Price: 2200- 2500 on release Review: http: //url. ie/3ex

"Cute and tough: this Versapro laptop from NEC can take up to 150kg of pressure. It's perfect for any person doing nothing but email and web browsing in a place where rocks can fall on one's head.

Panasonic Toughbook CF-74 Not the-best specced rugged laptop available, this comes with a 12.1-inch display and 1.2Ghz chip speed. There is 512mb of memory as standard and a maximum of 1GB of memory. 40GB hard drive and built in wireless.

Price: 2,892.96 from LaptopShop. co. uk Review: http: //url. ie/3ey

"Just as you wouldn't wear cowboy boots to a blacktie ball, you would probably never carry a rugged notebook into a mahogany-panelled boardroom. The Panasonic Toughbook CF-74 is an exception. This semi-rugged system is made for highly mobile people who are tired of replacing less-durable notebooks but want something that still looks, acts, and runs like a mainstream machine."

Itronix Hummer Laptop IX600 This is the big daddy of rugged laptops and reflects the hummer brand. Tough and trendy and a certain talking point, this laptop has power under the hood as well as built in GPS, unlike most of the competition.

The Hummer laptop can withstand drops (from 30 inches), strong vibrations, and extreme temperatures. It also has a spill-proof keyboard.

Price: Upwards of 3500 from Itronix. com Review: http: //url. ie/3ez

"What sounds like a marketing gimmick gone awry is actually a surprisingly powerful and tough little number-cruncher that can eat most other laptops for breakfast. At 5.6 pounds, the Itronix Hummer is portable enough to take on "ights, and it's guaranteed to turn heads wherever you choose to show it off. Just don't bring it to a Greenpeace rally."

PICK OF THE BUNCH:

Dell Latitude ATG D620 With a 2Ghz chip, a 14.1-inch display, 1GB of memory and the ability to boost it to 4GB, this is a powerhorse that you can treat mean and it'll still be keen. Better specs than all the rest at a very reasonable price. If you're the clumsy type then this is for you.

Price: 2,000 from Dell. ie Review: http: //url. ie/3f0 "Users of the ATG D620 will be smitten by the excellent 500 nit outdoor viewable screen. Even some consumers that like to work outside and tend to throw their laptop around might be tempted by the rugged aspects of the ATG D620. The performance and "exibility of the machine is very good, and it even looks better than the typical lunchbox look you see with other semi-rugged notebooks."