Tough enough

Author: Anthony Sibillin
Issue: Volume 29 Number 4

Who is the youngest Australian to reach the top of Mount Everest? Rex Remberton, at the tender age of 21. And which laptop did he take with him?

Just to ask the question shows how electronic gadgetry has penetrated even the harshest environments. Not that the laptop that accompanied Pemberton is any run-of-the-mill gadget.

Drop them, spill coffee on them, use them in sub-zero or forty-plus temperatures, his Panasonic Toughbook is part of a special group of “rugged” or “ruggedised” laptops, mobile phones, personal digital assistants and cameras that can cope with pretty much anything – literally. Four years ago, a Toughbook intercepted a stray bullet in Iraq, saving the life of a US soldier.

But even if scaling Everest or enlisting with Uncle Sam are not on your agenda, you probably are finding yourself entering the sporting field of battle with an ever-expanding armoury of technology. Analysing stats during a game, managing player lists at training, and taking pictures for the team website, are all examples of tasks that require your gadgets to leave the relative safety of the office.

Laptops

Importantly, a ruggedised laptop won't change the way you go about those tasks. They use standard processors and other components and can run Microsoft Word and other familiar Windows PC applications. The difference lies in how they protect those components from falls and spills.

Internal hard drives are typically mounted in special polymer compounds that absorb the impact of a fall or other jolt. And sealants prevent liquid and dust from getting through the gaps in the keyboard and touchpad. Encasing it all is usually a magnesium or other shock-resistant shell. Some even dispense with cooling fans - another entry point for dust and dirt.

Impressive as talk of polymer compounds and magnesium is, though, what does all this extra protection amount to?

To answer this, Panasonic and its competitors, which include Itronix, Getac and Dell, submit their ruggedised laptops to a battery of independent tests. Those that emerge unscathed earn a variety of certifications. The most prestigious of these is Mil Spec (or MIL-STD-810), which means the device could serve in the US military.

Such honours don't come cheap, of course. Getac's Mil Spec M220-5 pushes $6,000 for specifications that would come for a fraction of that in a standard laptop.

But before you dismiss this as an extravagance, consider some recent research* by IDC. The market-research firm reports than one in four non-ruggedised laptops used by Telstra technicians fail during the course of year, compared with only 1.5% of ruggedised ones. So, assuming your coaching duties make you about as mobile, that $1,000 laptop may not be such a bargain after all, once you factor in the time lost to downtime and the cost of repairing and, in the worst case, replacing it.

As more individuals and organisations count these costs, computer makers are responding with a range of "semi-ruggedised" laptops that incorporate one or more rugged features such as shock resistance into consumer-grade models. For example, Lenovo boasts that some of its laptops have the computer equivalent of car airbags. These models, from the T and Z series of its popular Thinkpad range, house a sensor that will stop the hard drive temporarily when it detects the sudden motion of a fall or knock. Such drive- and data-saving heroics, combined with a shock absorbing "roll cage" (a.k.a magnesium alloy frame), come for an affordable $3000.

Digital cameras

The fact that the first humans to top Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, managed to come back with photographic evidence of their feat shows that ruggedised devices are not entirely new. After all, even a camera like Sir Edmunds' Kodak Retina, circa 1953, is not much use if you can't take it outdoors.

But the cost pressures on manufacturers mean the electronic wizardry inside today's digital cameras is often less protected than it could be. So look out for "sport" or "tough" models you can be fairly sure haven't cut corners. Olympus says its 7.1 megapixel Tough 725SW ($599) can withstand falls of up to 1.5 metres and full submersion in water to a depth of five metres.

Mobile phones

The same spin is applied to mobile phones designed to endure more-than-average abuse. Hence the Nokia 5500 "Sport" (around $400), which has a coin-lock mechanism at the back to protect the battery, while a rubberised seal swings around to cover the normally vulnerable charger connection at the bottom. The rubberised seal also gives you a firmer grip on the 5500, which will read out your text messages if you are too busy to stop, or the screen is too hard to read under the unflinching Aussie sun.

PDAs

Which is why the quality of the display should also be top of mind for coaches shopping for a personal digital assistant (PDA) they plan to spend a lot of time viewing outdoors. The basic rule is brighter is better. So when you're trying out a PDA in the shop, max out the screen's brightness setting to see how bright it can go. Also look out for its resolution. 320 x 240-pixel displays are most common, but something like the Axim X51v from Dell ($619) ups this to a very readable 640 x 480 pixels.

Tough Talk

Ruggedised (or rugged) - Specialised equipment designed to withstand falls, spills and extreme weather conditions. Often certified as meeting an external standard for resilience like Mil Spec (see below).

Mil Spec (or MIL-STD-810) - Set by the US Department of Defense, the highest standard a ruggedised device can achieve. Other standards include IP Ratings (Ingress Protection) and NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) designations.

Semi-ruggedised - Standard equipment with one or ruggedised (see above) features.

Water-proof (or water-resistant) - Able to cope with full submersion in water up to a specified depth.

Splash-proof - Fine with limited contact with moisture, but not full submersion.

Shock-resistant - Withstands falls and other sudden impacts.

D.I.Y toughness

While you can't do much about screen brightness and resolution once you leave the shop, don't despair if you discover your shiny new electronic toy is way too delicate for the footy field or athletics track. A number of companies make cases that resist water, dust and shocks.

These ruggedised cases come in two strains. The first are sturdy boxes for getting all your gadgets from point A to B safely. Otter Boxes, for instance, are crushproof, float and are waterproof to 30 metres.

The second type of case protects your PDA and phone once you get there and start using them. Avoid generic ones, if possible, and pay the premium for a case designed for your particular device. That way, you're sure to be able to access all its functions even with the case on.

While all this extra muscle comes at a price, the peace-of-mind from knowing your electronic equipment won't fail with the first drop of rain will let you concentrate on what the rain means for the game, and not your laptop.

Reference

Sager, M. (2005), “Ruggedised Mobile Computing: Telstra Case Study”, White paper sponsored by Panasonic, IDC.

Tough enough

Laptops

Digital cameras

PDAs

Tough Talk

D.I.Y toughness

Reference

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Sports Coach

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Legal information

Tough enough

Laptops

Digital cameras

PDAs

Tough Talk

D.I.Y toughness

Reference

Related links

Sports Coach

Login

Site tools

Legal information