Review: GammaTech's Durabook

Panasonic tends to dominate the rugged laptop conversation with its Toughbook line. So when GammaTech Computer, Fremont, Calif., (formerly Twinhead) offered its newest semi-rugged laptop, Durabook D15-TS for review, some comparisons were inevitable. Since the Test Center recently hammered on the Panasonic Toughbook Y7 to prove its ruggedness, it was only fair to subject the D15-TS to the same treatment.

On performance, the Durabook blew the Y7 away, scoring 2691 on Geekbench, the benchmarking software from PrimateLabs, compared to the Y7's 1780. The Durabook comes with the Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 processor at 2.40 Ghz and 2 Gbytes of memory. Considering the review Durabook unit was priced at $1,818, that's a better processor and more memory for less money.

The Durabook's performance was also compared with the notebooks that had participated in the Tough Notebook Challenge in September. Only the Toshiba Tecra A9-S9017 and Dell Latitude D630 had comparable processor and memory, with Intel Core 2 Duo processors at 2.2 Ghertz and 2 Gbytes of RAM. Using PassMark's PerformanceTest software, the Toshiba Tecra had scored 536.1 and the Dell Latitude, 535.4. How did the Durabook fare? A dominant 652.9. The difference in scores is more than just the natural boost from a slightly faster clockspeed.

The D15-TS features a 15.4-inch wide screen WXGA LCD with graphic resolution up to 1280X800. The on-screen graphics is driven by the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator GMA X3100 which supports up to 384Mbytes of shared memory. There are three USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire IEEE 1394 port, one Type II Express Card slot and an RS232 serial port. The notebook also has a smart card reader, Webcam and Bluetooth support. The D15 can also be shipped with encrypted hard drives for data security and support for TPM 1.2.

There are two ways for solution providers to sell the Durabook. Solution providers can offer the Durabook-branded notebook to customers, or rebrand the same notebook under the company's white box program. Under the white box program, partners can also request customized features. Margins depend on the partner, as there's a lot of flexibility in pricing.

The Durabook had a battery life of more than three hours, or 3:15 hours. Battery life is measured by turning off the screensaver and other power features, copying a movie on to the hard drive, and running it continually until the battery is completed drained. It took another three hours to completely recharge the battery. The battery has smart circuitry to handle current and voltage surges and overheating. Smart calibration also retains battery capacity even after repeated charge-discharge cycles.

That's performance. How did the Durabook do on the rugged tests? Not very well, sadly.

The Panasonic Y7 is actually listed as a business-rugged laptop, which is lowest on the company's tough-scale. The Durabook is marketed as a semi-rugged notebook, and comparing the specifications, it appeared that the Durabook was comparable to Panasonic's line of semi-rugged notebooks. So it seemed logical that the Durabook would do just as well, if not better, than the Y7.

The Durabook looks impressively rugged. The D15-TS comes built into a drop- and spill-proof magnesium alloy case, has anti-shock mounting to protect the LCD display and hard disk drive, and a spill-resistant design to stop liquid from damaging the keyboard or seeping in and shorting out the circuits. According to the military specification number GammaTech has on its Web site, the D15-TS can take vertical water drops and a drop of up to 29 inches (desk height).

Being jostled around in a backpack filled with various knickknacks and junk didn't seem to hurt the D15 at all. None of the sharp objects in the bag scratched the case's surface. It was fine when placed under a 30-pound weight. No dents in the case, no damage to the screen. However, the drop test -- which was essentially tossing the closed notebook to the floor and landing the correct way up -- damaged the screen. While the actual display remained intact, it looked as if one of the layers beneath the main screen cracked. The notebook itself worked fine when attached to an external monitor. Not so portable or mobile anymore, though.

While the Durabook D15-TS has a bit more to go before surpassing Panasonic's Toughbook in specialized high-stress environments or accident-prone users, it is definitely a contender for the general high-mobility user.