Aug/Sept 2007

A fully-rugged, ultra-light hybrid notebook/tablet PC called the V100 has been launched in the UK by Getac, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Mitac. Among more striking features is its rotatable 10.4in screen, which swivels to allow it to be converted between notebook and tablet formats. A 12.1in version is optional.

At the heart of the computer is a 1.2GHz Intel Core Duo processor, with 533 MHz Front Side Bus and 2MB Level 2 cache. This is matched to 512MB of DDR2 RAM memory, expandable to 2GB, and a serial ATA hard disk of 120GB, expandable to 160GB.

The sunlight-readable display is a polarised WXGA touch-screen TTF unit, which also houses a reversible integrated waterproof 1.3 megapixel camera. Connectivity features include Bluetooth 1.2 and WLAN as standard, while 3G and GPRS wireless links are available as upgrades.

In terms of robustness, the V100 is said to comply with both MIL-STD 810F and IP54 standards. It comes with a magnesium alloy casing, and has a shock-mounted removable hard drive that is shielded to prevent damage during operation. The computer is said to be capable of withstanding heavy rain and spillages, and to be immune to damage from airborne dust and debris.