A standard five-year warranty has been launched by rugged mobile computer manufacturer Getac, adding two years to its existing three-year warranty. It comes free on all new fully rugged notebook computers and tablets delivered from this year onwards.

Business development director Peter Molyneux says the change is intended to reflect customers' modified buying patterns, which have been prompted in part by the recession. 'Typically, computers have been upgraded on a three-year cycle,' he says, 'but with today's economic climate, customers are opting to keep assets into the fourth and fifth year.'

He says the extended warranty will help Getac users and corporate purchasing departments to plan IT budgets more effectively. 'We're providing the reassurance that the total cost of owning our products is essentially *all-inclusive' for five years.'

He maintains that the typical warranty from other manufacturers in this field is around three years.