Does Your Notebook Have To Be Ugly To Be Tough?

Panasonic has a line of "Toughbooks" that are rugged enough for Jack Bauer to use in his constant fight against evil. You've seen their advertisements all over television and in online TV show viewing. However, these notebooks are a bit ugly and bulky.

On the other hand, I've always been a fan of Thinkpads, they look cool and are quite tough.

Recently Lenovo raised the bar a bit and released a line of notebooks with even more toughness in them. It designed eight ThinkPad laptops for use in field and vehicle semi-ruggedized computing environments such as in public safety, utilities, construction and the military.

Maybe you think your job does not require you to have a tough notebook. Right? Well he moment you drop your notebook on the concrete floor of your new client, or it gets sprayed with dust from that construction site you had to walk by, you'll wish your notebook was tougher when you wonder why it won't turn on or starts blinking like a don't walk sign.

Lenovo's new line of think pads meet tests for:

Low Pressure - Tests operation at 15,000 feet
Humidity - Cycles 95 percent humidity through the environment
Vibration (operational and non-operational) - Jostles and jolts the laptops to make sure they can withstand shocks
High Temperature - Simulates high heat conditions by baking the laptop up to 140°F
Low Temperature - Tests operation at -4°F
Temperature Shock - Fluctuates between -4 and up to 140°F to test operation
Dust - Blows dust for an extended amount of time

Want to see photos of some of the tests in action?

Lenovo's notebooks have always been built for toughness and have for example the following benefits built in already:

Active Protection System - Temporarily parks the hard drive when the laptop detects a fall or sudden movement via an air-bag like system
Roll Cage - Serves as a protective frame around the internal components where the data resides and processing takes place with an extra top cover roll cage on the ThinkPad X301 laptop
Shock-Mounted Hard Drive - Offers extra protection around the hard drive to protect data
Spill-Resistant Keyboard - Withstands spills of up to two fluid ounces on select laptops allowing liquid to drain beneath the keyboard

Not everyone needs a tough notebook, but everyone should consider IF they need a tough notebook. If your answer is yes, you now have more choices.

tags: ibm , lenovo , panasonic , tough | 0 comments