Introducing the Indestructible Laptop

One of the major weaknesses of the common notebook computer is its fragility. Whilst the name ‘notebook' is an accurate analogy to describe its size, in terms of robustness a better name might be ‘vase'. Manufacturers seem to have finally recognised this shortcoming of the traditional laptop, because Panasonic has launched a new ultra sturdy ‘ToughBook'.

I first discovered it when browsing YouTube. It caught my eye because by chance I saw a couple of guys seemingly destroying a laptop in cold blood. In fact they were rigorously testing the ToughBook's durability claims.

For starters, the gadget was dropped on to the floor from a few feet high over and over on a variety of surfaces. For a computer lover, this sort of destruction test was hard to watch without wincing. But drop after drop, the ToughBook kept on working. I have no idea if a regular laptop could have withstood this sort of torture; it's not the sort of thing one does of a Sunday afternoon. But nonetheless, I would hazard a guess that the ToughBook is around 2-3 times more tolerant of being chucked onto a concrete floor.

As if that wasn't enough, the next test was involved pouring an entire cup of coffee over the keyboard. If you did this with any regular laptop, I imagine that it would spell the end of its useful life. The main components of a laptop sit just a few millimetres below the keyboard, and they most definitely do not mix well with liquids. This sort of abuse is no problem for the ToughBook; it even has a draining hole for the liquid to run out. Once the soaked laptop had been left for several hours, the liquid had dried off and it was time to see what damage had been done. Almost as if nothing had happened, it happy booted windows; the only evidence was the slightly sticky keys.

To be fair, most people treat their laptops with far more care than this, so is this rugged quality really a necessary feature? When I consider how precious my data is, I think that any precaution that can further protect my hardware is most welcome. No one every plans to drop a laptop or spill drinks over it, but as they say, accidents will happen, and its better to be safe than sorry.