Like a Lancaster bomber, this computer isn’t pretty, but man is it rugged enough to get the job done!

I’m talking about a machine called the X600, a military-grade PC from Getac, a Taiwanese supplier of rugged mobile computing devices. It’s available on several governmentwide acquisition contracts, including SEWP V, a rugged gear blanket purchasing agreement off the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedule held by OSI Federal, and General Dynamics CHS-5 contract. It occupies that niche shared with machines like those in the Panasonic Toughbook series.

Innards include the 11th generation Intel Core i7 processor. The standard configuration includes 16 gigabytes of RAM and 1 terabyte solid state disk drive. There’s lots of room for expansion with additional drives.

You’ll appreciate the strong, amply-sized integrated handle to tote around this nearly 18-pound machine. With outer dimensions of 16 x 13 inches, and a couple of inches thick, it’s not exactly suited for backpack carrying. I was tempted to glue an accordion file to the X600 and turn it into a briefcase!

The X600 is a large machine built for true rugged use. Besides its schock-mounted interior, the external plastic is heavy. Corners are protected with hardy rubber bumpers. The battery slots and the machine’s numerous I/O ports all lie behind heavy rubber covers that click shut positively.

I placed the X600, running and still streaming movies, in a freezer drawer at our studios for two hours and it operated without a hitch.

I left it in the same state outside on my patio during a steady rain, with no ill effects.

To horrify colleagues, I dropped it repeatedly on carpeted and concrete floors while they watched in disbelief. None of it harmed the X600. This computer really is seriously rugged.

As a computer running Windows 11, I found the X600 performed fast and with no hassle.

Its big, 15.6-inch diagonal FHD 1920×1080 pixel screen I found I could easily read outside in sunlight, although indoors I found the LCD surface slightly washed out and wished it had more contrast. Small text displayed sharply, though. The wide format gave a lot of real estate for multiple windows.

With its dual batteries, the X600 seems to run forever. I set it up on a WiFi network to stream old movies. The screen always on, nine hours later batteries still had 37% of their charge.

My main complaint is the keyboard, specifically the layout. Its numeric pad sits right next to the main keyboard. The Enter key felt too far inboard and it’s immediately adjacent to the 4/left arrow key on the number pad. The shift key is a small square and right next to the up arrow. and every time my pinkie went for the backspace, it hit NumLock. Typing can get frustrating fast. Personally I would do away with the numeric part of the keyboard on any portable, unless the designers can match the geography of a desktop keyboard with extra separation between the two parts.

On the other hand, the keyboard is solid, highly responsive, and well marked with big, bold, white letters. I dropped a baseball onto the keyboard and found it can take a pounding with no ill effects. Keys are of the chiclet type, each square key popping up through its own opening through the machine’s top deck. As a pounder who learned to type in the days of manual typewriters, I appreciate a solid keyboard I can get emotional with.

And, wisely, Gerac centered the touchpad and its dual buttons in the main section, and not in the middle of the two combined, so orienting your hands over it will help keep stray fingers from the numeric pad keys. I mention this at length because this computer is likely to find use in harsh or urgent tactical situations where people might be wearing gloves or need to enter data fast.

My other quibble is over the X600’s speakers. While clear, their audio quality sounds tinny and hollow, a couple of generations behind what other companies have been able to achieve with notebook PC sound.

At a base price of $7,317, you’d need the rugged requirement to justify a machine like this. But if you have a need for a very rugged machine for use in military, law enforcement or difficult environments, the Getac X600 appears up to the task.

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.