In Brief

The Toughbook 74's claim to fame is that it is, well, tough! If you're prone to dropping your laptop, often use it outdoors, or just plain hate scratched up cases, the Toughbook's rugged magnesium alloy case with plastic side and corner bumpers, shock-mounted hard drive, covered ports and spill-resistant keyboard and touchpad will have obvious appeal. All that sturdiness adds somewhat to size and weight, but at 6 lbs. for a 13.3-inch model, it's not a huge penalty. Since the built-in handle means you can do without a case, you may even come out ahead on total weight.

For the mobile warrior, however, the Toughbook 74 has a lot more to recommend it. The whopping 8-hour battery is the best we've seen as standard equipment. The screen is a daylight-readable touchscreen, making it good for sitting outside at Wi-Fi cafes or using in the field, and dual Wi-Fi and broadband cellular WAN cards mean you can get connected anywhere. The Intel Core Duo processor is also state-of-the-art. The only serious drawbacks are price (high even before you pay extra for the Bluetooth option), and the large, heavy power brick. If you need a wireless laptop that can stand up to a beating, as well as the elements, the Toughbook has little competition, however.

In Depth

So do you really need a Toughbook? Even if you're not taking it on safari, the protection can be valuable. The last time I put my notebook in an airline overhead compartment, the screen cracked inside its padded case, thanks to the seatmate who came in later and jammed his own bag in on top of mine. After a $1,000 repair bill, I've been careful to always put it under the seat in front of me, and carry around a much sturdier bag. But it would be nice not to have to worry about all that, as well as the possibility of losing data due to an accidental drop.

On the wireless front, the Toughbook offers 801.11a/b/g support with its Intel Centrino chipset as standard equipment. Bluetooth is optional, as is a WAN module for cellular data access. Our test unit came with Verizon broadband EV-DO access in the form of an embedded Sierra Wireless 3G modem. Other cell modem options include Sprint EV-DO, EDGE (with an external SIM slot), and Cingular HSDPA. Globetrotters should go with the GSM-based EDGE or HSDPA options for worldwide roaming. You'll need to sign up for a cell data contract, of course, in addition to paying a premium for the modem. Both Sprint and Verizon charge about $80 per month, or $60 with a voice plan. Verizon also offers a $15 day pass option for laptops like the Toughbook with embedded EV-DO, a real boon for those who use it on an infrequent basis and don't want to sign up for a two-year contract. (You can't get this deal with an add-in EV-DO card.)

Wireless performance was excellent. We got great range and rock-solid stability from the Wi-Fi chipset, and even better reception from the EV-DO module (which is piggybacked onto the outer right side of the case). There is a pop-up antenna for EV-DO, although we didn't even need it to get full 400Kbps downstream (125 upstream) throughput even indoors in a residential area with only two bars of signal strength (out of four). We had to use Broadband Reports' DSL Speed Test to gauge performance, since it was too fast for the Mobile Speed Test we've used in the past for measuring cell data throughput. Outdoors, with four bars of signal strength, we managed almost 1Mbps. A really terrific touch is that there are two lights at the front of the case showing which wireless connections are active.

The one disappointment was with the Sierra EV-DO Watcher software, which is supposed to be able to manage Wi-Fi connections as well as EV-DO. Since you probably want to turn off Wi-Fi when using EV-DO, and vice versa, using one application to manage both is easiest. But when we told Watcher to manage Wi-Fi, it could not see the Centrino chipset, even though it correctly grabbed Wi-Fi control from Windows Zero Config. Hopefully there is a fix for this. Otherwise, the Watcher software is convenient and simple to use. Just open it and click the Connect button to start an EV-DO session. Signal strength, network type (EV-DO or CDMA), and transmission rates are all shown clearly on a small panel that can be set to "float" in front of other windows.

We were also disappointed that Bluetooth is not standard equipment on the Toughbook, but you can add it as an extra-cost option. Our test machine did not have it.

On the plus side, we can't say enough good things about that 8-hour battery. While your mileage will be less with heavy wireless use or continuous DVD playback, it still lasts nearly twice as long as most notebooks in its class, and should stand up to a coast-to-coast plane trip with no problem. The machine also runs very cool, so is easily lappable.

Thanks to the Intel Core Duo processor, the machine is zippy, although it does not have gaming-class graphics. If you do heavy photo or video work, you'll want to look elsewhere, but for business presentations and DVD playback, the Toughbook is all you need and then some. The LCD screen is 1,024-by-768 pixels, external monitors up to 2,048-by-1,436 are also supported through the VGA port. We didn't have occasion to use the touchscreen much, but we can see it coming in handy for field work and presentations.

The Toughbook also has an excellent complement of ports for expandability, one of the best we've seen. While it doesn't have a FireWire port, it does have two USB ports, one on each side, gigabit Ethernet, a serial port, a 56K modem, and a unique tandem pair of PC Card and ExpressCard/54 slots. Most laptops have one or the other, forcing you to choose between old technology, or future technology with few uses as yet. With the Toughbook, you have the best of both worlds: you can use that high-speed Wi-Fi card you bought to match your MIMO router, as well as coming ExpressCards. The ExpressCard slot is even the wider 54mm variety, rather than the slimmer 34mm, so you can use either 54mm or 34mm cards in it. Most laptops only have the 34mm slot.

The Toughbook's keyboard is pretty standard, but we found the touchpad buttons small and hard to get used to. The combo DVD player/CD recorder is on the side, so it doesn't spit discs into your lap, one of our laptop pet peeves. Audio jacks are on the front for easy acccess. Other interface options include a fingerprint reader and Smart Card slot, although our test machine did not have these. If you are concerned with data security in field work, the Toughbook's security options are hard to beat. There's also a locking hard drive. You'll pay extra for these, though, driving the cost of an already pricey laptop even higher.

If you're looking for a ruggedized notebook with go-anywhere wireless options, the Toughbook is hard to beat. For mobile travelers, other hard-to-find features like the touchscreen, comprehensive security options, and long-life battery make it even more attractive. You'll just pay dearly for the privilege of ownership.