Rugged Laptop?

Hello,

I’m a residential electrician who has decided to start my own inspection business. I’m wrapping up my CPI certs at the moment and then I’m going to start focusing on marketing. I’m just getting my boots on the ground so I’m definitely trying to iron out as many bugs as I can before I get going.

My question being, do you guys used field laptops to write up your reports?
I’ve been thinking of buying a Getac V110 in order to make quick notes and mock up inspection reports as I’m going, so that way I can just add images and further annotations after the inspection in a timely fashion.

Do you have any experience with rugged laptop/tablet conversion setups? I know some people out there like the Panasonic Toughbooks, and the Dell Latitude 14 Rugged Extremes. However, I’m trying to operate on a pretty tight budget until I get a steady roll going, so spending $1500 on a laptop doesn’t make much sense to me right now- which is why I like the Getac.

Just wanted some opinions, thanks.

Many/most inspectors use a smart phone, tablet, or just a camera on site.

There is an interesting pro and con of writing reports onsite here:
https://www.nachi.org/forum/f8/same-day-report-119175/

I have used a regular laptop since 03. I get a new laptop probably every two or three years, they are cheap now.

I just use a camera to collect the data as I inspect. Takes maybe twenty minutes at the end to enter the data and pictures and my report is done.

Same here my lap top sits on the kitchen counter or table so no need for anything rugged. I also replace mine every few years