Getac B300

With that low-voltage processor and a 7,800mAh battery safely secured in its own dust-sealed compartment, the Getac lasted over seven hours away from the mains. Upping the ante and putting it under the strain of our heavy usage test only reduced that to three and a half hours. Replace the optical drive with the optional extra battery, and even the most demanding of users should find that the B300's stamina is ample.

Even the keyboard and trackpad are impressive elements in their own right. The half-height enter key gets a thumbs down, but the positive feeling keys go a long way towards making up for it. The dainty trackpad is free from any complaints though, and the waterproof rubberised buttons feel good under the thumb.

When it comes to strength, stamina and versatility, the B300 delivers in spades, but it's not perfect. The 13.3in touchscreen (the touch functions being yet another of the myriad optional extras) is limited to a rather dated native resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels. Given the B300's potential applications, legibility is probably a higher priority than a roomy desktop, but if it's a truly do-it-all, go-anywhere laptop you're after, some will doubtless find the resolution a touch limiting.

We're a little unsure as to how useful the touchscreen really is, too. It does respond to the very firm prod of a fingertip, but we had to resort to the supplied stylus or the tip of a fingernail to get reliable results. It's a far cry from the tactile, responsive charms of Dell's Latitude XT.

But the beauty of the B300 is its very ability to be tailored to a particular task. All the optional extras come at a cost over and above that of the hefty basic price, above, but if you need GPS, HSDPA, secondary batteries and hard drives, vehicular docking stations and the like, the B300 can oblige.

Let's face it, very few people actually need a fully rugged laptop, and the B300's cost is daunting enough to send the average consumer running for the hills. But in environments where rough treatment, dust, damp and extreme temperature would leave other laptops needing a trip to the repair shop, or the scrapyard, the B300 is a revelation.

Author: Sasha Muller