ARBOR Technology, a Taiwan-based ISO-9001 certified embedded and networking manufacturer founded in 1993, announced the Gladius G0820 rugged Tablet PC in September 2010, with a release date of December 2010. The tablet has received regular updateds since then.
The ARBOR Gladius G0820 is a compact rugged industrial tablet computer for applications that require a touch screen interface on an outdoor-viewable display as well as extensive data collection capabilities. The device measures 9.5 x 7.4 inches, is just under two inches thick, and just over four pounds. It has an 8.4-inch analog resistive touch display, initially with with SVGA 800 x 600 pixel resolution, and later 1024 x 768 pixel XGA. The display is outdoor-viewable with a strong 700 nits LED backlight.
Unlike the Gladius G0720 with its thumb-type keyboard, the G0820 was designed for operation via its larger touch screen. There are six programmable function buttons that can be assigned to fit intended applications, as well as two menu buttons and two scanner triggers.
The Gladius was initially based on the Intel Atom Z520PT processor with its accompanying Intel System Controller Hub US15WPT. Note that the "PT" means this is the "large form factor with extended temperature option" version that uses the 22x22 mm package of the chip that can handle extreme temperatures between -40 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit, much more than the device itself is rated for (32 to 113F). The Z520 was later replaced by a 1.6GHz Z530. The initial 1GB of DDR2 RAM was upgraded to 2GB, and there's a 32GB SATA solid state disk.
The data collection nature of the Gladius G0820 is emphasized by a variety of data acquisition modules. The device has an integrated 1D/2D barcode scanner, an ISO 15693/14443A/14443B RFID reader, and a magnetic stripe reader module. On the communications side, you get integrated 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth version 2.1 with EDR (extended data range), and optional 3.75G HSUPA WWAN (there's a SIM slot). There are two onboard USB 2.0 ports, a serial RS232 port, as well as, in the initial version, a gigabit RJ45 Ethernet jack. For expansion, there's an SD card slot, and a docking connector.
Thanks to the low-power Atom chip, the Gladius is a fanless design. Its dual Li-Ion battery packs provides about eight hours of running time. Dual batteries means they can be hot-swapped.
The G0820 is a rugged device. It is sealed to IP54 specifications, where the "5" means it is mostly dustproof and the "4" that it is protected against water sprayed from all directions. The device can handle a four foot drop to wood, and the temperature range is 32 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit. When we first saw the Gladius G0820 with its solid rubber bumpers, extended range chip and general look and feel, we felt the tablet looked like it should be more rugged than the original specs suggestes and, sure enough, ARBOR upped the specs considerably as time went on, with the drop spec going from four to six feet.
With the Gladius G0820, ARBOR focuses on the in-vehicle PC market, where the tablet can be deployed in various applications in industrial automation, hospitality, forklift, container ship/truck management, etc.
