Construction Informer

There have been some advances in the technology of rugged laptops for construction since I last wrote about this here. For example, they are a lot more expensive but they are also tougher and loaded with more features and power.

Dell’s rugged new entry is the Latitude E6400 XFR starting at about $4,000. But then, you are getting a new ballistic armor substance wrapping around its innards. Called PR-481, it has twice the strength of magnesium alloy, and the laptop can now take a four-foot drop as compared to many other rugged models that only meet the three-foot specification. That said, this unit might be overkill for the construction environment since it is intended for the military, first responders, oil and gas environments, manufacturing floors, and homeland security. The Latitude E6400 ATG, at $1,800, or the Latitude XFR, at $3,500 might be ample enough while leaving some money for software and other goodies.

This time around, Panasonic’s toughest laptop, the CF-30K, starts at $4,200. The features include a magnesium alloy case, moisture and dust resistant LCD keyboard, a daylight readable display, and conformity with Mil Std 810F. Panasonic claims it is the fastest of the fully rugged mobile PCs, (although I read a review that said Dell claimed its E6400 XFR was 90 percent faster than the CF30). For construction pros another Panasonic model to consider in the very tough line would be the Toughbook 19, starting at $3,600. It is also handwriting friendly for all those of you who still like to use writing instruments, plus, its screen spins around.

The details are important when you are considering spending about $4k on a computer so it’s nice to see the level of attention to detail that the makers of the Durabook R13S go to in describing the standards the laptop conforms to. Not only listed is the Mil Std 810F, but also the subchapters and procedures that are used to arrive at the rating. If the specs are important to you then Durabook, which claims it was the original rugged notebook, goes to great lengths to let you know exactly what you are getting. The R13S starts out with 4GB of RAM, an LED backlit keyboard and a convertible display that is sunlight readable. Three USB ports, a monitor port and a PCMCIA port offer connectivity. The hard drive is a removable, shock mounted drive that has a heater so it can pass the 810F cold-start test. I could have used one of these at a job in the north country a few years ago where winter-time mornings started out at minus 30. Durabook deserves your attention from the perspective of how many offerings it has. The R13S will retail in the mid $3K range, but there are a number of models at lower prices that could be good matches for a wide rage of construction pros.

Of course these tough laptops all assume that some tough people will be carrying them around. They all weigh-in at more than eight pounds.

You can download a Construction Informer exclusive technical comparison of these three laptop models in MS Excel format or Mac Numbers format.

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