements. It has extensive configuration
options and a second bay available with internal PCI connector
that supports a wide variety of options including two additional
COM ports (RS232, RS422, or RS 485), two additional PCMCIA
slots, a SCSI-2 port, DGPS or wireless modules, an auxiliary
battery, or fixed floppy drive. It can be configured with 1.4 or
1.6 GHz Intel Pentium M processor, up to 2GB of DDR RAM, a 60GB
HDD, and up to a 14.1 inch screen. It also provides extended
wireless communications with 802.11b Wi-Fi, GSM/GPRS and DataTAC
connectivity. As you might expect, all this ruggedness comes
with a penalty and with the primary battery installed, the Rough
Rider III rugged notebook weighs 12.7 pounds, definitely not a
light-weight.
RuggedNotebooks.com offers a variety of semi-rugged and rugged
notebooks, wireless tablets and even rugged PDAs in their Recon
series. They also offer custom solutions. As one of the premier
providers of notebook computers that meet and exceed military
(810F and 461E) and industry standards (IP54), anyone interested
in a high quality semi- or rugged notebook should make it a
point to check them out.
Sterling Computer Sales in Landenberg, PA, offers a series of
rugged notebooks meeting MIL STD 810E (which primarily involves
small drops and rough transport). Their RB1500 has a rubber
mounted HDD, spill-proof keyboard and magnesium alloy case. It
comes with a 15.1 inch TFT boasting sXGA+ resolution (1400X1050)
and a Pentium 4 Mobile 1.6Ghz processor. You can stuff it with
up to 2GB of DDR ram and a 100GB HD. For communications this
rugged notebook includes modem, Ethernet and 802.11b/g Wireless.
This might be better considered a semi-rugged, but the price
with default options starts at only $1,595.
The Durabook N15RI is a rugged notebook that has a magnesium
alloy top and bottom case - which is 20 times stronger than
plastic. This rugged notebook has anti-shock mounting and
spill-resistant keyboard, scroll buttons and touch-pad. While it
meets some (modified) 810F military specifications for
ruggedness it doesn't appear to be IP54 compliant and is
probably best viewed as a more rugged than usual semi-rugged
notebook. It still provides the mobile professional with a
tough, durable notebook at a more reasonable price than a fully
rugged notebook.
HP also has a rugged notebook series - the HP nr3610 Rugged
Notebook. This model meets MIL STD for ruggedness in the areas
of ESD (Electrostatic Discharge), low pressure, humidity,
sealing, temperature and vibration - and the Ingress IP-54
Protection rating for dust and water. However, it is very pricey
for a notebook with a 12.1 LCD (over $4000) and nearly
impossible to find currently.
Another rugged notebook, offering the choice of 14.1" and 15"
Tflex displays - which work very well both outdoors and indoors,
is the Argonaut Ranger. The hard drive and LCD are both shock
mounted and the case is constructed of magnesium alloy. Both
models of this rugged notebook - Argonaut Ranger - meet military
specifications for ruggedness. The keyboard is spill-proof and
the circuitry of this rugged notebook makes use of
anti-corrosive technology for extra protection. Designed
particularly for marine use the TFlex display works extremely
well under any lighting conditions - from full darkness to
direct sunlight.
Panasonic has its ToughBook line of semi-rugged and rugged
notebook computers which are also worth looking into. The
semi-rugged notebooks have a variety of features from the T2
with touchscreen weighing in at only 2.7 pounds to the Toughbook
51, available with a 2GHz Intel Pentium M 760, a shock-mounted
80 GB HDD and up to 2 GB of DDR2 SDRAM, with a 15 inch TFT
Active Matrix Color LCD and a standard Combo Drive of a DVD
multi-drive, weighing in at about 6.7 pounds. Base pricing for
the T51 seems to start around $1600.
The Panasonic Toughbook-29 is a fully rugged notebook tested to
MIL STD 810F. The vibration and drop-shock resistant design has
Intel Centrino Mobile Tech and integrated 802.11 a/b/g wireless
LAN. It has a 13.3 inch outdoor-readable TFT Active Matrix Color
LCD (optional touchscreen), a shock-mounted removable HDD in a
stainless steel case, sealed port and connector covers and a
full magnesium alloy case with handle. With battery and floppy
drive it weighs 7.9 pounds. Base version pricing seems to be
around $3500 currently.
One thing you need to be aware of about rugged notebooks -
particularly full MIL-STD ruggedized models - they can be a
little hard to find at your local computer store - or even on
some of the big internet sites. The substantial added costs of
manufacture and testing - and sometimes, the performance
compromises that are made, make them a questionable option for
the usual notebook user. If you will be working under harsh
conditions, then they may be your only rational choice. However,
for a user who will simply be doing a lot of traveling, day in
and day out, and wants a notebook computer that can better
tolerate the inevitable shocks and bumps, a semi-rugged notebook
could be a much more affordable option, providing reasonable
protection and better performance at a lower price.
About the author:
Richard, a computer professional and writer, has a strong
interest in hardware as well as software. For more about all
kinds of notebook computers and accessories, visit Completely
Notebooks at http://Completely-Notebooks.net