What is the price difference, life expectancy and total cost of ownership between rugged, semi-rugged and regular laptops?

Our fire/EMS customers generally deploy fully rugged Toughbooks for three to five years depending on their budget schedule. But we've also had customers deploy the same laptops for up to seven or nine years.

In 2006, Gartner Inc. published a report benchmarking computer failure rates — the need for some form of hardware repair. They found that within the first year, business notebook PCs [regular laptops] failed 15% of the time. By the third year, those estimates escalate to 22%. PC Magazine, in its annual reader survey (September 2006) reported a 23% annualized failure rate in business notebook PCs.

Life expectancy is greatly affected by how the laptops are being used. According to an October 2005 report by VDC analyst David Krebs, an average of 4% of rugged mobile computers used in harsh environments fail per year, while standard notebooks in similar environments fail at a rate of 36%. While rugged and semi-rugged laptops are more expensive, the total cost of ownership is the figure that really counts.

The loss of productivity caused by computer downtime is often more expensive to an agency than the actual cost of replacement, as extreme environments are usually when they're needed most. A full replacement warranty isn't going help if your computer fails because it got rained on in the middle of a flood, for example.

Are there any functionality differences between the three such as memory, processing speed, wireless capabilities?

Every Toughbook available today offers embedded wide-area wireless, or mobile broadband, modules in its notebooks. Toughbook notebooks are certified on the mobile broadband networks Sprint, Verizon and Alltel (EV-DO) as well as AT&T (EDGE/HSDPA). The company also embeds antennas for mobile broadband and GPS and supports Bluetooth technology as well as wireless LAN. We have had fire customers conduct tests of signal strength in embedded wireless versus external PC cards, which are needed on many regular laptops, and they found that the embedded signal was much better.

Fully rugged laptops are equipped with the brightest screens available for daylight use, for example the Toughbook 30 set a new standard with a 1,000-nit (candelas per square meter, a measure of brightness) screen, delivering the brightness of a fixed-mount display. The fully rugged Toughbooks feature a sealed case construction allowing them to function without a fan or vents which would expose internal components to moisture, dust and dirt. In order to operate in these extreme conditions, and maintain superior battery life, many Toughbooks use ultra-low voltage chips. The choice of chip, and corresponding processor speed, depends on the specific model and target use environment.

The weight of Toughbooks between business-rugged and fully rugged scale from under three pounds to just over eight; and the battery life ranges from six to 10 hours, depending on the medium and functionality being used.

What makes a rugged and semi-rugged laptop rugged?

To be classified as a rugged computer, there are certain specifications and tests that manufacturers must meet or pass. These are primarily focused on environmental protection and sealing of possible entry points for dust, water and on testing against damages from drops or shocks.

These specifications are defined by two U.S. government standards MIL-STD-810F and IP or ingress protection. While there are many mil spec standards, most rugged notebook vendors test against environmental conditions such as drops, vibration, extremes in temperature and water resistance. Rugged notebooks should have an IP54 rating, which means they're protected against dust particles and water.

The features in fully and semi-rugged Toughbooks that enable them to achieve this level of protection include magnesium alloy casing, shock-mounted hard disk drives, vibration-resistant LCDs, dust- and spill-resistant keyboards and touchpads, sealed ports and a ruggedized docking connector for mounting in first responder vehicles.

Why does the fire service need rugged or semi-rugged laptops if the units are only used in command vehicles?

Beyond using rugged computers in command vehicles, we're also seeing them used for building inspections, on the scene of a fire to gather patient data in rescue situations, basically wherever firefighters work outdoors. Ultimately, rugged computers can be a critical tool in any situation where a fire department needs to get information in real time.

But even if the laptops will be solely mounted in command vehicles, they are still exposed to conditions where regular laptops could not function properly, such as intense vibration and extended exposure to extreme temperatures. Fully rugged Toughbooks were designed specifically to address these conditions, and features such as daylight-readable touchscreens and rugged mounting docks make a big difference in usability and reliability.

What are the criteria for choosing between rugged and semi-rugged?

As with any agency expense, the question of whether fully or semi-rugged computers are right for you is based on many considerations. But two factors are the most important.

First is user needs. Will the computer be used in a vehicle and/or largely outdoors? How much will productivity increase if a user has a touch screen instead of a keyboard? If they were to drop the device, approximately how far is it likely to fall? What are the potential costs of computer downtime?

The second consideration is environmental concerns. Will the technology be used in climates that are prone to dust or extreme moisture? Will users be required to read screens in full daylight? What kind of wireless access is needed?

If a fire department decides to go with a rugged computer, it should be very clear about its needs and be sure to ask tough questions of potential vendors. What are their testing procedures? What quality control certifications do they hold? What is covered in the standard warranty and is shipping included for warranty repairs? Who provides their customer support?

How long have rugged computers been on the market and what are some of the advances from the early models?

Panasonic has been building rugged notebooks for 14 years. Over that time, engineering has made various upgrades to the full line of Toughbooks based on the need and feedback of our customers in the field. Some examples of Toughbook advances over the years include encasing LCDs in magnesium alloy, developing fully rugged tablet PCs and introducing the industry's brightest notebook screens. In addition, the lessons learned in our years of development and engineering has allowed us to introduce both semi-rugged and business-rugged units. This has expanded our line from a single unit to nine devices and a catalog of accessories.

Security, wireless capabilities, and processing speed are also areas that have been updated within each model. Today, Toughbooks include an optional finger print scanner and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM v.1.2) security chip to help protect sensitive information. Panasonic was also the first notebook manufacturer to embed 3G mobile broadband or wide-area wireless.