Laptop for great outdoors

INBOX:LIKE MANY people these days, I lug around a laptop for work, writes Mike Butcher

Specifically, I often lug around a laptop for work while riding a bicycle, which, over the years, has led me to realise just how vulnerable laptops can be.

Although I was pleasantly surprised when my old Apple Powerbook kept on working after two massive dents on its side, generally it is better to be safer with your laptop than sorry.

With the generation of ultra-thin notebooks now appearing, one does wonder what kind of beating these things can take.

Step in Getac, maker of the kind of laptop Arnold Schwarzenegger might carry around. The new Getac B300 is physically imposing and looks every bit like it's about to be opened up on the side of a tank prior to sending a virus to disable the enemy base nearby.

This laptop is probably more aimed at globetrotters traversing the African jungle or offshore oil-rig workers.

However, there is a case to be made for it among business people who have to work outdoors generally, because the consequences of data loss when a PC is dropped can often be catastrophic.

The silver-grey magnesium alloy chassis and rubber casing certainly suggest this is one mean laptop, as does the retractable handle on the front, which can be folded back to keep it out of the way during use.

The keyboard and trackpad are also designed for use in blustery weather conditions. Every port and opening is sealed to protect it from the weather or that spilt coffee, and even the fingerprint reader has a slide cover.

All the expected ports are here: from a pair of USB ports, PC card and ExpressCard slots, memory card reader, four-pin Firewire port, external aerial connector, Wi-Fi switch, microphone and earphone sockets and ethernet and modem jacks.

At the back are the power socket, an extra USB port, docking connector (behind its own slide) and a pair of serial ports.

In fact, so well protected is the Getac B300 that it meets the US defence department MIL-STD- 810F standard and the IP54 ruggedness standard. In plain English, that means it is resistant to dust, water spray, humidity, shock, vibration and can operate in temperatures from -20 to 60 degrees.

To achieve this resistance to a life of grime, the B300 lacks any ventilation, which means it will heat up during use, though presumably it's designed to dissipate the heat in some other way, perhaps through its casing.

The heat will be coming from the 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 CPU and a 120GB hard drive.

The use of this processor gives the battery an impressive four hours at full tilt or about six hours in general use.

I want the B300's "eco" button - which extends the battery by switching off all communications, dimming the screen brightness and slowing the processor - to be extended to all laptops, not just rugged ones.

The B300 is a niche product, heavy at 3.56kg and which comes in at a very rugged €2,000 minimum.

It's great for an oil-rig-working stuntman just off on a secret mission in Uzbekistan, but it is perhaps not so great for an outdoor worker on a budget.

An alternative might just be to back up your essential data at home or online and then get a decent case for the existing laptop, like the OtterBox Rugged Laptop Carrying Case (otterboxshop.com), for a less eye-watering €130.