A PDA designed for military use
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

For many years we knew Amrel of El Monte, Calif. primarily as a maker for heavily ruggedized notebook computers that we pitted against the competition from the likes of Itronix, Panasonic, etc. Realizing, however, that there's an important niche for rugged handhelds, Amrel created its own ruggedized PDA and gave it an impositng name: the ROCKY Patriot DA4-M Rugged PDA. This is a device designed specifically for the needs of today's military and meant to be used for reconnaissance, tactical maneuvers, searching for enemy positions and so on. Despite the demands of its intended use, Amrel managed to keep its rugged PDA small and handy: 3.5 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches, and weighing 16 ounces. It runs CE .Net or the Pocket PC OS platform on a 400MHz Intel PXA255. There are 128MB of rAM, 64MB of Flash, USB host and client, a serial port, SDIO and PC Card expansion, and a 7.4V/1,800mAH Li-Ion battery. The case is made of magnesium and heavily sealed to IP54 specifications. IP67, which means dust-proof and submersible in 3.3 feet of water, is available optionally. The usual variety of expansions cards are available: WiFi, GPRS, Bluetooth, GPS, and also a digital compass. There is also a cradle with 3 USB ports. Most interestingly, perhaps, is that Amrel realized the importance of a screen large enough to actually see something on: the DA4-M, despite its small size, has a transflective "Alpha-Star" 4-inch display with full 480 x 640 reoslution (240 x 320 available as well, of course). Amrel points out that the DA4-M is the first PDA to include MIL-STD 461 electromagnetic shielding as a standard feature, making the device impervious to interference by magnetic fields, radio freqencies, and other disruptive emissions.