RUGGED

Honorable Mention: GammaTech Durabook S15AB

Rugged notebooks are following the overall trend taking over the laptop market: They are getting thinner and lighter -- and they're sporting bigger and better displays. GammaTech's latest offering delivers all of that. The Durabook S15AB weighs in at nearly a pound less than its predecessor (S15H), is a half-inch thinner and adds more than an hour of battery life. It has a starting price of $2,000, compared with last year's comparable Durabook S15H model, which sells for $1,400. That's still a great price for a dedicated vertical-market rugged notebook. Putting the S15AB through its paces, we dropped the laptop a few times from 2.5 feet with no malfunctions to the computer's operations and not a scuff to the case. We also sprayed it lightly with water and were impressed that the dust covers sealed the ports from moisture.