Getac’s fully ruggedized V110 convertible PC. The screen flips around so it can be folded flat and used as a tablet. Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
“Ruggedness” is about more than just surviving stress tests. It’s about performing when there’s every excuse not to, and that’s just what Getac’s ultra-rugged, nearly indestructible V110 convertible PC does.
With an array of essential crunch-time features and improved performance and functionality over its predecessor, Getac’s V110 is something of a must-have for anyone whose worksite conditions skew toward the extreme.
Weighing just 4.6 pounds (relatively light; rugged notebooks usually weigh between 7 and 10 pounds), the V110 sports a 11.6-inch display and a full-size mechanical keyboard. The machine also doubles as a tablet—the touchscreen swivels around and folds down flat. There are many convertibles out there, but this one’s built to be virtually fail-proof in high-pressure environments. Hard knocks and occasional drops are dispelled by the magnesium alloy chassis and shock-absorbing rugged polymers and hardened rubbers. Spills can’t harm it—the ports and modules are all sealed behind hinged door-flaps, and the keyboard is sealed by a membrane that’s fully waterproof. The V110 also has dual batteries that are hot-swappable, so you can potentially run it endlessly without cables as long as you have access to a nearby charger.
Getac’s products are used by a number of demanding clients, including police departments, fire departments, militaries in the U.S. and abroad, and wildlife and forestry agencies. The challenges faced by these users are immense and diverse, but the V110 is also used in places that seem tamer, at least on the surface.
David Greatrex, the head of automation for Cirque Du Soleil, uses the V110 as the central brain of Kurios, one of the company’s latest traveling stage shows. Kurios a technical spectacle that’s a blur of moving parts. The notebook runs the show’s proprietary software, which monitors the tension on the guy-wires and winches used to hoist performers 40 feet into the air, and controls a massive safety net that’s vital to the second act. In fact, when Greatrex or a member of his team has to shimmy up several stories into the stage rigging to adjust something, the Getac often goes along for the ride, clipped to a waist harness with a carabiner. If the laptop happens to take a tumble, chances are it’ll survive to run the next show.
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