Fully rugged high-performance tablet offers multi-mode usage via detachable keyboard dock.
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

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On September 19, 2018, Getac introduced the K120, a fully rugged 12.5-inch tablet designed to meet the challenges faced by public safety personnel around the world, but suitable for numerous other demanding applications. Implemented as a "detachable laptop," the K120 can be used either as a tablet or in conjunction with an optional value-added keyboard dock that allows use as a full-function laptop. The K140 further shines with an all quad-core 8th generation Intel Core processor lineup of available CPUs.

The K120, of course, is Getac's answer to the Panasonic Toughbook 33. Both are hybrid solutions consisting of a self-contained tablet and an optional detachable keyboard that contains considerable additional functionality and connectivity. Panasonic called theirs a detachable laptop whereas Getac bills the K120 as a rugged tablet with enhanced versatility.

Either way, this type of design allows use as a "real" tablet as well as a "real" laptop. As such, the K120 will serve two important roles in Getac's lineup. The company now has a direct competitor to Panasonic's Toughbook 33. And it also has a true hybrid, which is important as detachable hybrids are a growing market segment. Finally, the K120 also adds a 12-inch class tablet to Getac's offerings, likely with an eye on Zebra's Xplore R12 and the big "Pro" tablets from Microsoft and Apple.

The pictures below show the various ways the Getac K120 can be used. Like all hybrid approaches this one is a compromise, neither completely fish nor fowl, but it absolutely addresses the needs of those who really want both. It is a full-function tablet, and with the keyboard dock it is full-function laptop, albeit one that is more complex than a traditional laptop.

Now let's look at the tech specs. Here, the K120 excels at the processor front, offering a powerful choice of all-quad-core CPUs from Intel's 8th generation of Core processors. No more lower-end processor options that can still run Windows 7. The K120 is all Windows 10, looking into the future and not the past. The table below shows processor specs. These chips are relatively close together, all high-performance, and so the choice may come down to whether or not a customer needs Intel's vPro technology for enhanced security and remote management.

The K120 comes with up to 32GB of fast DDR4 RAM and up to 1 terabyte of AES encrypted solid state storage. The specs do not say if the SSDs are SATA or PCIe based, something that would make a big difference in overall performance.

The K120 display is of the IPS variety, which means it has virtually perfect viewing angles from all directions. Its 12.5-inch size and 1920 x 1080 pixel full-HD resolution match Xplore's R12 tablet, and its 1200 nits luminance matches the Panasonic Toughbook 33 (but not the Toughbook's higher 2160 x 1440 resolution). There's, of course, 10-point capacitive multi-touch, a hard tip stylus, and an optional active digitizer.

Due to weight and space issues, battery capacity is always a tricky thing with tablets. So here Getac followed Panasonic's model with two small standard batteries that allow this relatively large tablet to stay just below four pounds. Dual batteries make for quick and easy hot-swapping. If weight isn't an issue and battery life is, Getac also offers much beefier extended batteries with more than twice the capacity.

Given its intended deployments, the K120's emphasis is more on functionality and performance than minimum size and weight. The tablet/keyboard combo weighs about 7.2 pounds, only half a pound less than Getac's B300 laptop with its 13.3-inch display and massive battery.

Used as a tablet, the Getac K120 offers very adequate I/O. USB 3.0 and Type-C 3.1 are there, as are a LAN jack, HDMI, audio and optional antenna pass-throughs. Use in conjunction with the detachable keyboard adds plenty more: another three USB 3.0 ports, another LAN jack, another HDMI port, and also serial and VGA.

With security becoming an ever-growing concern, Getac equipped the K120 with TPM 2.0 and a physical cable lock slot, made it NIST BIOS compliant, and offers optional optional Absolute DDS software, Smart Card reader, fingerprint reader, or HF RFID reader.

The Getac K120 is billed as a fully rugged device. That includes IP65 sealing (dustproof, and immune to low pressure water jets from all directions) and a very wide operating temperature range of -20 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit, and the claim to be "certified to MIL-STD 810G." We'd like to see more specifics in the specs. Most customers probably would, too.

With the new K120, Getac now has a direct competitor to Panasonic's Toughbook 33, and one that beats the Toughbook on the processor front. That was needed, and also further expands Getac's increasingly complete lineup of rugged computers for most conceivable applications in harsh, demanding environments. -- Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, September 2018