Rugged notebooks have that appeal to be something special and that can sustain whatever you throw at them. Not that you would, but, just in case, you could. Panasonic’s Toughbooks lead this segment, but are not especially compact and easy on the eyes. Lenovo (and IBM before) has put distinct focus on the durable design of Thinkpads and now said that the military “baked, battered, blistered and blew sand” at eight of its notebook models and confirmed what these portable computers can sustain.
If the military says you are rugged, you have to be rugged, right? In the case of those eight Thinkpads models (X200, X301, X200s, X200 Tablet, T400, T500, R400, SL300), it is only “semi-rugged”, but it may be interesting to know for some users what the devices can withstand and what not. According to a press release issued by Lenovo, the systems can operate in low-pressure environments and at an altitude of up to 15,000 feet, manage a humidity of 95%, sustain “jostles and jolts“, temperatures between -4 and 140 degrees F, and deal with dusty environments “over an extended period of time”.
Lenovo said that that the structure of the Thinkpads, which includes a technology to “park” the hard drive when a fall is detected, a roll cage, a shock-mounted hard drive as well as spill-resistant keyboards, were key to achieve the test results revealed through military testing.
There is no mention of complete water resistance. So, if you intend you use your notebook in the rain, you will still have to look over at Panasonic and a Toughbook. And while those Thinkpads are promised to sustain jolts, Panasonic remains the only company who actually felt confident dropping one of their notebooks on the floor - multiple times in front of our eyes. But we agree, the Thinkpads may be a good compromise for consumers and business users to provide some peace of mind when the notebook accidentally drops of the office desk or is forgotten in a car on a hot summer day.