Getac Technology Corporation, a leading producer of rugged technology, has announced the B360 fully rugged notebook.

The company says the new computer is "a direct answer to those who contend that full ruggedization and ultra-power portable computing cannot co-exist in the same form factor." Featuring 10th Generation Intel Core Processor with maximum turbo frequencies up to 4.90Ghz and 12MB Intel Smart Caches, the B360 is also the first fully rugged laptop to be engineered for 5G in today’s marketplace, enabling enterprise mobility buyers to meet all levels of performance without sacrificing MIL-STD-810H compliance. 

“Compromises between raw computing power and rough handling resistance may have been true in the past,” says Getac USA President Mike McMahon. “We can all remember when unsophisticated anti-glare screens used on rugged laptops rendered the screens unacceptably dark for use indoors. Then there were the compromises in CPU power, RAM quantity, and mechanical hard drives required by the use of cooling fan-free cases capable of resisting incursions by water, spills and dirt.”

“Those days are over,” McMahon continues, “but prior to the B360, nobody had put the whole package—10th Generation Intel Core Processor,  a design that is engineered for 5G, unsurpassed screen brightness and resolution, massive amounts of RAM and SSD storage space, shock resistance, IP66 total dust ingress and high-speed water spray from any direction rejection, proprietary salt water spray protection; extreme temperature and myriad input, output and custom data ports together to create a fully rugged notebook with virtually unlimited versatility.”

McMahon cited the B360’s salt-spray and fog-resistance option, multi-configuration LumiBond™ 2.0 screen technology, and Multifactor Identification Authentication as specific examples of the B360’s technological leadership.

The B360’s 13.3-inch IPS FHD LumiBond 2.0 screen uses a clear resin to optically bond the Tempered Glass, capacitive touch sensor, LCD into a single unit for improved readability and durability. Powered by super-bright LEDS, it offers a maximum brightness of 1400 nits at 1920x1080 pixel resolution and Getac’s proprietary sunlight-readability and anti-glare solution. It has also been rigorously tested to accept input from industrial weight gloves.

Adding to the B360’s graphics prowess, an optional power-efficient NVIDIA GeForce 10 series GTX portable computing graphics engine combines NVIDIA Pascal GPU architecture, ultra-fast FinFET and DirectX 12 support to deliver awesome map and cable routing schematics, perfectly rendered color images and a high-speed, smoothly flowing user experience.

The B360 also meets the requirements for FirstNet Ready and the Verizon Responder Private Core for connection to dedicated US public safety networks straight out of the box.

For officer who work in those parts of the country where stormy weather seems to outnumber sunny days, the B360’s Touch/Rain Mode automatically turns the touchscreen sensitivity down to reject rain and large areas with low electric charge (water rejection.) The combined settings allow the screen to be used under rain and when moist.

Joe Martin, Getac’s director of product solutions division, recently discussed Getac’s Multifactor Authentication subsystem, “it includes such advanced hardware options as an integrated smart card reader and an HF RFID reader, which is light years ahead of authentication technologies based on standard Windows password, and facial recognition processes are also supported.”

According to Martin, the Getac B360 is more than a rugged, highly sophisticated notebook computer. It is, he says, “a highly customizable solution to the problem of performing complex computational operations under what were once impossible environmental conditions.” 

The B360 is part of the Getac Select Program, which the company says draws on Getac’s extensive industry experience to create comprehensive rugged computing solutions for specialized industry applications. As such, it is available in two distinct models at launch: The B360, ideally suited to the public safety, manufacturing, and utilities sectors, and the B360 Pro, optimized for the defense sector.  The B360 Pro includes all the core technology specifications of the B360, along with a number of additional features and build options that are vital for military personnel. High-capacity hot-swappable batteries deliver even more operating time between charges, while additional serial ports allow legacy and/or customized military equipment to be connected directly to the device. Customers also have the option to spec a PCMCIA, ExpressCard, or a discrete graphics card, as well as a DVD or Blu Ray drive as required.