Notebooks Designed to Take Abuse

TAIPEI -- Two manufacturers of ruggedized notebook computers are changing their strategies, unveiling new models targeted at industrial and commercial users.

Until now, the companies have adopted a one-size-fits-all approach, producing a single machine tailored to the most demanding specifications: those of military users worldwide. With the market for such products growing, the companies are beginning to look more at commercial settings, such as factory floors and laboratories, where normal notebooks won't make the grade but military-grade machines are often overkill.

For users, this means good news in the form of lower prices. Vendors gave a preview at the Computex show here this week.

"Look at that connector," said Jimmy Lan, sales manager for Crete Systems, a Taiwanese company that makes ruggedized machines. He was pointing to the small power connector on a military version of the company's latest tablet PC. "It costs a couple of hundred dollars. You don't need that on the industrial version."

It's not just power connectors. Companies are reevaluating other features and specifications of their machines to cut prices but still provide a durable product.

Mitac Lightens Up

Mitac Technology will launch its W120 notebook in late July. The machine is not quite as rugged as the current A760S model, but is around $1000 cheaper, said Irene Wu from Mitac's product marketing department. With a mobile Pentium III processor running at 700 MHz and a 10.4-inch TFT screen, the machine will cost between $2500 and $3000, Wu said.

The notebook is aimed at markets such as police, field workers, or maritime users who want a PC that is waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof but who aren't so worried about other standards that are often built into the machines, Wu said.

These include things like electromagnetic radiation protection, said Crete Systems' Lan.

"If you have this PC next to $2 million of radio equipment, you can't change the sensitivity and range of the radio equipment unless the PC is well protected." Most commercial users don't have to worry about such concerns, so machines aimed at them don't have to be built to such exacting specifications.

Other Newcomers

Another new rugged PC unveiled at Computex this week is the Revolution from Kontron Asia. It looks like a regular notebook computer, but its display can be swiveled and folded down to be used as a tablet PC. It is based on a mobile Pentium III processor and comes in a single version priced at around $5000.

Crete is planning to release a tablet PC based on a Pentium III processor running at 500 MHz in September. The company will have two versions, one for military users and one for commercial users, and expects the latter machine to come in at between $2500 and $3000. At present, just over half the company's business is with military customers, although Lan hopes this may change with the launch of a cheaper model for commercial and industrial users.