IDG Contributor Network: Duel of the rugged notebooks

In North America, most rugged notebooks are sold by two companies: Panasonic and Dell. Panasonic, the traditional leader, launched the first commercially successful rugged notebook business in the autumn of 1996 and still has more than half the market for “full rugged,” the most robust category. Dell is the challenger, with a beachhead in full rugged and a solid position in “semi” rugged, the faster-growing business-class category. I’ve covered both companies over t