RM Mobile One 310 review

The RM Mobile One exudes a quiet confidence: while using it you can’t help but feel that you’re in safe hands. And no wonder: this device has been drop-tested to military standards and the keyboard made spill-proof. The screen folds back horizontally, supported by three strong hinges, so pushing on it is unlikely to break it off easily.

It’s a practical laptop, too. Start-up time is a respectable 45 seconds, the keys are comfortable to use, and the trackpad is quite responsive. You can also turn off the trackpad with ease, eliminating the annoying phenomenon of accidentally moving the cursor while typing. The crisp, bright, non-reflective screen also makes for comfortable classroom use.

Battery life is respectable. Even while running demanding applications, the battery lasted 2hrs 29mins, and the figure for standard classroom tasks went up to 3hrs 59mins.

With these points in mind, the Mobile One would be a good purchase for use in a challenging environment such as a science lab, where damage from spills or drops is more likely to occur. And, as the Mobile One can have its hardware and software customised to fit the school’s existing infrastructure, ICT co-ordinators might find it easier to manage too.

However, this laptop isn’t an unequivocal “must-buy”. The webcam is competent, while sound is weak and tinny. The specification also leaves something to be desired. The Core i3 Sandy Bridge processor isn’t a problem, but with only 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive, the Mobile One can feel under-powered; a fact reflected in the 0.51 PC Pro benchmark score. And although there are three USB ports, they are all USB 2 rather than the faster USB 3 standard. While we’re moaning, the trackpad buttons are stiff, too.

Perhaps the strangest aspect of this laptop, though, is its name: at 3kg the Mobile One isn’t actually “mobile” in the sense that you might actually want to carry it around. This isn’t necessarily a criticism, more a caution that if you’re looking for portability, the Mobile One isn’t the ideal choice. If, on the other hand, you’re in the market for a solid workhorse that’s been designed to withstand the worst a school environment can offer, the Mobile One is a worthy buy.