The GammaTech D14E2 Laptop; as tough as the people it is made for

Gamma Tech (www.gammatechusa.com) has introduced a first in the laptop industry with the newest DuraBook, the model D14E2;

·         Shock Resistant

·         Spill Resistant

·         Drop Resistant

·         1 TB of Storage between dual Hard Drives

This is not a true consumer laptop, but may be considered as such for those that either need or desire the above qualities. It is truly as tough as the people it is made for;

·         Police

·         Military

·         EMS

From unboxing to signing on to the wireless network in my house took just under 30 minutes. You may be thinking that is long, but it was a new and NEVER BEFORE USED model. The set up entailed;

·         Windows Setup (typical)

·         WiFi set up

·         Downloading of service packs

·         Security setup including Fingerprint Recognition which I will excitedly explain later

Once it was set up, it was time to put it through its tests, including all that it is advertised for.  First was the typical boot test. From power on to logon took about 20 seconds.  Login to actual usability took less than 10 seconds.

The first thing I want to go into is the security setup process.  Putting aside the windows password setup which we all know is not fool proof and has been hack-able in the past, GammaTech has added on a great layer of extra security for you. That is Finger print scanning and recognition. This was the longest part of the set up, but was well worth it. I was able to scan 7 out of 10 digits within about 12 minutes. This was now set for either my manually entering a password, or just swiping a finger or thumb over the scanner. Occasionally it would let me know that I was scanning too fast, so I simply slowed down my scanning.  So how good is this security? Well to let you know, that even if I were and Identical twin, we would both have different finger prints.  If I put a rubber glove on, I was denied access. My wife was denied access until I set her up. However, not being hackers, I entrusted a personal friend with hacking abilities to get by the security. With an external finger print scanner as his only piece of hardware, he tried desperately to hack in via the USB device. This was to no avail. After 1 hour, he gave up. The data was once again, SAFE.

One quid pro quo is that if you have sustained any type of injury to any finger, or rather finger print area, you may have trouble setting this up. I am not saying it will be impossible, but you may be putting extra time into it.

So how about all its resistances? Well, the first test done was a drop test. From a height of 3”, the laptop was pushed off a table on to the hardwood floor. After it hit, it was still on, and all functions worked. The laptop was un scathed.

We tested water resistance/spill resistance. While I would never pour gallons of liquid over any thing electronic, or submerse it in water, I did take a spray bottle of water and heavily squirted it. Before letting it air dry, I did try some basic tasks, including using the fingerprint recognition. It all worked flawlessly.

After it was air dried, it was time for the third test for shock resistance. This was two fold. The first test was done by my standing (full weight of 245lbs) straight on it for 5 minutes. The second was dropping a standard masons brick on it 3x. After both tests, the laptop was power failed and restarted. The finger print scanner was in perfect working order, as was the screen and the case.

The laptop itself without the resistances is a great piece of technological advancement. It incorporates Windows 7 premium which is the top of the line for Microsoft. It has dual 500gig hard drives that allow splitting of work vs. personal data/apps. The processor is the lightning fast Intel Core 2 Duo 1066. It has 4 usb 2.0 ports as well as a multi-in-one card reader. The internal CD-R/DVD drive is lockable to prevent jarred opening and is just as shock proof as the rest of the pc. Its standard 5 hr battery life tested out to 5.6 for me with general use.  It even has an antenna jack for optional gps based equipment (hence its Military and Law Enforcement use). It is wireless ready for all networks. Its full spec sheet can be seen here.

There may be a slight cost prohibition for this as a household purchase, as the MSRP is $1820. That being said, a toddler can do a lot of damage to electronics J. So weighing the cost with the benefits, this may very well be the last laptop a house hold buys. Again though, the main use for this is Military and Law Enforcement or any other industry that needs the toughest of the tough. Either way, whatever the reason, any user of this or ANY GammaTech laptop will NOT go unsatisfied.

You can see more and even purchase one at Amazon.com