Hi - I'm looking at getting a cheap (comparitively) rugged laptop. The two I have seen are

Steatite SR150

Rugged Notebooks and PDA's- Tpad Rugged PDA

or

Toughbook CF-51

Ultima Computers - Panasonic Toughbook CF-51

Both are looking at a similar price. Does anyone have any thoughts on these?

I'm looking just to do the normal things on a RTW trip - website, photos, GPS, music, movies, backup data.

I've read all the reviews on here, and it would seem the tough book comes out on top.

I've had a look at eBay, but just don't feel comfortable spending so much money on there

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

Hi Ollie,
I thought id reply as no one else has !!!

I havent used either of these- but thats a serious chunk of cash by the time you upgrade the Toughbook to 1GB of RAM - which is a nice feature to have.

The toughbook is hard to beat - though get the best processor you can - also a decent warranty and plenty of support locations dotted arount the globe is worth a lot too - not sure how much support you will get from Steatite? - not heard of them........

- also take a look at a Toshiba Tecra M5 - 80 gig HD - they have a shockproofed hard drive and a spill proof keyboard, wireless, a super fast Duo Core 2 processor, a good screen, (14in) Fingerprint reader and decent battery life - also a bit cheaper - and I got a 3 year International warranty. heres one on ebay:

eBay.co.uk: Toshiba Tecra M5 Dual Core 2 Duo T7200 1GB RAM Laptop (item 120088711215 end time 21-Feb-07 18:21:43 GMT)

Ive got the slightly older Duo Core T2600 M5 2.16 ghz processor, 1GB RAM 80 gig HD- its a nice size, very fast and its pretty rugged.

I bought mine off ebay -whatever you buy from there - just make sure there feedback is 100% (with lots of transactions!) and I made sure I paid with a cheque so I have an address to refer to if theres problems.

I wouldnt go over 15 inch - anything bigger is a pain in the cab of a Defender.

Worth looking back through the posts here too and see what the guys use on Bikes - they will get a harder time than in out nice cushy 4x4s !

Cheers
Grif

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Nice one Grif. Thats propably jsut the middle ground I've been looking for. Since making the original post I'd started thinking about jsut buying the cheapest 'disposable' laptop on the market, with the view that 3.5xdisposable=1 rugged. But maybe this is the compromise that I'm looking for.

Can you remember the name of your ebay seller? Might be worth checking out their stock.

Thanks again for the time in answering.

Cheers

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

Hi Ollie,
No problem, always a pleasure !

The bloke I bought my Toshiba from (Ebay name: icell) doesnt seem to be selling anything at the moment.

I would not have a problem buying from the guy in the link - thats not a bad price - and its a well spec'd M5, though id make sure it has a 3 year warranty.

I was looking for a used one - like you say get 2/3 older ones for the price of a toughbook - but its a bit of a minefield - and Im not that lucky!!!

cheers
Grif

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Just got meself the T2600 same spec as you for £600! With the 3 year warranty. Off to pick it up on Friday, when I will admit it to the wife Hopefully my bonus will be in by then.

Working from home is dangerous!

__________________
Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

Yes, meant to say thanks for the tips Grif

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

Nice one Ollie !!!

No problem !!!

Let me know how you get on with it....

Cheers
Grif

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca