Acer launches new Enduro line of ruggedized laptops and tablets

Acer announced a new line of ruggedized devices today, marking a venture into a new segment of the laptop market. Dubbed the “Enduro” series, the new rugged laptops and tablets are targeted squarely at first responders, manufacturing workers, and others that need a tough mobile device to get their job done.

The Acer Enduro N7 features a bright 14-inch, 700-nit display that should offer great visibility in outdoor environments. The laptop bears MIL-STD-810G and IP65 certifications, making it drop- and dust-resistant with some resistance to splashes of water. The Enduro N7 also features a hot-swappable battery (rated at 10-hours) and a built-in bridge battery. Inside, the Enduro N7 is powered by an 8th Gen Intel Core i5 CPU with TPM 2.0 for security. 

For those that need a durable laptop in a smaller package, the Enduro N3 offers many of the same features of the N7 in a reasonably thin and light chassis. Weighing in at 1.985 kg (4.37 lb) and measuring 24.85 mm (0.98 in), the Enduro N3 sports the same MIL-STD-810G certification as the N7. The N3 also has an IP53 certification. The N7 runs on a 10th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, an optional Nvidia GeForce MX230 GPU, 32 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 512 GB PCIe Gen3 NVMe SSD. Battery life is rated at 13 hours.

Acer also announced three new rugged tablets, the Enduro T5, Enduro T1 ET110-31W, and Enduro T1 ET108-11A. The T5 is a 10-inch Windows tablet with a swappable battery rated at 10 hours, a 7th Gen Intel Core m3 CPU, and both MIL-STD-810G and IP65 certifications. The T5 is compatible with accessories like docking stations, shoulder straps, car chargers, and more.

The Enduro T1 ET110-31W is a 10-inch Windows tablet that is powered by an Intel Celeron CPU and 64 GB of eMMC storage. The ET110-31W sports MIL-STD-810G and IP54 certifications and can be used with an optional portfolio keyboard. The Enduro T1 ET108-11A, on the other hand, is a smaller 8-inch Android tablet with MIL-STD-810G and IP54 certifications. This rugged Android tablet has programmable hardware keys. Both variants of the T1 can be used with gloves. 

All of the rugged Windows machines will run the Acer Enduro Management Suite (AEMS), which offers a bevy of features including:

• programmable physical keys
• enabling/disabling I/O ports
• remote device monitoring
• remote deployment

The Acer Enduro N3 will launch in the EU in June at €999 and in North America in August at US$899. The other devices have not had set launch dates or prices as of press time. Keep in mind that specifications, prices, and availability will all vary by region.