November 2014

Full review: Getac S400 semi-rugged laptop
RuggedPCReview conducted a full examination of the latest version of Getac's semi-rugged S400 laptop. We found the Intel Haswell-powered S400 an excellent value that offers very good performance, long battery life, great connectivity, and enough ruggedness for many tasks in an elegant package that fits right into Getac's lineup of tough and rugged machines. [See full review of the semi-rugged Getac S400] -- Posted Wednesday, November 26, 2014

IDC: Worldwide tablet growth slows to 7.2% in 2014
According to IDC, worldwide tablet market growth slowed to 7.2% in 2014 as device lifecycles for tablets have continued to lengthen, increasingly resembling those of PCs more than smartphones. Of OS platforms, the worldwide marketshare in tablets and 2-in-1 devices saw Android in the lead with 67.7% (159.5 million devices), then Apple's iOS with 27.5% (65 million), and Windows with 10.9% (10.9 million). IDC expects Windows' marketshare to grow to 11.4% by 2018, at equal expense of Android and Apple. [See IDC press release] -- Posted Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Full review: Cedar Tree Technologies CT4
In this era of 2-year contracts and installment plans to get the latest fragile consumer smartphone, many wish there'd be something less expensive and more durable. There is. RuggedPCReview.com performed a detailed review of Cedar Tree Technologies' CT4, an economically priced (US$489), dual-SIM, fully rugged, and remarkably advanced 4.3-inch Android handheld designed for harsh environments. It's IP68-sealed, virtually indestructible, and has superior cameras. [See full review of the Cedar Tree Technologies CT4] -- Posted Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Report: Tablets and the European Productivity Revolution
UK research company Dynamic Markets published the findings of a comprehensive studies of tablet use in European business in a beautifully illustrated report. The study, conducted on behalf of Panasonic Toughpad, found a strong belief that tablets are changing the way people work to make them more efficient and effective. However, respondents also voiced their design and functionality frustrations. Tablet manufacturers must continue to tailor their devices to the varying different needs of vertical industries, with hot swappable batteries, daylight viewable screens, more rugged tablets and the opportunity to include or attach a range of peripherals to the devices, such as cameras, scanners, bar code readers and payment options. [View Tablets and the European Productivity Revolution] -- Posted Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Avalue goes with Bay Trail for new lines of Applied Panel PCs
Avalue Technology is introducing an entire family of LPC, SPC, PPC and BFC series Applied Panel PCs based on Intel's Atom E3800 and Celeron J1900 system-on-chip processor lines. Both are part of Intel's 22nm "Bay Trail" platform. Value said it decided to go with Bay Trail due to "enhanced stereoscopic 3D capabilities, high-resolution graphics, data integrity, reliability, and system uptime to meet intelligent systems requirements." -- Posted Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Full review: MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10
With their new xTablet Flex 10 10.1-inch tablet, MobileDemand breaks new ground by combining a modern, competent Intel Bay Trail-powered Windows 8.1 tablet with a specially designed and preinstalled case that provides very respectable ruggedness. The whole package, including the industrial-grade briefcase carrying handle and heavy duty handstrap costs less than an iPad Air 2! Yet, the 2.25 pound tablet's specs are impressive. Quad-core Z3770 CPU, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 10-point capacitive multi-touch, and a 1920 x 1200 pixel IPS display. [See full review of the MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10] -- Posted Monday, November 24, 2014

Corning introduces Gorilla Glass 4
Corning announced Gorilla Glass 4, which the company says is up to two times tougher than any competitive cover glass design now available. The new Gorilla Glass 4 has been especially formulated to address screen breakage from everyday drops. Gorilla Glass was first introduced in 2007. RuggedPCReview.com reported on it when tablet pioneer Motion Computing began using it in 2009 and we had an insightful conversation with Corning's Dr. Nagaraja Shashidhar back then (see here). Since its launch, Gorilla Glass has been used in more than 3 billion devices. The new Gorilla Glass 4 offers enhanced retained strength after use, higher resistance to scratch and sharp contact damage, improved drop performance, and superior surface quality. [See Corning Gorilla Glass 4 press release and detailed Gorilla Glass 4 specs]] -- Posted Thursday, November 20, 2014

ADLINK introduces new Intel-based edge computing solution for core networks at LTE North America 2014 in Dallas
ADLINK introduce a new rugged, outdoor edge computing solution codenamed "Hercules," the latest result of its technological collaboration with Intel. ADLINK's Hercules is an advanced IP65-sealed edge computing solution that enables telecom carriers to reduce back-haul and transmission costs. It also provides smoother and faster delivery for application providers, as well as a faster web browser response experience for end users. [See ADLINK press release] -- Posted Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Datalogic mobile computers get MCL certification
Datalogic announced it has been recognized as a certified device manufacturer by MCL Technologies, a provider of software solutions that boost the development, deployment and management of enterprise mobile applications and devices. Datalogic’s Memor X3, Skorpio X3 and Lynx mobile devices are now certified to run MCL v4 and the MCL Mobility Platform. [See Datalogic press release] -- Posted Wednesday, November 19, 2014

MobileDemand announces 11.6-inch rugged xTablet T1600
MobileDemand announced the xTablet T1600, a rugged "thin & light" tablet with a large 11.6-inch 10-point capacitive multi-touch display, Intel "Haswell" U-Series Core i5 power, good onboard connectivity, optional 1D/2D scanner or HF RFID, as well as IP65 sealing and a 3-foot drop spec. Pricing starts at US$1,995. [See description, analysis and specs of the MobileDemand xTablet T1600] -- Posted Monday, November 17, 2014

Key trends in 2015 as seen by Handheld Group CEO
Handheld Group CEO Jerker Hellström predicts and discusses three key trends in rugged computing for the upcoming year. [...read more] -- Posted Thursday, November 13, 2014

Xplore reports fiscal Q1/2015 financials
Xplore Technologies reported Q2 financials for its fiscal year 2015. Revenue was US$7,522,000 compared to US$7,403,000 for Q2 the prior year, an increase of approximately 2%. Xplore reported a net loss of US$1,163,000 compared to a net loss of US$894,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2013. Xplore chairman and CEO Philip Sassower said "Our broader product line is gaining appeal as we experienced significant sales for each of our iX104, RangerX Pro and Bobcat rugged tablet families in three different market verticals." [See Xplore Q2/2015 financials] -- Posted Thursday, November 13, 2014

Data Ltd introduces two Bay Trail-based rugged mobile POS multi-touch tablets for either Windows or Android
Data Ltd introduced the 8-inch DLI 8 and the 9.7-inch DLI 10 compact rugged tablets. Both are based on the 1.83GHz Intel "Bay Trail" N2930 processors, both offer capacitive multi-touch, and both can run either Android 4.4.4 (KitKat) or the full or embedded versions of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. While suitable for a variety of markets and applications, want sets these new DLI tablets apart is the availability of an add-on 5-in-1 module that adds RFID/NFC, MSR, scanning, smart card and pin pad for full-service mobile payment processing. [See description, analysis and specs of the Data Ltd DLI 8 and Data Ltd DLI 10] -- Posted Thursday, November 13, 2014

DTResearch releases GS Series of high-accuracy GNSS tablets
DT Research announced the addition of a new line of rugged tablets with GNSS modules for mapping applications. The GS Series includes the 9-inch DT391GS available with either a Hemisphere single or dual frequency sub-meter GNSS module, or a Trimble triple frequency centimeter module. Also available are the 7-inch DT307GS and the 9-inch DT395GS with uBlox 7P GNSS for Precise Point Positioning (see here). [See DT Research press release and lineup of GS-Series tablets] -- Posted Monday, November 10, 2014

Full review: Samwell RUGGEDBOOK PC-760
The Samwell RUGGEDBOOK PC-760, geared towards mobile point-of-sale and data collection applications, provides Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 functionality in a refreshingly unique rugged tablet form factor. Slender and weighing under three pounds, the Intel Bay Trail-powered PC-760 has a sharp and bright 10.1-inch touch screen with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, capacitive multi-touch, and includes an industrial-grade 1D/2D scanner. Available options include bolt-on magnetic card and Smart Card readers, as well as HF RFID. [Read our full review of the Samwell RUGGEDBOOK PC-760] -- Posted Friday, November 7, 2014

Honeywell introduces rugged Thor CV31 vehicle-mount computer
Honeywell AIDC introduced the Thor CV31 vehicle-mount computer at 2014 Pack Expo International in Chicago. A follow-up on Intermec's popular CV30, the new CV31 features very compact design (7.5 x 6.95 inches, a weight of just over three pounds) with a 6.4-inch VGA touch screen, but is now based on much more advanced technology. There's a dual-core 1.5GHz OMAP4470 processor, a gig of RAM and 16GB of storage. WiFi and Bluetooth are faster, too, and the CV31 now uses Windows Embedded Compact 7. [See description, analysis and specs of the Honeywell Thor CV31] -- Posted Friday, November 7, 2014

Panasonic introduces the Android-based Toughpad FZ-B2
Panasonic's new 7-inch Android-based Toughpad FZ-B2 replaces the existing Toughpad JT-B1 in the company's lineup of compact rugged tablets. Judging by the specs, the Intel "Bay Trail" N2930-powered FZ-B2 is a better, faster product with much higher resolution (1280 x 800 pixel). It seems closely related to the Windows-based Toughpad FZ-M1 that has earned high praise for its overall design and use of a very precise fine-tipped capacitive pen. [See description, analysis and specs of the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-B2] -- Posted Thursday, November 6, 2014

MobileDemand's Ruggedized Computing Blog
The latest entry at MobileDemand's Ruggedized Computing Blog is entitled "Mobile Computing Goes Rugged in the Field Service Industry" and explains how the ultimate goal of any field service or utilities company -- sustainability and growth -- is critically dependent on customer satisfaction, and how customer satisfaction may well depend on proper implementation of rugged tablets for the work. [Read MobileDemand blog] -- Posted Wednesday, November 5, 2014

The Pallet Network upgrades its pallet tracking IT with rugged Intermec CK71 handhelds from Peak-Ryzex
Peak-Ryzex reports that TPN, The Pallet Network, is upgrading its mobile tracking system with new ultra-rugged Intermec CK71 handhelds, software and accessories from Peak-Ryzex. The new barcode scanning terminals will give TPN the ability to scan 2D barcodes at long range. Peak-Ryzex will also provide a range of Managed Mobility Services to ensure smooth start up of the project and ongoing reliability and availability of the new devices. -- Posted Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Motorola Solutions Q3 2014 sales down 5%
Motorola Solutions announced third-quarter 2014 results with sales of $1.44 billion, down 5% from the third quarter of 2013. GAAP operating earnings were down 16% at US$207 million ($246 million for the quarter a year ago). Note that this does not include "results from discontinued operations," i.e. the sale of Motorola Solutions' Enterprise business to Zebra. Those were $605 million in Q3 2014 compared with $595 million in the year-ago quarter. Also of note: Motorola Solutions approved a US$5 billion increase to its share repurchase program following receipt of $3.45 billion from the sale of its Enterprise business. [See Motorola Solutions Q3 2014 financials press release] -- Posted Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Intrinsically safe ecom Tab-Ex: another rugged tablet based on Samsung hardware
em instruments launched the Tab-Ex, an 8-inch rugged Android 4.4 tablet with a Zone 1/Div. 1 intrinsic safety rating, meaning that the device can be used in certain types of hazardous environments with flammable gasses present. The unusual aspect of the ecom Tab-Ex is that it is based on the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active Android tablet, which is inherently IP67-sealed and can already handle 4-foot drops. Applying their own patented technologies to the platform, ecom will be able to offer the Tab-Ex at various levels of intrinsic safety. [read more] -- Posted Tuesday, November 4, 2014

What happened in rugged computing 5 years ago: November 2009
In November 2009, GammaTech introduced the Durabook R13S convertible notebook, we did a full review of Juniper Systems' TK6000 rugged handheld, Getac announced a comprehensive ruggedness certification program, Casio introduced the state-of-the-art DT-X30 handheld, and Psion offered promo packages for their popular handhelds and Getac for its P470 laptop. The Austin American-Statesman reported that Motion Computing was back on track, AppleInsider wondered if the iPhone would be used as a vertical market device, Toshiba offered 1.8-inch hard drives up to 320GB, Samwell introduced their Intel Atom-powered MCA, Motorola the MC3100, and Intermec reported that its third quarter 2009 revenues were $159 million, down 32% from the prior-year quarter. [See November 2009 archive] -- Posted Monday, November 3, 2014

MobileDemand opens online shop
It worked for Dell and Apple, so why not have a company store for rugged tablets? That's what MobileDemand thought when they decided to sell their latest thin-and-light xTablets in their own online store. The tablet shop allows anyone to purchase xTablet Flex 10 and xTablet Flex 8 tablets along with numerous accessories and replacements. Pricing starts at $595 and the checkout process is fast and secure. Visit MobileDemand's online shop. -- Posted Monday, November 3, 2014

Full review: ARBOR Gladius G0975 rugged Bay Trail tablet
RuggedPCReview tested the elegantly designed and Intel Bay Trail N2930-powered ARBOR Gladius G0975 tablet that provides full Windows functionality in a rugged tablet form factor. Intended for use in field service, transportation, mobile point of sale and logistics work and weighing just over two pounds, the Gladius is considerably lighter than most traditional full-size rugged tablets. Its bright 9.7-inch multi-touch screen with XGA resolution offers enough space to run Windows comfortably and even works with thin gloves. There is sufficient wired connectivity on board, as well as a wealth of wireless functionality. [See full review of the ARBOR Gladius G0975] -- Posted Monday, November 3, 2014