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Roughing It? Our Guide to Buying the Best Rugged Laptop

Do you want to take your laptop into tough situations? Do you often work outside or on site? Then you need a rugged laptop. Read our guide about the best ones.

The toughest of us thrive in hectic, demanding, or even dangerous environments. But finding a rugged laptop durable enough to keep up with us is a hard task.

Drops, water, and even dust can damage a normal laptop. And without your tech, work grinds to a halt until you replace it. Choosing the right rugged laptop at the start can keep you in motion. Military and public-safety grade laptops are ideal for tough use. But you need to know what to look for.

Read on. Our guide will tell you all you need to know.

What Is Military-Grade?

A MIL-STD laptop can withstand treatment at a level to which the military might subject it. Extreme temperatures, humidity, shocks, and drops test tech until it fails or functions.

Only the most rugged laptops earn MIL-STD titles. And codes like MIL-STD-461F and MIL-STD-810G reflect this durability. Long-lasting materials are key.

Waterproof and Dustproof IP Ratings

Work in wet environments? A stray jet of water can soak a laptop down to its motherboard. But laptops with Ingress Protection codes (IP) can withstand spills and even submersion. And IP ratings test against dust too.

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) sets standards for dust and water resistance. You can find their IP mark on all kinds of electronic devices, from tablets to earphones.

The first digit after IP refers to its solid particle resistance: dust, dirt, and sand. The second digit refers to liquid resistance: water, fluids, and humidity.

An IP6X rating means it can handle dust, but water poses a threat. IP65 is dustproof and water-resistant. Splashes are ok. But submersion will damage it. IP67 can stand dust, and you can submerge it up to 3ft 3in (1m) for 30 mins.

IP68 can stand submersion over 3ft 3in (1m). Depth and duration vary by manufacturer and use. But depths of 4.9ft (1.5m) are standard. An IP69K rating means your device can handle high-temperature water at pressure.

Weight and Size of Rugged Laptops

Portability can be a deal-breaker for tech. No one wants to haul a concrete slab of computer around all day. But protection adds weight. And if a large screen size is important for your work, this too will add ounces.

The Winmate L140TG-4 gives you 14 inches of screen space, IP65, and MIL-STD-810H toughness at 5.6lbs (2.55kg). That's pretty light for a rugged laptop of this size.

Military and public safety personnel need light technology. So watch the laptop weight to keep things portable.

Anti-Glare Screen to Save Your Eyes

Screen glare in sunlight can make work a headache. Construction, marine, and logistics businesses work outside in all weathers. So anti-glare technology is a must. No squinting means more productivity and fewer wrinkles.

Readability relies on high-resolution as well as anti-glare. Staring at a low-resolution screen with a low refresh rate all day can lead to eye strain. So choose a laptop with at least a 1920 x 1080 full HD screen.

A touchscreen can benefit certain types of work. Some laptops double as tablets. Combine them with multitouch gestures, pen, and glove functions for added flexibility.

Securing Your Rugged Laptop

You risk your sensitive data without proper security. Whether you work in healthcare, logistics, or media, you will want to keep your data private.

Choose a rugged laptop with encryption, secure locking, and Trusted Platform Module (TPM). The latter, TPM, secures your hardware with cryptology. This ensures safety from unauthorized access to your hard drive.

A Kensington lock prevents physical theft of your device. This anchors your laptop to a table or secure point with a cable looped through a security slot. Simple, but effective. Professionals have used it since the mid-1980s.

Encrypted removable solid-state drives (SSDs) add another layer of protection via physical compartmentalization. If there is a security breach, you can eject the SSD, and protect your data with it.

Compatibility and Performance

You need processing speed to analyze vast datasets, render designs, and transfer files. A quad-core processor with speeds of 2.40GHz up to 4.20GHz will suit most tasks.

Upgrade RAM as needed: 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB all increase your ability to multitask. Choose a rugged laptop with optional RAM upgrades for flexibility.

Connectivity is crucial these days. High-speed WIFI and 4G LTE will keep you connected when you need them. And logistics, military, and vehicle-mounted industries need GPS to locate personnel.

Winmate communication technology helped boost transport security in Tokyo, Japan, and Taipei, Taiwan. These cities are jostling for the title of busiest in the world. And millions of people commute through them every day.

Power Your Tough Tech

Power and durability are two sides of the same coin. Remote or on-site work needs both. There's nothing worse than running out of power mid-task in the field, no mains sockets for miles.

Dual-battery designs give you enough juice for a full day of work. Powersave modes and dimmable LCD screens save power. But the ability to swap batteries is a game-changer.

The Winmate L140TG-4 has hot-swappable dual batteries. So you can switch when power gets low. This keeps you moving even when off-grid. And if you find the mains, you can charge one battery while you work from the other.

Still, Standing After All That?

We hope our guide gave you the information you need to choose a rugged laptop. It's easy to forget how much we put our devices through. We use them every day. But choose the toughest, and they will stand it.

Our laptops, tablets, and mobile devices can handle any task you throw at them. From public safety to transport to food and hygiene, we supply tough tech tools so you can get the job done.

If you have any questions about Winmate products, feel free to contact us today.

Details

  • New Taipei City, Taiwan
  • Winmate, Inc.