Mark Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I would like to run a PC in the car for basic navigation and diagnostic purposes. Ideally it would be able to be used as a laptop or as a tablet - ie the type where the screen swivels round. The toughbooks seem like the ideal way to go, but having read various things over the years, the model numbers don't seem to run in sequence, or relate to the spec of the machine... is there some method to decoding them, or can someone suggest a model which is fairly small, compact and flippable between laptop and tablet modes? I have also seen toughbooks badged as panasonic or as toshiba - is there any difference? Are there any other ruggesdised tablet based PC's which maybe don't fetch the premium that a genuine toughbook would fetch? Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 You want a CF18 Mark. Friend just picked one up from Belgium via Eblag for £125. I gave the same for one last year. Very good for what you describe. I also have an older CF28 which does the nav side of stuff very well mtoo but is bigger, heavier and doesn't flip screen. It does however have a true touch screen (as opposed to a stylus touch screen). This will be for sale soon as I take some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
task Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 What requirements do you have for it to be a rugged device? Dust and shock? Damp? What sort of memory/processing/storage space requirements do you have? Does it have to be a certain OS? Dell have a newish tablet/desktop machine running Windows7 (could probably be made to run XP or Linux depending on touchscreen driver support). Inspiron Duo Spec the HDD as a solidstate and you've got something that should withstand shock. If your requirements lend themselves to other OS's then you could look at Android powered tablets; Asus Transformer With regards toughbooks, I'm not really sure what the differences are but Panasonic own the trademark "Toughbook" and this can either be a semi-rugged, rugged or tablet device. The ones I've looked at in the past have been very expensive for a low overall spec, mostly due to the construction used on them. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Would you like to try one of my CF18's (I have two that since getting an iPad, I rarely use). If you like it and want to keep it - it will be mucho-cheap! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Si, That would be most excellent! I shall drop round if that's OK? Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Would you like to try one of my CF18's (I have two that since getting an iPad, I rarely use). If you like it and want to keep it - it will be mucho-cheap! Si Si, could you pm me with how much your after for one of you cf18s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
101sean Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I have a CF18, use it all the time. I have a fabricated mount that hangs in the ashtray hole in the 110 dash that holds it in tablet mode when I'm using Memory Map or OziExplorer. I also like the fact that's it's pretty bulletproof. I'll replace it with similar when (and if) it dies, I use CAD packages and other stuff that rules out Ipads and the like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Sean, got any pictures of your mount? Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G4FUJ Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Somewhere out there is my CF-52 (stolen beginning of March when the house was broken into ). I'll keep an eye out for CF-18 - not seen one, but sounds useful for when I get the 90 back. Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
101sean Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 There's a Toughbook reseller on ebay. My mount Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Sean, That's really very simple and neat. Thanks Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJF Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Neat mount. I found this site useful when I was toying with Toughbooks.... http://toughbook.wikispaces.com/home Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 Cheers Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadler Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 [Without wanting to hijack this thread, and not intenended to be one of those never ending legal speculation threads either (especially since I have a mount capable of holding a touchscreen on my 90's dash)....] Are there any pieces of legislation that specifically prohibit displays that can be seen by the driver whilst he is operating the vehicle? Obviously there is the offence of driving without due care and attention which could apply to anything you do that causes distraction (looking down to read a map, headphones on, lighting a cigarette etc). I suppose what i'm asking is, like with specific mobile phone legislation is it an offence to have a screen in your vision whilst driving? If you are stopped for an other routine reason, would you be in breach of the law when the office saw the screen; not withstanding the fact that obviously it would look pretty bad if found to be a contributory factor to an incident. Mods if this is too far from the original poster's then feel free to remove/re post. I am just keen to know where people stand with the ever increasing amount of us putting LCDs into our vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Well I guess it is just a big satnav ..... but http://www.busseyvehicleleasing.co.uk/Is_Your_Sat-Nav_System_Breaking_the_Law.html makes an interesting read .... 'The legislation says the swept area of the windscreen must be kept clear and indeed the latest version of the Highway Code, also makes mention of new technology, pointing out that there might be a danger of a driver being distracted as a result of having equipment such as in car sat-nav systems.' Swept area of the screen is a bit subjective as it will depend on how tall the driver is and how the seat is positioned if mounted in the same way as 101seans due to differing viewing angles ..... Of course 101Sean is in Ireland so probably has a different set of laws with regards to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Hi, I'm also wanting to do some green laning and want a laptop/tablet for in the car, but I also want it for my evertday laptop. I've found it very difficult to search for a flippy screen laptop on google as I don't really know what they're called. I've obviously found the Dell Inspiron Duo and the toughbook, but not much else. My main spec is: - Flippy screen so it can be laptop and tablet. - Bigger that 10 inch screen (So rules the Dell out) - Decent processor (Dell one only has 1.something) - Doesn't mind being used in the car. - Can be used as normal 'PC'. You would have thought that other manufactures have designed flippy screen laptops or maybe they're not out yet! Let me know what you find! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthdicky Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Steve you probably want to search for a tablet PC. However unless you go for the latest Toughbook at £2k+ I don't think you'll find anything you'd want to use as an everyday machine. Much better to get an older toughbook for the car and a new £400 laptop with the latest processor etc. for everyday use. I found the iPad very good for laning in Spain as the touch part works very well but only when the routes had been pre-loaded to Google online and the whole route pre-cached, you really needed a separate GPS and laptop (or in our case the choice of another 5!) to cover different needs/programs. Most ebay Toughbooks would be fine as you don't really need much processing power to show a map on screen - obviously the quicker the better as it'll start up and allow you to zoom in/out quicker but the specs for mine are very low and it works fine. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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