The revolutionary invention of a PC that was small enough and light enough to be carried in a backpack and could sit comfortably on your knees meant that business people, gamers and holiday makers didn't need to be parted from their keyboards for one minute of the day. And laptops and notebooks are getting thinner, ever lighter and more chock-full of software and hardware goodies.

However, if your beloved notebook accidentally fell off your knee or table, the chances are you'd be shelling out for a new one. So the challenge remains to make laptops tougher, more durable and adaptable to harsher conditions and rougher treatment, so that they could service not only everyday home and business users but also explorers, the military, journalists, archaeologists and anyone who's likely to encounter dangerous physical environments.

With this in mind, GETAC got busy designing its new rugged series of laptops and the latest robust baby, the B300, almost begs you to give it a good thrashing - if you're ‘ard enough. Weighing a substantial 3.56kg, the machine's first and foremost protection is its ‘military chic' magnesium alloy case in gun metal grey and black, which is equipped with sealing I/O port caps and drive doors.

The aim is to make every possible nook, cranny and surface resistant to damage from moisture, dust and even freezing conditions. The hard drive is shock-mounted within its own frame so that data won't be damaged when it's dropped. We proved its effectiveness by releasing it onto a carpeted floor from around 75cm and it didn't even blink.

Leaving it in the fridge at -5 degrees C, jogging it around in a vehicle and pouring water on the keyboard had the same effect as firing peas at the Incredible Hulk. This was to be expected as the B300 has passed the military MIL-STD-810F standards for resilience to temperature, humidity, altitude, shock, drop and vibration and has an IP54 rating which guarantees its resistance to dust, sand and water.

Other ‘Wow' factors include a sensational Sunlight Readable Display which can boost the screen brightness from a normal 500cd/m2 to an industry highest of 1,200cd/m2 for reading in full sun, as well as Night Vision (for reading with night vision goggles), Blackout mode (instantly switching off all lights), two RS-232 serial ports, Bluetooth V2.0 connectivity and GPRS/EV-DO/HSPDA as a possible upgrade. Most importantly, the battery life ranges from around 3 hours with full screen brightness and all facilities at max, to an astonishing 12 hours in ECO mode and all settings at minimum.

Other options include touch-screen capability and a membrane backlight keyboard, while included as standard are several security functions (fingerprint scanner, Trusted Platform Module Security Chip v1.2 and Kensingston lock) as well as a four-in-one card reader. With an Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 processor and 2GB of memory under the bonnet, this is clearly not designed to be a games machine, but it's more than sufficient for most tasks you could ask of it.

Verdict
If Call of Duty came bundled with a features-rich field laptop designed to deal with extremes of temperature and sand while being thrown about in a Humvee, it would probably look a lot like this resilient bruiser. It's not for everyone and isn't cheap, but if you work in conditions that would make mincemeat of an ordinary laptop, it could quickly pay for itself.

Company: Getac

Contact: 01952 207231

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