14 DAY TRIAL // Even though NEC is better known outside of Japan thanks to its professional computer monitors and projectors, the company is also building a range of rugged notebooks that are released in the ShieldPRO series, this lineup just receiving a new 12.1-inch member.
NEC's latest notebook solution is dubbed the ShieldPRO N22G and its rugged construction enable it to withstand even the roughest environments known to men, with temperatures ranging from -20 to +50 Celsius.
Sand also isn't an issue, and the laptop can also survive falls from up to 90cm onto concrete or water being sprayed from a 6.3mm nozzle.
Outside of the rugged construction, the notebook also features some pretty impressive hardware specs as it comes equipped with an Intel Core i7-660UE processor paired with 4GB of system memory.
The 660UE is a last generation Core chip with a base frequency of 1.33GHz, 2.4GHz maximum Turbo, two processing cores, Hyper-Threading support, all fitted inside an 18W TDP.
Intel's processor is controlled by the Intel QM57 chipset and NEC allows its customers to configure the ShieldPRO N22G with a large series of HDD and SSD options.
The rest of the specs list includes SD card/Memory Stick Duo slots, three USB ports, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet and a dual language (English/Japanese) keyboard. The 12.1-inch screen has a resolution of 1,024×768 pixels and is LED backlit.
Despite its rugged design, the ShieldPRO N22G weights just 2.7kg (a bit less than 6 pounds) and can provide up to 12 hours of battery life. NEC's rugged notebook can run either Windows XP or Windows 7.
The ShieldPRO N22G is already available in Japan, but no information regarding an international release of this notebook is available. However, the previous model, the N22A, actually did make its way outside Japan. (via TechCrunch)