thundra

I'm in the market for my own/very first laptop. I've been using my wifes for some 4 years now and when we are apart, I have nothing, boo-hoo.

I like the idea of durability and have an Olympus almost indestructible digicam and my cellphone is a Casio GZ one so I'm leaning towards a Panasonic Toughbook as I could take it on the road and check on the bouy reports on the way to the ramp and can take it on the boat or to the beach and not worry about water or falls. I even like the built in handles on the units.

I don't do much but email and read/surf the forums and trade stocks so the multimedia performance aspect is not necessary as I won't be watching videos/movies or playing games.

Anyone have any feedback on the Panasonic Toughbook, or, what would you buy if you needed a durable laptop?

Gmack

I'm pretty sure the use Toughbooks for our tecs to travel "offshore" working on oil/gas rigs. I've not heard any complaints. Not sure how true, but and IT guy commented to me they are great but cost $3k each. OUCH. You can go to wally world and get a $300 laptop!

Gary

Hydro

If you really need a field durable laptop, the Toughbook is hard to beat. In my line of work, we use them almost exclusively. You could buy 3 or 4 laptops for the price of one of these, but if it costs several (x10) thousand bucks to collect your data, you cannot afford to have your laptop fail. We've dropped them from several feet, had them rained on, covered with mud, and they keep working. A state cop even had one get shot and it still worked, so i was told. They have a small, crappy screen, but you indicated you're not interested in multi-media, so you should be satisfied with the resolution and size. Bottom line is the Toughbooks work as advertised for us, but they are not cheap or fancy. If that suits your needs then getcha one.

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Elusive

I have had a Dell D610 mounted in my car for 4 years & it's still going strong. I can't belive it has not failed.

I even bought it's replacement in anticipation of it's failure. I bought a Dell D630 with a SSD (Solid State Drive) because I figure the disk drive is the most vulnerable component.

As stated if your not storing critical data, you can buy alot of laptops for the cost of a ruggedized unit

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Eyeball

If you going 4-wheeling into the desert, get a ToughBook. Otherwise, get a Lenovo/IBM 'T' ThinkPad series laptop. It is the one preferred by many corps, issued to folks that travel frequently, looks classy but tough. It is a tad more $ than most laptops. It is designed for the corp traveler so security and durability are the benchmark stds in this model of laptop. Overwhelmingly, it is the laptop seen in airport lounges.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/notebooks

When the world ends, and all humanity is gone, I swear the titanium hinges from all of the ThinkPad laptops will still be around.

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markb8608

Hello
I worked for Pfizer pharmaceuticals for a number of years. Since 911, everyone had a take home laptop in case of another disaster. The IBM thinkpad was the laptop of choice.
I dropped my portable several times and never had a problem.
Eventually got one for my personal use.Try Leveno website for refurbished.I bought a T-41 for half price 5 yrs ago and never had any problems.Knock on wood.
Kind regards
Mark

BACKTOTHESEA

I have had 2 power supply failures with mine (work provided) in the past year and a half. Our tech guys say this issue has not been all that uncommon. Fortunately the hard drive has been flawless.

cjd

Company I used to work for used Dell laptops, and in a pretty tame environment (took them home, and moved from conference room to conference room, we destroyed them. They literally fell apart.

Company I work for now uses the IBM/Lenova Think Pad, and they are rock solid. We all work in the field, and see very few repairs.

Cops around here have the panasonic, but I have no first hand experience. I see a fair amount of the thinkpads for sale used. If i where getting a personal unit, I would probably go IBM refurbed

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thundra

Thanks for all the advice/suggestions all, they are truly appreciated.

I did a quick google search inputting "most reliable/most durable-laptop" and got the list narrowed down to a few.

I'm glad I see that the IBM Thinkpad has been mentioned as the google search had it coming up the most along with the Toughbook.

You have all pointed me in the right directions. I've been out of work sick so I can do some more searching today and see what I might go with.

Thanks all.

DFreedom

I have a Motorola M910 that I use at work for programming police radios, etc... It gets used in the field a lot so durability is a must. It is a tough but extremely heavy laptop with some pretty cool features. If I were buying a laptop for personal use, I would not own this one though. Ours cost closer to $4,000 and for that kind of money I could replace a less expensive laptop every year or so for a lot less money. Even with it's durability and gee whiz features, it will still be outdated in 6 mos. I would go with a fast, loaded, less expensive laptop. My son has an HP that we have been very happy with and it cost about $400.

MacCTD

If you get a Lenovo get the 3 year NBD onsite with accidental damage, should be less than $200, it covers everything even being run over.

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