(Gammatech) Durabook 15TS with transflective (outdoor viewable) screen treatment

I buy a laptop maybe every 3 years. I tried to buy HP again this time, but HP took 5 weeks or more to not send me the Elitebook 8540w for which I'd happily given them my credit card number, and so they cost me work, and so I couldn't wait any longer.

I wanted semi-rugged, between 15 and 16 inches in screen size, the ability to use my screen outdoors for some purposes, if possible, and a few other things.

I spent maybe just shy of $3000, including some additional warranty and I think 3 gig of RAM and a faster processor (though they did not seem to offer the latest Intel i7?) that I got somewhat talked into because they did not offer the middle-ground processor that I originally ordered.

I have only briefly tried the outdoor-viewability of the screen, but it seemed to work ok.

This machine for me is my first step in using System 7 32 bit, having used XP for nearly a decade now, so most of my first-3-weeks ownership issues have involved getting used to system 7. If I am happy with certain things that are basically about System 7, I think it's worth being aware that it would have been equally as good if I'd spent $600 at Walmart for an el-cheapo laptop.

I considered ordering this with a solid-state drive, but in the end, it was too far outside the mainstream for now.

I've called tech support once or twice. The wi-fi went out briefly and we thought maybe it was hardware, but it wasn't, and it seemed to come back fine. The main point there is that they answered the phone and worked with me a bit. So, good.

So far, regardless of judging whether I overpaid for a semi-rugged 15+ inch laptop with an outdoor-useable screen, I think one feature appears to be very poor (worth suggesting that the company research whether it is just me complaining or if others see it needing improvement), and two other things seem worth suggesting. (Bearing in mind that nothing is wrong with my computer yet... these are initial fallible criticism points from one user):

The poor feature is the keyboard. I am close to saying it's "totally unacceptable" but I'll leave the door open that I may be mis-perceiving things.

My heart sank a bit when I saw the keyboard. I don't know if it will withstand a spill from liquid, as semi-rugged would seem to indicate, but that's not the point. The other thing it needs to withstand are my fingers. I've been through two or three HP keyboards over the last 6 years. My nails (which are trimmed reasonably, so that is not the issue) and fingers tend to catch on the spaces under and around the keys and rip them out, and then you are left with some answer about supposedly sending the computer in for repair.... many computer manufacturers have insufficient respect for one's downtime... and avoiding downtime is why I bought "semi-rugged".

This keyboard does not appear to be that much different from my last HP consumer-grade Pavilion laptop keyboard, and I had to go to ProtectCovers.com and get a keyboard skin, right away, along with a replacement. Maybe $30 for the two, and it's not fitted to the keyboard, meaning that my experience of typing for the next several years will be diminished. This type of skin is what put an end to the ridiculous HP keyboard mishaps, and I can't risk the mishaps and downtime with this new laptop.

By contrast, for example, it looks to me like the keyboards on Macbooks seem to not have these gaps and probably wouldn't have these downtime issues. It's hard to say without using one extensively. I don't know if they'll withstand a spill. I'd like, of course, for a keyboard to withstand spills, hard-hitting fingers and nails, and everything else, over years and years, particularly in a semi-rugged computer.

Also, the left-hand CTRL key on the Durabook is quite small and difficult to hit accurately. I have never felt a need to complain about a specific key, but the size and placement of that one has really been getting in the way of doing things.

Also, I noticed that Toshiba and perhaps others offer 15+ inch laptops with full numerical keypads, and so it's a bit of a sacrifice at this point to choose not to get one.

I called the company immediately to suggest they work on a better design for the keyboard. They did say that in theory the keys would snap back on if they came off, but I hope I don't have to test this. Still, if that's really strongly true, it would largely defuse my disappointment. They also did not seem to agree that the keys might come off just from normal use. In tentatively disagreeing with them, I'm just going by my personal physical impression and experience. I found their response a little concerning since the keyboard of a semi-rugged computer must be a focus of making sure that it will withstand a lot, but i guess if they claim that normal use does not result in mishaps, then maybe they are just saying what they see.

My other two points:

It's arguable the company could perhaps do a better job of researching how to get their computer into the mainstream for third-party vendors. For example, I'd like to use my Kensington AC-DC converter with the laptop, but I think this would take things outside of warranty, and Kensington does not seem to have heard of Durabook/Gammatech.

There aren't some of the bells and whistles I would have received by simply getting a decent Sony at Best Buy. For example, the computer is missing a conventional mute button and volume controls, but it is not completely lost, because these are incorporated on the keyboard using the Fn key.

If I have to give up bells and whistles and lots of buttons and what-not, most of which will go unused for the life of the device for semi-ruggedness and speed and so-on, that's fine and possibly even a positive. Still, even when I use this fn solution, I don't seem to see an integrated on-screen indicator of volume, so that one issue could use a bit of work?

Another quick point: two of the ports (ethernet, phone) came with a small rubber protector, while the other ports had nothing. The one protector was not tied to the computer and so was essentially waiting to get lost from the moment it arrived. I just looked and it is gone. So that lasted 3 weeks and then bye-bye. I think in a fully rugged computer it might have come with a full boat of port protectors (a wild guess). Tied-to-the-computer?

How much would it have cost for this computer? How hard would it be to tie them to the computer? Just asking.

Good points:

The main issue, after all, is that if the computer doesn't have hard drive issues over three or four years, and basically lasts and works nicely for that period of time, that will be good. It's hard to "prove a negative", but the bottom line for this purchase will be more proven out over time?

Yes, the construction does appear solid. It is hard to judge this, since it is just a matter of appearance, but solid construction with appropriate hard drive and motion isolation is part of what you are paying for here. The computer is quite heavy, which in this case is sort of a good thing (indicating the use of metal and such, as advertised?). There is an upper part to the keyboard that seems plasticy-flexible, that may be a design issue, as to moisture-barriers.

Coming back to the transflective screen, if my outdoor use results in a changed impression, I'll try to post that point, but so far, it seems good and since around $400 or $500 went to this extra screen treatment (which requires that they send the computer out to another party), and since I would likely have gone with HP or Toshiba if not for this extra, I'll re-emphasize it as a positive. I don't get the sense that I can just go out in the full-blown Arizona sunshine and use it for hours without straining my eyes, but I do get the sense that you can make a decent case for classifying this screen as outdoor viewable, as they have done. For example, if one needs to work for awhile, one can try to find a bit of shade. If I really come up with additional different impressions, once having used this feature more, I'll try to post.

If other users can share their thoughts on keyboards, whether for the Durabook or maybe really good solutions they've found to mediocre designs such as from some HP Laptops, I would be curious to hear if they think I am way off in seeing this as a negative in the Durabook. Maybe, even though it feels like an accident waiting to happen, it is more robust than I realize. I am presently using it with a generic (non-fitted) protectcovers.com skin on it, as I have used my laptops for the last 3 years or so.

 

Ownership update December 19, 2010:

I have now owned the computer for about 3 quarters.

As I feared, the keyboard has proven to be tragically less-than-worthy. I had removed the skin that I traditionally keep on it (starting with the HPs I had so much trouble with over the last 5 years) in the somewhat naive hope that this keyboard was different (even though it appeared to be very similar, if not identical, to the utterly lousy keyboard that came with my last consumer-grade HP().

For a few months it was ok, and then in the last few weeks, twice keys have popped off. Never mind that I popped them back on. Keys on a $3000+ so-called "semi-rugged" laptop should not "pop off" a keyboard from normal use from a heavy typist. It's possible that this "popping off" process would never result in a broken key that can't be popped back on, but I can't take that risk, since when that happens, the keyboard has to be replaced.

So, I have re-installed the keyboard skin that has always been my compromise solution to this, and I will use the Durabook for its lifetime this way, although it is dirty (the skin gets beat up) and annoying. Presumably that will be one or two more years, maybe a few more, and then I will get out of Durabook to buy another laptop that has a superior keyboard design, even if it costs a lot less.

I don't know what the other Durabook keyboards are like. Presumably their rugged computers and perhaps their other semi-rugged and if they have business-rugged computers, they are not burdened with this botched keyboard design. So, maybe it is just this one model. As I said, maybe the keys would always pop back on, and I am just being paranoid. I am known for being a bit demanding and even off-base in some of my computer ownership (I am not technically savvy, really) and I say that just to give the reader some counter-balancing perspective so it is not just about some semi-unhappy owner.

Other features have functioned fairly well. I dropped the computer once from a height of about 10 inches to a carpeted floor and do not seem to have damaged it. The screen (with the extra money I put into it) indeed is a very good laptop screen. I have called tech support a couple of times and they have been responsive. I once observed the laptop to shut down when I pulled some very minor G's settling into a bed, so I took this as some sort of oddball good sign that the hard drive sensor (if one is in there, I don't remember) might be functioning properly to sense if the computer is dropped.

The computer is comparatively heavy and just a tad too large for the cases I have bought for previous 15 inch laptops, but getting a decent case these days is no big deal. At just under 16 inches, it is not overly large for me to use on an airplane, but that's just me.

jl