New Notebook Can Take a Beating

The new GoBook II from Itronix is not for the home "desktop replacement" user or reporters whose laptops rarely make it out of their docking stations. The new rugged laptop, announced Monday, is designed to take a beating in all kinds of weather conditions, and still deliver performance comparable to more common notebooks.

Itronix, based in Spokane, Washington, sells the GoBook line of rugged notebooks to field workers such as utility repairmen and law enforcement agencies, recently finalizing a deal with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to deploy GoBooks among its investigators, said Matt Gerber, vice president of marketing for Itronix. The GoBook II is a midrange product among the other rugged notebooks the company sells, he said.

Going Wireless

Due to the mobile needs of its customers, Itronix has made a variety of wireless Internet radios modules available in the GoBook II, including 802.11b, Bluetooth, and GPRS/CDMA wireless networks. Up to three wireless radios can be integrated into the notebook at the same time, Gerber said.

"[The GoBook II] is designed to operate in places you wouldn't expect a computer to operate in," Gerber said. Itronix uses military specifications to certify its products, which required the GoBook II to survive 26 repeated drops from a height of 3 feet onto a plywood sheet laid over concrete in order to earn one specification.

This rugged design fits into a package similar to many regular notebooks on the market. The GoBook II measures 12 inches long by 9.8 inches wide by 2.36 inches thick. It weighs 7.9 pounds, comparable to the Satellite Pro 6100 from Toshiba or the Inspiron 8200 from Dell Computer.

Paying the Price

But the price does not compare to mainstream notebooks. A base configuration of the GoBook II, with a 1.8-GHz Mobile Celeron processor from Intel, a 20GB removable hard drive, 128MB of DRAM, and a 12-inch touchscreen display sells for $4,495. A model with a 1.7-GHz Mobile Pentium 4M is more expensive.

The specific types of users interested in the GoBook will pay the extra dollars to ensure they have a product that will endure the stresses of outdoor environments, said Gerber.

"When you put a system out in a utility truck that is used over three shifts, all year, in all types of weather, subjected to vibrations and drops, and look at it after three years of operating in that environment, you'll see great failure rates. Our customers look at total cost of ownership" when making a purchase decision, he said.

The wireless radios are optional, and need to be installed by IT professionals, since plug-in cards are not practical for a notebook designed to stand up to heavy rain, Gerber said.

The GoBook II will be available to North American customers in January through the Itronix Web site or partners such as Hewlett-Packard, as well as through Itronix's direct sales force. European availability will follow in March, and the notebook will debut in Asia in the summer of 2004.