Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Venkie who wrote (35523)	4/8/2001 8:26:20 PM
From: Dealer	Respond to of 65232

INTC -- Forbes.com A Laptop You Can Dropkick By Arik Hesseldahl As portable as they are, laptop computers are built awfully delicate when you consider the abuse they have to take. Take it on a business trip and your laptop gets jarred and jolted. Spilling a drink on the keyboard can become an unmitigated disaster. One study by International Data, a market research firm in Framingham, Mass., says that companies spend up to a billion dollars a year to repair damaged laptops, at an average cost of $1,400 per incident. ADVERTISEMENT If you spend a lot of time on the road, a laptop computer is essential. If it goes on the blink, you lose the ability to stay productive while travelling. People who spend a lot of time in the field, like sales professionals, utility workers, insurance adjusters and government workers, have all discovered that having a rugged laptop can often save them the frustration that a broken laptop will cause. Panasonic Personal Computer , a division of Japanese electronics conglomerate Matshusita (NYSE:MU - news) , specializes in a series of machines called Toughbooks. While it does most of its business with law enforcement, military and government agencies, the company makes one machine--the Toughbook 72--that is positioned for the professional road warrior. Encased in a magnesium alloy cabinet, it weighs in at a hefty six pounds. The 20-gigabyte internal hard drive is mounted on soft polymer gel material that helps absorb the shock from sudden movements and drops--protecting your data. A second shock-resistant 20-GB drive can be added as an option. And the keyboard and touchpad mouse are resistant to many types of liquid spills. It also comes with a floppy disk drive that works with a 120-megabyte Super Disk made by Imation (NYSE:IMN - news) . The LCD screen is built to be especially bright so you can see it easily while outdoors. For security, it comes with a built-in Kensington lock. The machine runs on a 700-megahertz mobile Intel (NasdaqNM:INTC - news) Pentium III, and comes with 128 megabytes of memory standard, expandable to 384 MB. The other interesting feature is the built-in wireless capability. The lid contains a flexible antenna connected to a wireless modem that can reach the Internet using the cellular digital packet data (CDPD) networks run by companies like BellSouth (NYSE:BLS - news) , as well as other networks run by companies like Motient (NasdaqNM:MTNT - news) . It's a little unnerving to see a laptop being manhandled at first. At the recent CTIA Wireless 2001 trade show in Las Vegas, a Panasonic representative did his best to beat up the machines displayed on the showroom floor, dropping them, bending the antennas and generally abusing them. Each model is tested to withstand a 3-foot drop onto concrete, a heavy coating of dust, a dousing of water and heavy vibration. And if anything does go wrong, the company has a three-year warranty that covers parts and labor and overnight shipping to a repair shop, where the average turnaround time is less than two days. It's compatible with most versions of Windows, sells for an estimated retail price of $3,150 and is available exclusively from Panasonic.