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Gammatech's brawny 12-inch convertible Durabook adds Ivy Bridge brains
The Durabook convertible's always been a tough jock, but now it's got some Ivy Bridge finesse as well, with the new U12Ci. Ruggedized to military MIL-STD-810G specs to resist drops, shocks, spills, dust and power nastiness, the new Intel chipset will add more speed and improved battery life to its tough-as-nails surface. The kid brother to the U12C keeps that same 12.1-inch 1280 x 800 panel, with a choice of Core i5 or i7 chipsets, USB 3.0 and the option to add up to 16GB of RAM. Prices start at $1,000, so if you're hitting the trenches or your local Starbucks, head down the source link for more info. Ten-hut!
GammaTech debuts Durabook D14 E-Series with 1TB of storage
We got ourselves pretty well acquainted with one of GammaTech's Durabooks early last year, and the company is now finally back with another model that breaks a bit of new ground in the world of rugged laptops. While there may well be tougher laptops out there, GammaTech's new Durabook D14 E-Series is apparently the first fully rugged laptop to come equipped with 1TB of storage, which still has to count for something these days. Other than that addition, however, the laptop is fairly similar to the company's previous D14RM model, and packs a 14.1-inch screen, a Core 2 Duo processor "greater than 2GHz," up to 8GB of RAM, and your choice of RAID-0 or RAID-1 configuration options for those dual 500GB hard drives. No official word on a price just yet, but you can pretty safely bet on paying a premium over the $1,500 that the standard D14RM demands.
Durable faceoff and torture test: Panasonic's Toughbook 30 vs. GammaTech's Durabook D15RP
It seems like a bit of a rip-off -- if you want a laptop that won't shatter when its shiny little form slips out of your fingers as you run to your next meeting/target you have to pay a hefty premium to get something dull and durable. And, if that weren't bad enough, you then have to live with something big, boxy, and ugly. Panasonic's Toughbook line defines what many think of as a rugged laptop, but its bulk, heft, and cost give it niche appeal. It's not the only option out there for a notebook that can take a beating, though, with the semi-rugged Durabook from GammaTech offering a package that's a little more comfortable to use and, perhaps more importantly, a lot less expensive. But, which of the two is right for you? (Assuming, of course, that either is.) Just how durable are these things? And, which one didn't fair so well in the water test? Read on to find out.
