Lenovo ThinkPad Goes Semirugged Against Panasonic, Dell

by Nicholas Kolakowski

The Lenovo ThinkPad “semirugged” laptops’ brighter screens, 3G/4G connectivity and longer battery life are all designed to appeal to those engaging in frequent field work.

One of the tests included blowing dust at the laptop for an extended period of time. Semirugged and rugged laptops, which see a good deal of use in military and construction applications, need to remain operational even within high-dust environments.

Durability features for the semirugged ThinkPads include an internal “air bag” that protects the hard drive should the laptop suddenly drop, and a “roll cage” frame that provides additional shielding for internal components.

In the High Temperature test, the ThinkPads were baked up to 140 degrees. The laptops were also subjected to low temperatures of minus 4 degrees and to a Temperature Shock test, involving rapid fluctuations between these two extremes.

By using a special apparatus to jostle and jolt the ThinkPad, Lenovo could simulate how well the laptop would hold up during long off-road car trips or especially turbulent flights-should one’s enterprise activities, say, take him or her into the African bush.