October 2019

Handheld launches new website prioritizing user experience
Handheld Group, a leading supplier of rugged mobile computers, today announced the launch of its new website, redesigned for ease of use. The website uses analytics data to provide a more intuitive and satisfying user experience for Handheld customers and resellers. [See Handheld Group media release] -- Posted Thursday, October 31, 2019

Motorola Solutions Q3 2019 financials
Motorola Solutions reported Q3 2019 sales of US$1.994 billion, up 7% from US$1.862 billion Q3 2018, , driven by growth in the Americas and $58 million from acquisitions. The Products and Systems Integration segment grew 5%, the Services and Software segment grew 12%. Net earnings for Q3 2019 were US$267 million versus US$247 million Q3 2018. [See Motorola Solutions Q3 2019 financials] -- Posted Wednesday, October 30, 2019

New Dell Latitude 7220 Rugged Extreme: most powerful 12" fully rugged tablet on the market
Dell today announced the Latitude 7220 Rugged Extreme tablet, built to meet the demands of workers in harsh environments; from the factory floor to ambulances, desert sandstorms to Arctic conditions. The lightest and most powerful rugged 12" tablet on the market today is designed to provide the mobility and connectivity to help field users stay productive; its durability offering peace of mind for those in some of the dirtiest, wettest, most challenging and most critical workplaces. Updated features include an enhanced 1000 NIT FHD glove-capable display with anti-glare coatings, access to FirstNet, more powerful processors and ancillary technology. [See Dell media release] -- Posted Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Samsung introduces Galaxy XCover FieldPro
Samsung introduced a new rugged smartphone at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference. The 5.1-inch, 2.7GHz octa-core powered Galaxy XCover FieldPro offers Push-to-Talk, replaceable battery, Samsung Knox security, and is optimized for a wide range of enterprise customers — from federal agencies and local precincts to transportation professionals, field service technicians, and more. The XCover FieldPro is IP68 sealed, and passed MIL-STD-810G testing against "a subset of 21 specific environmental conditions." [See Samsung news release] -- Posted Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Zebra Technologies announces Q3 2019 financials
Zebra Technologies reported sales of US$1,130 million in Q3 of 2019 compared to US$1,092 million in Q3 of 2018. Net sales in the Enterprise Visibility & Mobility segment (i.e. what used to be the enterprise business of Motorola Solutions) were US$757 million in Q3 2019 compared with $739 million in Q3 2018. Net income for Q3 2019 was US$136 million, compared to net income of US$127 million in Q3 2018. The company expects fourth-quarter 2019 net sales to increase approximately 4% to 6% from the fourth quarter of 2018. [See Zebra press release] -- Posted Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Zebra Technologies delivers FirstNet ready mobile computers and tablets for public safety
Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA), an innovator at the edge of the enterprise with solutions and partners that enable businesses to gain a performance edge, today announced that the Android-based TC57 and TC77 enterprise-class mobile computers, L10 and eight-inch ET56 tablets and Windows®-based L10 and XSLATE R12 tablets are now certified and approved for use on the FirstNet communications platform. [See Zebra media release] -- Posted Monday, October 28, 2019

Motorola Solutions revolutionizes body-worn cameras with WatchGuard V300 with detachable 12-hour battery
Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) today announced the new WatchGuard V300 body-worn camera, the first in the industry to address law enforcement's need for cameras that remain operational beyond a 12-hour shift. Swappable battery packs, 128 GB of memory and secure wireless uploading enable it to operate continuously. The WatchGuard V300 will become part of the Motorola Solutions mission-critical ecosystem of unified voice, data, video and analytics. [See Motorola Solutions media release] -- Posted Sunday, October 27, 2019

Review: OnLogic Karbon 700 IPC
Industrial Box PCs are the unsung heroes of IoT and Industry 4.0, providing logistics and computing muscle behind the scenes. RuggedPCReview.com took a detailed look OnLogic's Karbon 700 and found it a well-made workhorse of a PC with an exceptionally wide variety of processor options and interface configurability. [See full review of the OnLogic Karbon 700] -- Posted Saturday, October 26, 2019

Intel introduces Tremont microarchitecture
At the Linley Fall Processor Conference in Santa Clara, Calif., Intel revealed the first architectural details related to Tremont. Intel's newest and most advanced low-power x86 CPU architecture. As far as rugged mobile computing goes, Intel's offerings are either complex, high performance Core processors, or much simpler low-power Atom processors (the Pentium and Celeron names are selectively used for certain versions of either). "Tremont" is, in essence, the next Atom processor architecture, a good deal quicker overall and optimized for client, data center, 5G and IoT. The large price difference between Core and Atom has always made it tempting to use Atom chips, not always with great results. We'll see what Tremont will bring. [See Introducing Intel Tremont Microarchitecture] -- Posted Thursday, October 24, 2019

Motorola Solutions' next generation APX NEXT smart radio brings new intelligence and technology to public safety
Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) today announced the launch of APX NEXT, its next-generation mission-critical Project 25 (P25) public safety radio with LTE for enhanced communications and data-centric application services. The company also announced ViQi, a public safety virtual assistant that provides vital information to first responders in the field and allows users to operate APX NEXT via voice control. [See Motorola Solutions media release] -- Posted Thursday, October 24, 2019

Troy (NY) Police Department improves emergency response with Zebra rugged tablets
Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA), an innovator at the edge of the enterprise with solutions and partners that enable businesses to gain a performance edge, today announced that the Troy (NY) Police Department (Troy PD) has improved its patrol-car technology, officer mobility and emergency response with Zebra XSLATE R12 rugged tablets. The Zebra XSLATE R12 rugged tablets have helped officers prioritize police calls from dispatch and improved incident reporting leading to more efficient police work. [See Zebra media release] -- Posted Thursday, October 24, 2019

Full review: DURABOOK Z14I fully-rugged notebook
There aren't too many fully-rugged notebooks to choose from, and some of the traditional leaders are getting long in the tooth. With its new DURABOOK Z14I fully-rugged laptop, Durabook Americas now offers a thoroughly modern tool for customers who require high-performance computing power out there in the field, in vehicles, on the shop floor, or wherever else a tablet or a handheld or even a semi-rugged laptop just won't do. It's an attractive, impressive machine with a very bright, reflection-free 14-inch wide-format display, good connectivity, good battery life, and excellent performance. [See full review of the DURABOOK Z14I fully-rugged notebook] -- Posted Thursday, October 17, 2019

MobileDemand introduces two new 10.1" compact rugged tablets
MobileDemand, introduced a set of 10.1-inch rugged tablets to the growing line of compact sized high-performance tablets for business enterprises. Today marks the launch of the xTablet T1180 rugged tablet with high performance Intel® 8th generation Core i Series processors and Windows® 10 Pro and the xTablet A1180 rugged tablet with Android 9 and GMS certification supporting Google Play applications. [See MobileDemand news release] -- Posted Thursday, October 17, 2019

Leica Geosystems again counts on Getac to make hidden utility networks visible
Getac announced that Leica Geosystems has selected its fully rugged F110 tablet to provide utility companies, repair and maintenance contractors, surveyors and civil engineers with a complete, intelligent solution for detecting, visualizing and mapping underground utilities. Leica Geosystems combines the tablet with its own Leica DSX utility detection solution to provide highly reliable subterraneous information on any terrain and in any weather conditions. [See Getac media release] -- Posted Thursday, October 17, 2019

Honeywell Q3 2019 financials
Honeywell reported Q3 2019 sales of US$10.762 billion, up 16% from US$9.086 billion Q3 2018. The Safety and Productivity Solutions segment (Honeywell AIDC) had Q3 2019 sales of US$1.575 billion, up 7% from US$1.457 billion Q3 2018. Safety and Productivity Solutions segment profit was US$560 million versus US$582 million Q3 2018. [See Honeywell Q3 2019 financials] -- Posted Thursday, October 17, 2019

MobileDemand's Android Devices are now SOTI certified to ensure security and maximize uptime
MobileDemand, launched two new Android devices in 2019 in its built-to-be rugged product line up and are now made even more productive for the enterprise with the recently attained SOTI certification. MobileDemand is also participating and exhibiting at the SOTI SYNC 2019, their annual user conference in Toronto, Canada, demonstrating how the SOTI certified devices are integrated with world-class technology to power an enterprise's mobile operations, keep devices secure and eliminate downtime. [See MobileDemand media release] -- Posted Monday, October 14, 2019

Getac S410, F110, V110 get significant technology upgrades.
Getac announced generational upgrades to its popular F110 tablet, S410 notebook und V110 convertible notebook. All three have been upgraded to Intel 8th generation "Whiskey Lake-U" quad-core processors, making for substantial performance boosts. The F110 and V110 benefit from a much appreciated resolution increase from 1366x768 to 1920x1080 pixel, the S410 gets increased sealing against the elements, from IP52 to IP53, substantially increasing resistance to liquids. Maximum primary mass storage has doubled to 1 Terabyte. WiFi, Bluetooth and ancillary technologies have all been upgraded as well. -- Posted Monday, October 14, 2019

Dell Rugged on the ocean
Like last year, Dell partnered with the Clipper Race Fleet in the Dell Latitude Rugged Ocean Sprint. In a demanding sailing event where only the toughest, most durable technology will do, the Dell Rugged portfolio helped ensure that the Clipper Race teams can navigate, communicate, blog and send imagery back from onboard 70 yachts as they race across the worlds oceans. In this year's race, after 31 hours of racing, a single second decided between 3rd and 4th place. [See Dell Latitude Rugged Ocean Sprint news] -- Posted Monday, October 14, 2019

Teguar blog: What is MIL-STD-810?
Many rugged tablets and some industrial computers come with an MIL-STD-810 rating, which ensures that the computer or tablet can withstand drops, shocks and vibrations. It confirms the ruggedness of a product and it reassures our customers that their computer will not break from machine vibration or their rugged tablet will survive a fumble. In military applications including aviation, aerospace and marine, operators rely on computer systems for mission critical tasks and those computers are required to meet MIL-STD-810 standards. [Read Teguar blog: What is MIL-STD-810?] -- Posted Thursday, October 10, 2019

AT&T & Fleet Complete bring next-gen connected vehicle solutions to Mexico
AT&T, one of the largest telecommunications providers in the U.S., and Fleet Complete, the fastest-growing global telematics provider, are officially announcing their launch of cost-reducing, safety-oriented fleet solutions in Mexico. The Mexican market has more than 6.5 million commercial vehicles in use, while only 15% of those commercial vehicles have telematics connectivity. The Fleet Complete's award-winning, affordable, and user-friendly solutions complemented with AT&T's national coverage in Mexico will help the fleet management sector in Mexico to thrive. [See AT&T media release]
-- Posted Wednesday, October 2, 2019

How the rugged PC "drop spec" just became different
Almost all ruggedness testing we're seeing is still conducted according to MIL-STD-810G. The United States Department of Defense, however, released MIL-STD-810H earlier this year, and it's replacing MIL-STD-810G. The new document is larger than ever (over a thousand pages!), so some reading is in order. RuggedPCReview analyzed the new standard's "transit drop" section, and things have changed quite a bit. [Read "How the rugged PC "drop spec" just became different] -- Posted Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Motorola Solutions kicks off Summit 2019, announces new software capabilities
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — SOctober 1, 2019 — Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) today welcomed more than 1,100 public safety professionals from over 400 agencies to Summit 2019, the company's annual software user conference. At the four-day conference, the company will share significant product enhancements, and attendees will hear from over 150 expert presenters on maximizing their software investment through hands-on instruction, technical training and collaboration with public safety professionals from across the country. [See Motorola Solutions media release] -- Posted Tuesday, October 1, 2019