Aug/Sept 2007

A ruggedised notebook said to be the smallest and lightest in its market has been launched by General Dynamics Itronix. The GoBook MR-1 combines the capability, power and general layout of a full-sized ruggedised laptop with the size and weight of a handheld, offering what the company is calling 'a compact, game-changing form factor'.

First things first: it measures just 4.3in by 6in, and is said to weigh only 2lb. Within that format it has a 5.6-in SVGA display, and it runs full Windows XP Pro operating system, not Windows CE or Windows Mobile. Windows Vista is due to be offered by the end of the year. It's a fully functional PC in a ruggedised ultra-small form factor, as the company puts it.

Other features include daylight-visible display, with optional DynaVue touch-screen daylight-readable technology; a MIL-STD 810F rating for temperature and drop, and an IP54 rating for dust and humidity resistance.

The processor is a 1.2Ghz Intel Core Solo U1400 processor with 533 MHz front side bus, up to 1 GB of RAM, and 16 GB or 32 GB solid state 'disk drive' options. There are three- and six-hour battery options, plus a lithium polymer extended battery pack.

Up to four wireless connections will be available by December, offering simultaneous WLAN, PAN, GPS and WWAN options.

All this capability doesn't come cheap; the recommended US price for the base version of $2,618. But at the moment the MR-1 doesn't exactly have many rivals.