Rugged 4.3-inch mobile POS PDA runs either Windows 7 or Android, can handle magstripe and contactless payments
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

LaPorte, Indiana based DLI was founded in the early 1990s as a manufacturer and reseller of wireless data collection devices. The company carries mobile computers, rugged ultra-mobile tablets, handhelds, scanners and vehicle mounted computers. The DLI 7200 shown here was introduced in June 2012 as a ruggedized handheld solution enabling retailers to deploy the same POS applications that reside on fixed station terminals, allowing for a singular PCI compliant operating system and application across the entire enterprise.

The DLI 7200 is interesting insofar as it's a PDA-sized device that runs full Windows 7 instead of Windows CE or Windows Embedded Handheld, and what's even more interesting is that the device can also run Android 3.2 (the original press release had announced 4.0). This means customers can use a DLI 7200 either to run standard Windows enterprise apps OR begin investigating Android.

On the tech spec side you find pretty much the same underpinnings as are used in the larger DLI 9000 tablet: A 1.5GHz Intel Atom Z670 (which is the same chip Motion and DRS used in their CL900 and X7et tablets, respectively. There's the same 2GB of RAM and the same 64GB of Micro SSD storage. And like the DLI 9000, the 7200 uses projected capacitive touch.

The display, on the other hand, is a smartphone-class 4.3 inches with 800 x 480 pixel resolution. The 6.35 x 3.3 inch footprint makes it a fairly large handheld. It's also 1.4 inches thick and weighs a pound, making it clear that this is a rugged tool for the job. This is a device that carries IP54 sealing, which means it's quite well protected against dust, rain and splashing (without, however, being fully waterproof), and able to survive 4-foot drops, which the government says happens 4 to 6 times over the lifespan of this type of gear. The operating temperature range is 32 to 104 degrees, which precludes extreme environments, but you don't often encounter them in point-of-sale applications.

Like all DLI products, the 7200 is highly configurable to meet the demands of various jobs and applications. Devices can be equipped with an integrated CMOS 1D/2D scanner, there are no fewer than five operating systems options, customers can specify GPRS/CDMA mobile broadband, and there's also an interesting 2-in-1 RFID and magstripe reader module that snaps onto the back of the device (see picture to the right).

Where does the DLI 7200 fit into the overall scheme of things? It's actually quite unique. There are a few devices out there that can run either Windows Mobile or Android, but none that I can think of that run both full Windows or Android, and use capacitive touch. Capacitive touch, of course, works a whole lot better with Android than with Windows, and so we assume that DLI 7200 Windows users will most likely run touch-oriented custom apps. Anyway, an interesting product for sure.