If the market for ruggedised notebooks is niche, that for ruggedised tablet PCs is a niche in the wall of the other niche. Posh couriers spring to mind as one profession where stylus input is useful, but there are much simpler devices available, so it really comes down to the military, emergency services and field agents.

Getac is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitac, and specialises in a range of ruggedized laptops. The V100 is a diminutive laptop, with a 10.4-inch or wide 12.1-inch touch-screen, which can be used in the conventional way with a keyboard - suitably waterproofed - or as a tablet with its tethered, telescopic stylus. The screen swivels through 180 degrees and folds down over the keyboard when you want to use the machine as a Tablet PC. The touch-screen works well with the stylus, but isn't that sensitive to a fingertip.

The notebook certainly looks the part, with ruggedly indented edges to the lid and body and rubber corner protectors for its magnesium alloy frame, to guard against knocks. For those who recognise the numbers, it's compliant with the US military spec MIL-STD-810F. We're surprised the rubber covers to the numerous peripheral sockets got through this, though, as they're a bit flimsy, and the recharger hasn't had any of the same waterproofing as the laptop itself, in fact it could have come from any £500 portable.

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Like most ruggedised notebooks, the processing spec is a bit behind the leading edge. Based on a 1.2GHz Intel Core Duo, it comes with 512MB of memory and a 120GB SATA hard drive. This should be OK to run Windows XP, though you might want to take the memory up to 1GB. In use, the machine performed reasonably quickly, though we didn't try running a game or DVD movie, mainly because the V100 doesn't come with a CD or DVD drive of any kind. As some recompense, there's a PC Card slot which can take two Type IIs or one Type III.

The laptop is well endowed on the connection side, with gigabit Ethernet, 802.11g WiFi and Bluetooth, so you should be able to link into most networks for which you have permission. There's a 1.3-megapixel Web-cam fitted, too, which can look forwards or backwards.

Because the notebook is watertight, there's no access for cooling air, so the whole system has to do without fans. This means it's silent, but also that the case itself gets quite warm when the V100's working hard.

For all the quibbles, this is still a desirable piece of kit. If you need to use a notebook in a rough environment - building site, mountain/cave rescue, primary school - you probably have a legitimate reason to buy. Even if you just fancy a Hummer but have more sense, the V100 does most things a good Tablet PC will do and won't make a lot of fan noise in a library. The price tag is the main detracting factor.