FW 7233PX FieldWorks Industrial Ruggedized Laptop

This FieldWorks FW 7233PX Industrial Ruggedized Laptop is designed to military specifications and upgradeable to withstand a variety of environmental hazards. With it, a field network for communication with your troops can be set up and your attack strategy can be planned. Whether bouncing over battlefields in a Hummer, flying through anti-aircraft flak in an A-10 or running through the jungle, with a FieldWorks computer by your side, it can take as much pounding as you do.

This portable computer provides the power and functionality of a desktop workstation in a heavy-duty, reasonably lightweight, mobile chassis. And, it will withstand all but the most serious blasts (or direct shrapnel hits) without experiencing so much as a hiccup during operation. At Comdex in November 1995, FieldWorks had a unit set up so that once every 10 seconds, it dropped four feet onto a wooden platform while running. In fact, FieldWorks representatives report that they routinely test machines by dropping them out of trees.

The FW 7233PX really is a workstation in the field, right down to the expansion slots in the back. The machine will hold up to three full-length or six half-length ISA cards, or a combination of PCI and ISA cards, depending on model.

The standard processor that ships with the system is a 100-MHz 80486/DX4. But you can obtain units with high-speed Pentium CPUs that come with a standard PCI bus. Memory is not as expandable as on a standard desktop computer, but the FW 7233PX can support more than most portables, with up to 64 MB using standard SIMMs.

Storage options on the FW 7233PX are numerous, including a 3.5 inch disc drive that sits under the system's flip-up keyboard. Additional options are up to a 1GB internal IDE hard drive that will withstand the same pounding as the rest of the machine and dual removable hard disks are another option.

FieldWorks also ruggedizes input devices. The keyboard is a solid, self-contained unit. The pointing device is a Field MousePad with integrated buttons and can double as a signature and drawing tablet. Both the keyboard and the mouse pad are sealed against dust and moisture.

The FW 7233PX can support a variety of video modes. Externally, it can support the full range of 640*480 pixels at 16 million colors to 1280*1024 at 256 colors. For the unit's own display, you can choose among a standard 10.4" dual-scan LCD (256 colors), a TFT active-matrix LCD (262,000 colors), a sunlight-readable transflective monochrome LCD or a sunlight-readable active-matrix LCD. All these units have 640*480 pixels. The display is in a rubber-coated ruggedized housing that nestles down into the chassis of the machine when it is closed.

The FW 7233PX has a single PC Card slot that will hold Type I, II, III and IV devices (such as network cards or removable hard disks). All connectors are gold-plated for anti-corrosion and they provide all connectivity options: an SVGA port, one enhanced parallel and two 9-pin serial ports, and PS/2-style keyboard and mouse ports.

The FW 7233PX can run on anything from a vehicle's cigarette lighter plug to standard American AC line input to global power sources (90 to 264 VAC, 50 or 60 Hz). You can get options for DC input and internal and external batter packs.