Getac B300: The Laptop World’s Ludicrously Expensive 007 Rig

Go anywhere, do anything, compute without fear. That’s what the new Getac B300 laptop promises, and we have a feeling it’s a promise that’s completely accurate. You see, this isn’t an ordinary laptop, but a James Bond-style piece of technology; a piece of rugged computing tech that wouldn’t seem at all out of place on the inside of a military transport or cockpit of a fighter jet.

The Getac B300 is a unique piece of technology from a company renowned for all things heavy duty. Designed for use in extreme situations, it’s fitted with just about every stealth and safety feature you could imagine. Its keyboard can withstand water, oil, and almost every other liquid nuisance; its keys can be blacked out for use in stealth night-time situations, and its rigid casing allows it to operate equally well in Arctic tundra or Arabian desert.

The B300 is obviously a machine with a specific audience in mind: 007 wannabes. While we can see its value as a piece of military computing equipment or a laptop for remote trekkers, is it really the type of device that deserves a consumer release? Prices begin at £3,900 and increase depending on your requirements, making the B300 a device that only the seriously adventurous – or seriously geeky – can afford.

Getac have made a point of highlighting their laptop’s capabilities, and for good reason. Their tech devices go beyond simple durability and enter a category that’s otherwise unknown to technology fans. The B300 has been designed to withstand repeated exposure to high-pressure water jets, stay operational through a sandstorm, and even survive a trip to the Siberian wilderness.

So it seems, quite fittingly so, a little ridiculous sitting inside your living room. While we certainly recognise the value in such a device for soldiers, adventurers, and international spies, it seems quite unlikely that any of these people would end up shopping for a consumer electronics device. The B300 is an absurd mixture of geeky features and useful protection, although its aimed squarely at an audience that’s unlikely to ever use it.

The laptop itself offers decent performance. The processor and memory are standard issue for a machine of its calibre, while the 3D graphics card is strangely absent. Portability and mobile usage are both surprisingly good, with the system’s battery holding out for almost seven hours in the field.

But as a piece of technology, it’s utterly infuriating to use. The keyboard is housed in a rubber enclosure, rendering all but the hardest presses utterly worthless. The system’s trackpad is equally insensitive, able to detect only the most defined and solid strokes. We can see the reasons for such limited usability, but as a consumer laptop it’s just bizarre that they’re included as such.

The Getac B300 is a very specific piece of equipment with an even more specific audience. It’s big, ugly, and an absolute nightmare to use for all but the most basic tasks, though we can’t help but like it at least a little bit. It is, after all, the Godzilla of portable computing.