December 2020
VDC: E-commerce catalyzing rugged handheld market growthVDC Research has issued a new report entitled "Rugged Handheld Computers and Smartphones for Line-of-Business Applications." According to VDC, Android-powered devices made up over 85% of rugged handheld shipments in 2020, driven by the mobile solutions of warehouse, delivery, and grocery workers to meet the surge in orders. Zebra controls the market, and 2020 sales volumes came primarily from large customers. There's still about 5 million legacy Windows-powered rugged handheld devices to be replaced, with rugged handheld OEMs facing strong challenge from consumer and hardened smartphones. [See VDC Research Executive Brief] -- Posted Monday, December 21, 2020
Public safety agency successfully trials Motorola Solutions' new cloud-based radio network core
Floridians are no strangers to dramatic weather events such as hurricanes or floods. For over 70 years, Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) has worked with counties across the state to provide them with mission-critical communication solutions to help keep communities safe. This October, Sumter County completed a successful test of CirrusCentral Core, a cloud-based secondary core for ASTRO® 25 Project 25 (P25) land mobile radio (LMR) systems, that eliminates the need for public safety agencies to maintain a physical, in-building secondary core site. [See Motorola Solutions media release] -- Posted Monday, December 14, 2020
Making sense of rugged computer certifications & standards
An important difference between rugged mobile computers and consumer tech products is that the former are built to ruggedness standards and then tested and certified according to military and other testing procedures, whereas the latter generally aren't. But what, exactly, are all those standards and certifications? Tom Wang, who is President of Durabook Americas, published an excellent article about it all in Utility Products. [Read Making sense of rugged computer certifications & standards] -- Posted Monday, December 14, 2020
Cincoze embedded industrial computers — at the heart of smart security monitoring
Modern life is becoming more convenient as more smart devices join the interconnected world. However, when everything is connected, security risks increase. Mobile applications in harsh in-vehicle environments must withstand long-term stress caused by constant vibration and temperature extremes in public safety vehicles such as police cars, ambulances and fire trucks, and public transportation such as trains and cruise ships and airplanes. Fixed monitoring encompasses indoor and outdoor applications such as central monitoring centers and traffic monitoring. Cincoze smart surveillance systems provide image and object recognition, motion detection, and screen warnings to aid disaster response, traffic management, information collection, and data integration. [See Cincoze media release] -- Posted Thursday, December 10, 2020
What happened in rugged computing 10 years ago: Dec. 2010
In December 2010, Fujitsu got out of the hard drive business, Taiwan's OEMs beefed up to handle tablet technology (they now manufacture all iPads), Motorola decided to split into Motorola Mobility (cellphones) and Motorola Solution (enterprise and government business), with Moto Solutions expected to be an $8-9 billion company. GammaTech introduced the D12C convertible notebook and N-trig brought its pen and multi-touch technology to Android. The media predicted tablets would destroy the netbook market and eat into notebooks. DAP Technologies introduced the M4000 handheld and Psion the EP10 rugged PDA. Motorola and Janam resolved patent disputes. Atmel introduced a touch chipset that could handle gloves, Verizon turned on its 4G LTE service, and TI introduced the Android-capable dual-core OMAP4440 processor. We reviewed the DLI 8800 rugged POS tablet, the Getac B300, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which we viewed as the first serious competitor to the iPad. [See December 2010 archive] -- Posted Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Stealth's new rugged fanless, Mini PC with 9th Gen processors and dual removable drives
Stealth.com, a leader in the industrial computer, displays and peripherals market, has released a new rugged fanless mini pc that features Intel® 9th Generation Core™ i3, i5, i7 and Xeon processors. This model is packed with robust capabilities that make it ideal for a large variety of demanding applications. [See Stealth media release] -- Posted Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Full review: MobileDemand xTablet T1180
10-inch tablets are popular because they bridge the gap between handhelds and heavy big-screen tablets. MobileDemand knows that and offers a whole range of 10-inch rugged tablets. We did a detailed review of the highly configurable fanless MobileDemand xTablet T1180, a tough and rugged machine with great connectivity, a powerful Intel 8th generation Core processor, super-fast PCIe nVME storage and long battery life. We found it an excellent selection when you need Windows on tough jobs in the field. [See full review of the MobileDemand xTablet T1180] -- Posted Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Verizon and Motorola Solutions bring interoperable broadband communications to public safety
Verizon Public Sector and Motorola Solutions today announce Group First Response, a mission-critical push-to-talk solution that leverages LTE to enable first responders to communicate seamlessly via voice, data and video across a variety of devices — improving situational awareness and operational efficiency. Group First Response can be integrated with land mobile radio (LMR) systems, extending interoperable push-to-talk communications to public safety users without radios or outside coverage areas.[See Motorola Solutions media release] -- Posted Tuesday, December 8, 2020
JLT Mobile Computers adds new 10-inch tablet to its field-proven range of rugged Windows devices for workers on the move
JLT Mobile, a leading supplier of reliable computers for demanding environments, continues to expand into the rugged tablet PC market and today launches an upgraded version of its popular 10" Windows tablet. The new JLT MT2010P™ tablet offers better performance, improved connectivity, great screen resolution, and a longer-lasting battery, all in a slim and light yet fully-rugged form factor. With such an impressive feature set, the JLT MT2010P is the perfect choice for harsh application environments where access to the full Windows operating system is required on the move. [See JLT Mobile media release] -- Posted Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Brother announces key alliance with Getac to deliver integrated bundled printing & labeling solutions for rugged environments
Brother Mobile Solutions, Inc. (BMS), a premier provider of mobile, desktop and industrial printers and labeling tools today announced it has formed a strategic alliance with Getac, a key subsidiary of MiTAC-Synnex Business Group. The collaboration will enable the companies to bring to market a variety of fully integrated bundled solutions pairing Getac's rugged tablets and laptops, including new 5G-supported devices with a variety of Brother mobile and industrial barcode printers. The solutions help support Getac's expansion beyond military and government agencies and are ideally suited for industries including warehouse, distribution centers, retail, manufacturing, field service and logistics, as well as public safety. [See Brother Mobile Solutions media release] -- Posted Thursday, December 3, 2020
RuggON case study: Montebello Fire Department
RuggON has issued a case study on how the fire department of the City of Montebello in California replaced their aging mobile computer systems with equipment that was more modern, more powerful, and better suited to current fire department needs. Montebello chose the compact RuggOn VX-601 vehicle mount computer for its bright touch display, performance, connectivity, programmable hardware buttons, and overall ruggedness and reliability. [Read RuggON case study: Montebello Fire Department] -- Posted Thursday, December 3, 2020
BASF: trinamiX to present molecular sensing technology for use in mobile devices at Snapdragon Tech Summit Digital 2020
trinamiX GmbH (Ludwigshafen, Germany), a leader in 3D and infrared sensing solutions and a subsidiary of BASF, the world's largest chemical company, announced its vision to bring Near-Infrared Spectroscopy into smartphones based on Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ mobile platforms at the Snapdragon Tech Summit Digital 2020. trinamiX' sensing technology will empower end consumers to identify the molecular composition of material enabling them to optimize their decision making. [See BASF media release] -- Posted Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Qualcomm redefines premium at Snapdragon Tech Summit Digital 2020
During the first day of the Snapdragon Tech Summit Digital, Qualcomm Incorporated President, Cristiano Amon took the virtual stage with global industry leaders to highlight the critical role Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 8-Series mobile platforms have played to drive experiences forward for the next generation of devices. Qualcomm Technologies' innovation in the premium tier, coupled with the evolution of 5G, is accelerating and continuing to redefine immersive consumer experiences. The proliferation of these premium tier experiences has and will continue to enrich the lives of billions of smartphone users around the world. [See Qualcomm media release] -- Posted Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Durabook's rugged computers keep Bay Counties Diesel Service on schedule
Durabook Americas, Inc., a leading manufacturer of rugged computing solutions, has kept Bay Counties Diesel Service (BCDS) up and running, improving both the company's bottom line and customer satisfaction with the rugged laptops since 2013. BCDS provides full-service diesel truck repair to commercial trucking companies and independent operators in Northern California. [See Durabook Americas media release] -- Posted Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Review: Teguar TRH-A5380-05 rugged Android handheld with integrated industrial-grade scanner
Don't let the picture fool you — yes, we took Teguar's rugged handheld out into the wild for photo ops, but this is really a very nicely done scanner handheld. Equipped with an industrial-grade Honeywell N3680 1D/2D scanner and available with a pistol grip, the Teguar TRH-A5380-05 is perfect for use in any number of data collection settings, including healthcare. [See review of the Teguar TRH-A5380-05] -- Posted Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Rugged PC Review
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"Over the many years that we have been testing and reviewing rugged mobile computers, and in our professional careers prior, we have noticed that there is very little standardization and that potential clients are often confused where and what to buy," said Dr. Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, Editor-in-Chief of RuggedPCReview.com and former CIO of the New York State Dormitory Authority. "We hope that our new service will answer many questions and provide all the answers a client needs to make an informed decision."