Amrel Rocky II
The Amrel Rocky II is a representative of the re-emerging class of rugged pen-enabled clamshell notebooks. It is manufactured by Amrel Systems, Inc., an Arcadia, CA corporation that's building test and measurement programmable power products, telecommunications test equipment, and ruggedized notebook computers.
The first time we saw the Rocky II at the recent PDA and Handheld Utility Conference in Denver, we couldn't actually touch the computer. It was running a demo program under a steady stream of water that was simulating a monsoon of four inches of rain an hour. The Rocky never stopped. That, and the fact that it is available with a pen/touch screen, attracted our attention.
Elegant toughness
Think of the Amrel Rocky as sort of an Arnold Schwarzenegger version of the IBM ThinkPad and you wouldn't be too far off. Unlike many rugged computers, the Rocky - albeit tough enough to duke it out with any other rugged computing device - is actually an attractive unit that displays a lot of attention to detail. We don't usually resort to promotional literature when assessing a computer's qualities, but in this case the PR folks at Amrel hit it on the nose: "With its aluminum alloy outer shell, it has the toughness of a military tank, yet offering the refinement of cutting edge computer technology all in a sleek, lean 9.5-pound package." Now you could argue that 9.5 pounds isn't exactly lean, but consider that this is only 2.5 pounds more than the all-too-fragile ThinkPad which the Rocky also approximates in size. And speaking of sleek and style, the Rocky does offer the sort of finish you'd normally only expect from polished consumer products. It's almost good enough to earn a spot in the museum of modern art (or technology, if there is such a thing). In addition, though our review unit was all black, you can get the Rocky with all of the protective rubber on dent and high impact areas in bright yellow, which provides the unit with the attention grabbing appeal of a Hummer with a custom paint job.
Technologically up-to-date
Amazingly, this rough tough notebook doesn't just look like Arnold Schwarzenegger's ThinkPad, it actually is faster than the spiffy ThinkPad 765 that's sitting on my desk. Amrel prides itself at not only keeping up with technology in its rugged offerings, but remaining as close to the state-of-the-art as is practical and feasible in a computer of this nature. Our Rocky came with an Intel Pentium MMX processor running at 200MHz and it was one of the fastest 200MHz system we've seen to date.
If you want the pen interface, you need to order your Rocky with the 12.1-inch 800 x 600 SVGA TFT screen. If you can live without the touch screen, Amrel also offers a 13.3-inch XGA 1024 x 768 TFT that's supposed to be sunlight readable. As appealing as sunlight readability sounds, in general we prefer 12.1-inch SVGA screens to 13.3-inch XGAs where everything looks just a bit too small. XGA resolution really needs a 15-inch screen. The video subsystem comes with 4MB of display RAM and can also drive an external CRT in Super XGA mode (1280 x 1024). The Rocky uses a passive touch screen which means you can use any old stylus. The digitizer reacts well to finger touch but the cursor is somewhat jittery when you use a stylus. Amrel doesn't use Microsoft's pen extensions and the unit doesn't come with handwriting recognition software. If you need a pop-up keyboard, you may want to download the one from stg.net. Our unit came with a removable 2.2GB hard drive. Larger drives, up to 5.1GB, are optional.
Great touchpad
The Rocky's integrated touch pad can be operated even when your hands are wet. No moisture or static electricity problems here. This touch pad really works. The left and right "mouse" buttons are encased and sealed in thick rubber (like any exposed part of the Rocky) and requires a good amount of pressure to activate.
Sealed keyboard
The Rocky's keyboard is a completely sealed full-size 89-key affair that even has an integrated sand and dust cover. The extra layer takes a bit of getting used to - a very minor inconvenience if you ever need to type a report in the desert. If you need a keyboard that's visible in the dark, Amrel offers that as an option. Its layout is identical to the non-lit keyboard.
Like the 7xx series of ThinkPads, the Rocky features a multi-purpose bay that can accommodate either a 24X CD-ROM drive, a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, a 120MB LS-120 floppy drive, or a second Li-Ion battery pack. The bay opens to the right side of the unit, an arrangement I prefer to the ThinkPad's front opening. We tested all modules except for the 120MB drive, and they all worked flawlessly. A nice touch is that the floppy drive can also be plugged into the parallel port. This way you don't have to remove the second battery or CD-ROM drive if you need to use the floppy drive for a few minutes.
Our unit came with the standard 32MB of RAM, about the minimum required to run Windows 95 these days. RAM is expandable to 128KB. 512KB of Level-II cache contribute to the brisk performance. A battery of no less than nine control lights annunciate a variety of system activities. Like most modern notebooks, the Rocky is audio-enabled and has stereo speakers - fully sealed ones, of course.
Interface galore
The Rocky's relatively large size also means that all important interface ports are built into the unit rather than requiring a port replicator or a dock. They are mounted on the left side and the rear of the unit. Each port has its own separate tethered rubber plug. This means that the Rocky's non-used ports remain completely sealed even if some of them are used. On the left are a phone jack for the optional internal modem, an external speaker jack, two PS/2-style ports for mouse and keyboard, a microphone jack, a LAN jack, and one that's reserved for other purposes. The Rocky's heavy duty left flank also features access to two Type II PC Card slots (or one Type III). Another OC Card slot is inside the unit for system expansions such as radio modems. The IrDA port, finally sits on top of the PC Card bay.
The rear of the unit features two COM ports, a parallel port, a VGA-out port, a floppy drive port, and a DC power jack with a screw mount so that it can't pull out accidentally.
Powering all of the Rocky's muscular features isn't a job for a wimpy power pack, and Amrel knows that, too. The standard battery is a beefy 3500mAH NiMH pack. The optional second battery uses Li-Ion technology and packs a 4200mAH punch. Amrel claims 2-1/2 hours of battery life from the main battery.
Reasonably priced
All of this has its price, though it's comparatively modest considering the degree of power and quality you get in a Rocky. The base system costs US$4,995. Our unit, equipped with the 200MHz processor, 32MB RAM, touch screen, fax modem, floppy drive, CD-ROM bay, secondary Li-Ion battery, and carry case listed for US$6,625. For just a US$100 more, you can get your Rocky with a 233MHz processor; and Amrel also offers an office or vehicle "DockUnder" for US$420 that includes another two PC Card slots, replicates some of the ports, and auto-charges the unit.
An impressive product
Where would one use an Amrel Rocky II computer? In any situation that requires full, no compromise computing power in the field. The Rocky doesn't cut any corners. Anything a top-of-the-line IBM ThinkPad on a mahogany desk can do, the Rocky can do as well. The unit's extraordinary ruggedness and clever, flexible sealing mean that it can be used just about anywhere. Its controls are very flexible as well, what with pen input, one of the best touch pads we've ever used, and the ability to plug in a mouse as well.
- Conrad H. Blickenstorfer
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