ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Getac K120 G3 starts at $2,939 with bulk and enterprise customer offerings and customizable options.
- The display looks great in all conditions, the touchscreen is responsive, the battery life is solid, and the port options are extensive.
- The tablet is heavy and bulky, but that’s to be expected given its rugged features.
A few years ago, I purchased a couple of Samsung Galaxy Tab Active tablets for my team supporting construction of three new passenger ferries in Florida. I’ve used rugged tablets in the past and had good experience with Samsung, thinking these were the best option for my needs.
Also: The best rugged tablets you can buy: Expert tested
For the past few weeks, I’ve been using the Getac K120 fully rugged tablet<!–> and my eyes have been opened to what a premium rugged tablet can be. This third-generation K120 comes with an Intel 13th generation Raptor Lake Core processor and offers an incredible amount of options.
Beyond the extremely robust hardware, Getac offers a three-year warranty and a service program that ensures customers will be taken care of in the event of an incident. The company even offers a pooled warranty option so that you can purchase warranties for a subset of your gear — this means you don’t have to purchase warranties for all of your hardware and still get help for those that have issues or break.
The Getac K120 G3 has a 12.5-inch 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution display that uses the LumiBond technology from Getac. Most rugged displays have an LCD backlight layer with a touchscreen layer on top and an air gap between them. The Getac LumiBond technology removes the air gap and optically bonds the two displays together with a clear resin. Functionally, it is a single layer.
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The display on the K120 G3 has a maximum brightness of 1,200 nits, so you can use it easily in full sunlight. It looks fantastic with clear text and images while also being very responsive to finger and gloved touch actions. You can easily switch between finger, glove, and stylus modes in the Getac G-Manager utility.
The G-Manager utility is also useful for managing battery status, GPS connectivity, button customization, power profiles, and more. There are five physical buttons around the bezel, with options for single press and press/hold functions to launch your most used utilities, actions, or apps. These 10 button options should allow you to quickly launch what you need while working in the field.
Along with the rugged LumiBond display, the Getac K120 is MIL-STD-810H certified and resistant to drops up to six feet. It sports IP66 water ingress and dust resistance, while also being designed to perform from -20 degrees F to 145 degrees F.
Also: This laptop is so rugged the manufacturer allowed me to drop it from waist-height
In addition to the rugged and brilliant display, Getac offers a host of ports and hardware extensions on the K120. The front facing camera module has a physical sliding door to protect the camera and also keep it hidden if you happen to be working in areas where cameras are not allowed. Furthermore, robust sliding and locking doors keep everything protected from the elements.
The model I tested has two large hot-swappable batteries, 3,450 mAh each, mounted on the lower half of the back panel. The locks are on the bottom, and you can quickly swap out the batteries and continue working in the field. You can also remove the SSD so that you can maintain data security in the field, too.
The tablet also came with a swivel carrying handle to prop up the tablet at an angle for easier hands-free use. If I was going to use this tablet as my primary computer, then I would definitely look into adding one of the Getac detachable keyboards.
Excellent connectivity options are available too, including 4G LTE and 5G cellular support. A dedicated GPS module, Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 6E support are also available.
Getac must have wanted to make sure I had a flawless experience with this review device, which had 64GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD. The tablet handled all of my work with ease — I will definitely be considering a Getac tablet for our next construction support project.
ZDNET’s buying advice
Most of the rugged tablets I have tested in the past were readily available for consumers, while Getac’s products are focused on military, first responder, enterprise, and other industries. The Getac K120 G3<!–> is a bulky, heavy tablet that is a complete opposite of the consumer focused iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab.
It is built to withstand conditions outside the office. The company is also laser focused on keeping its hardware up and running to support these critical applications and honestly, the $2,939 price is very reasonable given the value that these market sectors provide.
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