The Future of Rugged Laptops from Dell, Panasonic, Motion Computing and GDI

A damp, freezing bright day is no match for the General Dynamics GD8000. It’s watertight and tested to withstand temperatures between -22 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and DynaVue technology makes its screen viewable in direct sunlight.

Panasonic recently updated its Toughbook 19, increasing its memory and adding a 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300 processor.

The Toughbook 30 was also updated in January. It now has a touch-screen, increased memory and a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SL9300 processor.

Dell’s Latitude E6500 XFR is constructed from the same material used to make ballistic armor. When powered down, it can survive drops from 4 feet to concrete.

The 3.6-pound Motion Computing J3400 claims to have “the best outdoor display on the market.”

The slip-free surface on the back of the Motion Computing J3400 tablet helps to prevent drops.

The Motion Computing J3400 tablet can magnetically attach to a cableless Mobile Keyboard and FlexDock docking station.

Panasonic calls its Toughbook H1 a mobile clinical assistant. A stylus offers easy data input on the 10.4-inch screen.

An RFID comes standard with the Panasonic Toughbook H1, as does a digital camera and fingerprint reader.

The Panasonic H1 has a shock-mounted 80GB hard drive, but a handle and hand support nonetheless help prevent drops.

The Santa Barbara, Calif., fire department uses a rugged pen-and-software solution from Adapx to report on conditions from the field.

The Adapx OneNote pen digitizes each stroke of the pen on paper with a digital watermark. The pen stores what is written and the data can be uploaded through a USB port and shared with other members of a team.