General Dynamics Itronix GoBook MR-1

The General Dynamics Itronix GoBook MR-1 is one tough little notebook. Engineered to meet or exceed the military standard (MIL-STD-810F) for drop, shock, vibration, and temperature, it is well suited for field workers. While its $5,649 (as configured) price tag will give most consumers a severe case of sticker shock, the cost is not as big a factor for its target audience, who need a system that can be used outdoors and take a good amount of abuse.

Design

Weighing in at 2 pounds and measuring 6.6 x 4.8 x 1.6 inches, the GoBook MR-1 features a durable magnesium alloy clamshell chassis, shock-absorbing materials, and sealed ports to protect interior components. The device has an odd shape thanks to a GPS antenna (a $375 option) jutting out of the top left side of the brushed aluminum lid and a legacy keyboard slice (a $199 option) attached to the front edge of the keyboard deck. The slice contains a TPM security chip, an RS232 serial port, and a USB port.

Display

The 5.6-inch display has a native resolution of 1024 x 600 and has touchscreen capabilities. The screen is bright and offers good viewing angles, but you may want to bump up the font size to Extra Large—the Windows default size can be tough on the eyes. Thanks to Itronix’s DynaVue screen technology, the display looks just as good in bright sunlight as it does indoors, a must for field-service personnel. The touchscreen was responsive, but with such a small screen it’s easy to hit the wrong icon accidentally, especially if you have bigger fingers. Luckily, the GoBook MR-1 also comes with a stylus.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Like the rest of the unit, the keyboard deck is water-resistant and conforms to the IP54 specifications, meaning it will repel both rain and dust. The full QWERTY keyboard is understandably small but the keys are well spaced and comfortable for thumb-typing. We love the addition of a dedicated Ctrl+Alt+Del key, as well as a Zoom button that magnifies the screen 1.5 times. If that’s still not big enough you can hit Ctrl+Alt+M to increase the image up to ten times the original screen size.

On the upper right portion of the deck are a small touchpad and a joystick cursor controller; the left and right mouse buttons are off to the left. In between are a four-way direction pad and the power switch. The touchpad is responsive and smooth, but we found the joystick controller to be stiff and prone to cursor drifts.

All keyboard keys and controller buttons are backlit for optimal nighttime use. Standard ports are limited to a single USB port and a docking connector located on the rear of the unit. In addition to the optional slice on our review unit, Itronix can configure the GoBook MR-1 with a PC Card slice or a Multi-I/O slice ($399 each) if you require a PC Card slot or additional USB and FireWire ports. Docking options include an in-dash vehicle dock ($610), a mini office dock ($129), a remote I/O module for vehicle dock ($280), and a vibration-resistant pedestal mount dock ($739).