Tablet PC's simply by design are subject to more abuse than regular laptops.  Most manufactures have recognized this and have consequently beefed up the structure of their machines.  All are not equal however and in this guide I will explain the steps I took in determining what was the best model for our needs.

 Before I get into the specifics of the machines I should explain the criteria.  We needed a machine for our survey crews.  These crews operate outdoors in all types of weather.  They climb up ladders, through buildings and in general get themselves into all sorts of situations.  The machine needs to withstand a fair amount of dust, the occasional rain storm and a potential drop from a few feet or more.

 The first machine we looked at was the Dell Latitude XT.  This is a great machine that has an outdoor viewable screen, good battery options and is quite light.  It is not rugged in any fashion but does come with an accidental damage warranty as an option.  The main reason I passed on this laptop was price.

Next on my list was the Lenovo Thinkpad X61.  This would have been my laptop of choice as it came with good options, is built beefier than the others and was at a decent price, but the ship time was a killer.  Lenovo estimated a three week build time before the tablet would even ship.  Who can wait that long?  A side note, this tablet also was not truely rugged but came with an accidental damage policy.

A must look when searching for a rugged tablet has to be the Panasonic Toughbook 19.  It's a must look because it's the only one that is actually RUGGED.  It's made of titanium and covered with rubber.  Good specs too.  Only problem with this tablet is that it is pricey.  Damned pricey.  If you simply compared it to the others based on it's computer specs and ignored the ruggedness, it's about twice as much.  Hard for me to justify that.

Last but not least is the Toshiba Portege M700.  This tablet was also not rugged per say, but had the outdoor screen, all the standard tablet bells and whistles, had an optional accidental damage warranty and came preconfigured and ready to ship at a decent price.