10 best rugged notebooks for needs of the nerds
We need computing excess just any and everywhere today, irrespective of the place, the environment and the conditions. Thus, to meet the need we need all-condition notebooks that we can carry and use in all situations. Sadly, but not every notebook can survive the mad rush and cannot take the ass-beating, therefore manufacturers have developed notebooks that are rugged enough to take all kinds of shit you throw on to them. We have here 10 such notebooks that you nerds can use when and where you want.
• gScreen G400 rugged notebook
Built on a special specs appeal by the US Navy, the gScreen G400 – is a rugged notebook with two separate and identical 15.4 inch LED backlit displays, and features an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz or 2.26 GHz processor. The notebook stuffs quick NVIDIA GeForce or NVIDIA Quadro graphics cards supported with up to 8GB of RAM, up to 500GB of storage and backed by 6 cell or 8 cell battery.
• Frontier's FRLN rugged notebook
Called the hard core version of the MacBook Air, the rugged notebook FRLN measures just 12.5mm at its thinnest point but it still cannot better the AIR’s phenomenal 4mm. The FRLN however beats the AIR in the weight war with it weighing at a very light 1.249 kilos beating the 1.36 kilo weight of the AIR. The FRLN comes with a 800Mhz processor and a 1gb ram, storage is taken care of with the 80GB harddisk though flash memory would have been a nice touch. The Display is an SXGA 12.1 incher and you can connect to the internet with the 3 mode WIFI coming in A,B and G for that last mile connectivity. A long lasting battery, card reader, 3 USB ports, VGA out, Ethernet, a modem, a PCMCIA slot and Audio in and out round off the FRLN. And here is the sucker punch, the FRLN’s ruggedity we were talking about comes from it’s water resistant keyboard and a good shock protection from drops upto 76cm; and it is these very features which make the FRLN one rugged, good looker.
• Dell Latitude E6400 XFR rugged notebook
Dell’s Latitude E6400 XFR is a fully rugged laptop designed to survive in harshest environments. Made using Dell-exclusive Ballistic Armor Protection System featuring PR-481 that has twice the impact strength of magnesium alloy, the notebook has been tested to over 13 military standards (MIL STD 810F) for operation in challenging environments. The Latitude E6400 XFR is powered by Intel’s Core 2 Duo processor, a dedicated NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M 256MB DDR2 graphics card. It has a 14.1-inch wide display and 12-cell rugged battery cell. The price starts at $4299 USD.
• Panasonic Toughbook 52 rugged notebook
Panasonic Toughbook 52 comes with an optional 13.3-inch XGA touchscreen along with an integrated stylus. Capable of 1,000 nits on the anti-glare (AG) and anti-reflective (AR) screen, with four brightness levels and an red LED adjustable dual overhead keyboard light, the Panasonic Toughbook 52 fits well in the genre of the touchscreen notebooks, which have become the need of the nerds. Offering long battery life, better connectivity and substantially finer portability and functionality, is also perfect for the mobile workers who have to work in bright sunlight, where screen viewing is difficult. The Toughbook 52 starts at a price of $1,699, and $2,549 for the touchscreen option.
• Warrior 1000 rugged notebook
Built to handle the toughest environments, the sealed magnesium alloy chassis with NEMA 12/IP52 environmental protection stands up to adverse operating conditions, The Warrior 1000 rugged notebook from Stealth line of Rugged Notebook is ready for all kinds of conditions possible. Stuffed in with Pentium M 1.6GHz/1.8Ghz processor, 12.1-inch and 14.1-inch LCD TFT displays, shock resistant removable hard drive, sealed, water-proof and dust-proof rubber keyboard, USB, Firewire Ports, and dual speakers, the notebook is a rugged computing beast.
• ASUS N13i rugged notebook
Asus N13i rugged laptop meets the US military's toughness levels for shocks, waterproofing, and noise suppression without sacrificing style for substance. This 13.3" notebook will have an Intel Core 2 Duo processor with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. You also have the option to throw in 3G connectivity should the need arise. The Asus N13i won't be cheap though, as Asus has hinted at a $3,000 price tag for this hardy device.
• Getac V100 rugged notebook
Ruggedized PC manufacturer Getac introduced the V100 notebook/Tablet PC. The Windows 7 compatible 10.4-inch display uses resistive rather than capacitive technology. The V100’s multitouch is able to respond to pinch-zoom, rotate and other gestures even when the user is wearing protective gear. Despite using a resistive panel, accuracy is still high: Getac claim 2048×2048 resolution, 100 points per second report rate and less than 35ms response time. Besides this the Getac V100 is powered by Intel Penryn 1.4GHz processor and has 4GB RAM and 160GB-320GB hard drive. Getac’s V100 is packed in a full magnesium alloy case making it shock, water and dust proof.
• Dell Latitude XT2 XFR rugged notebook
The Latitude XT2 XFR is a ruggedized version of Dell's XT2 tablet built to MIL-810G standards for all kinds of environments. It's got an impact resistant, sunlight-viewable 12-inch multitouch LED-backlit display and can work in temperatures from 10-140 degrees. At 1.5 inches thick, it uses a SSD for impact tolerance, in addition to running Core 2 Duos and up to 5GB of DDR3 RAM. It's also got hot-swappable modules for gear like GPS and webcams, and will see some appropriately hardass mounts and docks soon. It starts at $3600.
• Stealth MW-2000 rugged notebook
The MW-2000 also a member of the Stealth Computer family, is a very rugged, laptop-cum-tablet hybrid PC, that can endure 26 falls from 91cm height, without messing up its workability. The MW-2000 is encased in a magnesium alloy chassis with built-in weather protective doors for all I/O ports that make it sturdier and weatherproof, and provide it with military-standard specifications. Stealth’s Warrior is basically designed keeping in mind the various adverse weather and working conditions, under which commercial grade products break down easily. Powered by Intel’s 1.06GHz Core 2 Duo processor with 2GB of RAM (4GB maximum), 160GB shock-mounted hard-drive or SSD (optional) this 13.3-inch rugged chunk of technology is available for $4895.
• Panasonic ToughBook 31 rugged notebook
Panasonic ToughBook 31 is stuffed in with Core i5 or i3 processors and an optional ATI Radeon HD 5650. Featuring a 13.1 inch 1024×768 LED backlit touchscreen LCD, the ToughBook gets 2 GB DDR3 RAM with a shock-proof hard drive and Wi-Fi and WiMAX for connectivity. Boasting 11 hour of battery backup, the $3,799 ToughBook 31 comes with rugged certifications beyond MIL-STD-810G and IP65 with a 6-foot drop rating.
