Used Ruggedized Laptops

I want to talk about ruggedized laptops.  Specifically the Panasonic Toughbook line of laptops.  Panasonic Toughbooks are the standard that all ruggedized laptops try to achieve.  There are several different models that Panasonic makes in the Toughbook line of laptops.  I want to concentrate on the Fully ruggedized and semi-ruggedized models.

Fully Ruggedized Laptops

The fully ruggedized laptops include the Panasonic Toughbook CF-29 and CF-18 laptops.  These are readily available in the used market.  They are considered fully ruggedized because these units are made from a metal alloy.  The hard drives are cushioned with thick rubber making them shock proof.  The screen is sealed in a water proof seal as well as all the ports and covers for the cdrom and pcmcia slots.  This makes the unit dust proof and splash proof. 

Semi-Ruggedized Laptops

These laptops include the Panasonic Toughbook CF-51.  These laptops are made of regular plastic bezels but do have some extra support within the laptop.  Making these laptops tougher than the standard IBM or Dell models.  They can take some abuse.  I have personally dropped this unit about 1 foot and only scratched the casing.  The laptop itself worked find.  I don't suggest that you drop it but if you do at least you will still be able to recover your work if not actually using the laptop.

Which Panasonic Toughbook is for you would depend on what your application is and how you will be using the laptop.  Study your application and determine the abuse the laptop would be subjected to.  Once you know these things you can make an intelligent decision on which model would best fit your needs.  So whether it is as a traveling salesman with the CF-51 or the Police officer in his car running plates on the CF-29.