Rugged tablet for military use
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

The ROCKY Patriot DR7-M is a military version of the ROCKY Apex mobile computer. Like the Apex, it is a compact, lightweight and yet fully rugged tablet. It has a touchscreen and uses Windows XP, albeit not the Tablet Edition that requires an active digitizer. The Apex measures just 9.8 x 7.4 inches and is 1.65 inches thick. It weighs a bit over four pound, so it's no larger or heavier than the civilian edition. The housing is made of magnesium, in military green, and the whole design is sealed to IP54 specifications. The unit is built both to MIL-STD 810F and MIL-STD 461E specifications for resistance to rain, shock, humidity, vibration, salt fog, altitude and extreme temperatures.

Like the Apex, the DR7-Mx offers surprising expansion flexibility. There are two PC Card Type II slots as well as an internal mini PCI slot, with an option to add two more mini PCI slots inside. Onboard connectivity is limited to a USB port, a serial port ad LAN, but that can be greatly expaanded with the optional "Docklight" stand/cradle that adds 4 USB ports, audio, and two serial ports (including RS-422 and RS0485 options) and lots more. The display is an 8.4-inch SVGA LCD with AMREL's Alpha-Star sunlight readable anti-reflective technology. A powerful second battery snaps onto the back of the device.

How does the military version differ other than color and testing according to additional standards? Well, memory is expandable to 2GB, the removable hard disk has a heater, as does the touchscreen. There is a military connector, the programmable function keys along the front of the unit glow, and there is a 8GB solid state drive option.