Rugged Laptops

Laptops are inherently portable. In today’s modern world many of the technologies we use as consumers move with us. The most notable example is smartphones – we take them everywhere. Laptops are now outselling desktops, and have been for over five years. It’s no surprise, then that most people have a laptop. Many of us have had the misfortune of dropping our smartphones. There is an instant twinge of regret and anticipation as we pick it up and assess the damage. If we’re lucky there is no damage at all. Otherwise we’re looking to replace the glass screen, and as a worst-case scenario the whole phone.

Laptops are similarly prone to damage, but not as much because we don’t carry them around as often as a phone. Laptops are designed to be easy to carry, around the office or home, around campus or around town, and even on airplanes and across the world! This opens them up to serious damage. Laptops also provide serious computing power where you couldn’t take a desktop or where a tablet isn’t enough. Imagine scientific expeditions or heavy industrial and construction job sites.

Today we demand computing power wherever we are and wherever work needs to be done. Sometimes these environments can be dangerous, like a battlefield, or present other kinds of risk like a factory floor or a construction site. For places like these we have rugged laptops. They are generally shock proof, water proof, crush proof, and dust-proof computers.

For a long time, the rugged laptop market was dominated by the Panasonic Toughbook. It is still widely considered as the industry benchmark. The Toughbook was engineered to meet the highest military standards and can withstand drops, shocks, slams, and intense vibrations. It is impervious to high winds and pelting rain. They are commonly used in many industries, such as government, law enforcement, telecom, oil & gas, construction, defense and emergency services.

Getac is another company that makes these tough computers. Their laptops are as tough as they get and have been created to withstand use in dangerous areas with hazardous particles and gasses. It also has a waterproof case, but I wouldn’t want to try using it underwater.

All of these computer pack the latest processors, hard drives, RAM and other components so you’re not sacrificing power or capability for durability. However they are not cheap. Expect to pay at least $1500 for a new rugged laptop with the latest components. Units with top-of-the line components can cost upwards of $5000. Rugged portable servers can be $10k or more!