On the technology side of things, XT3 customers get a mix of consumer and industrial technology. The device is powered by an octa-core 2.2GHz Snapdragon SD660 processor that's part of Qualcomm's family of mobile "systems on a chip" (SoC). line. It's a fast mid-range chip especially developed for tablet and smartphone applications. It uses a 64-bit CPU architecture and runs on four ARM Cortex 73 cores and four ARM Cortex A53 cores.

For graphics, the SDS660 includes an Adreno 512 GPU that supports all the features that matter in this class of mobile computer. The processor is used in numerous smartphones, and it has also become something like the processor of choice in leading rugged handhelds and tablets.

Depending on the version, there are 3GB or 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of Flash for storage. While even 64GB doesn't seem like a lot compared to iPhones that now come with up to 512GB, the XT3 has an internal, user-accessible microSDHC expansion card slot, which iPhones don't have. So the XT3 really has 32 or 64GB onboard plus whatever is in the card slot (we tested it with a 256GB microSD UHS-I card). That sometimes means users must copy things from here to there, or specify where something should be installed.

For communications there is dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, plus adherence also to the 802.11 d/h/i/k/r/v standards that handle global roaming, interference elimination, enhanced security, fast roaming, optimized network performance, power savings, and client/infrastructure protection.

Bluetooth 5 BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) supports earlier versions of Bluetooth as well as the newer low energy protocols. Bluetooth 5 also has twice the data throughput, a long range mode (up to 800 feet), and improved connectivity.

The Janam XT3 comes with embedded NFC/RFID reading capability. For positioning there's Qualcomm IZat Gen 8 for GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and SBAS. IZat supports location services that show who and what is around the device, and if it's indoors or out. Customers can specify 4G LTE, WCDMA, and EDGE/GPRS/GSM mobile broadband. A 13-megapixel autofocus camera with user-controllable LED flash can be used for both still image and video documentation, and there's also a 5mp frontfacing vidcam. Unlike most lenses under cover glass, this one remains visible at all times, which makes it easier to look into the camera during video conversations.

The XT3 has a user-accessible and easily removable 11.2 watt-hour Li-Ion battery. A more powerful 22.4 watt-hour extended battery is optionally available. Charging is either via a supplied USB-C cable to the AC/DC charger or via Janam's single or multi device docks.

The compilation image on the right shows the Janam XT3 from the front and from all four sides. The frontview shows the 5.0-inch screen with its hardened glass capacitive multi-touch interface.

The flush cover glass extends 1/8th inch beyond the LCD perimeter on the sides, and roughly half an inch on the top and bottom, making for smooth and easy operation. The glass is framed by a very slightly raised rubber border that serves both as a seal and to provide extra protection to the frontal glass.

The top view shows the unit's 1D/2D industrial-grade bar code reader window. Unlike in most handhelds equipped with dedicated scanners, the one in the XT3 does not add extra thickness.

The left side of the device shows a volume up/down rocker as well as an orange scanner button. The right side has a second orange scanner button, the small on/off/sleep button, and the unit's 3.5mm audio jack beneath its protective sealing cover.

The bottom of the unit shows the surface-mount docking and a reversible USB-C connector. If you want to sync or connect with a desktop or laptop, you need a USB-C to USB cable or the dock or both.

At RuggedPCReview.com, we want to know what's inside a unit that's expected to reliably do its job for many years. So let's take a look at the interior of the XT3. The battery compartment contains not just the battery, but also the unit's SIM and SAM slots and the microSD card slot. This type of design requires a very well sealed battery compartment cover. Janam did that with a replaceable orange o-ring and a spring-loaded friction slider to securely lock the cover. It takes a bit of prying to remove the cover and some pressure to put it back in place.

The replaceable 3.85 Volt, 2,900mAh Lithium-Ion battery packs 11.2 watt-hours and is not even a quarter of an inch thick. It is encased in hard plastic, unlike those squishy batteries in cheap electronics.

Physically, micro SIM and micro SAM cards and card slots are the same, but where SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) is for voice and data wireless service, SAM stands for "Secure Access Module" and works more like a SmartCard to handle secure transactions such as mobile payments.

Opening the housing of the Janam XT3 for repair or maintenance is easy. Remove four little rubber plugs to get to the four Torx T8 screws sitting in the four corners of the device. Undo those, then undo the four smaller Philips head screws inside the battery compartment. Then you can carefully take the two halves of the housing apart. Carefully, because there are several physical buttons that come loose and fall out. You don't want to lose those.

Sealing between the two halves is via a tongue-and-groove design with a thin grape-colored o-ring going around the entire perimeter. We like the use of color in such o-rings; it makes it much easier to see if they are uncompromised and in their proper place.

The two halves are made of black injection-molded flame-retarding polycarbonate PC+10%GF plastic . Rubberized protective bumpers goes around the entire unit. The front part of the housing has a magnesium frame for extra stiffness. Mounted onto that frame are the display on one side, and the motherboard on the other. Most of the circuitry is facing down onto the metal frame, presumably for thermal reasons.

A small 3.7 Volt, 60 mAH backup battery enables hot-swapping of the main battery. A plastic subframe serves as a mounting point for all sorts of components — the camera, the LED flash, a microphone, and antennae. It is amazing how small some of these components have become. You look at the tiny camera and even smaller LED flash and wonder how such a small assembly can do very good still images and video, and the little LED is much brighter than one might expect.

Overall, the whole interior design of the XT3 is impressive, as is the manufacturing. Fit and finish are on a very high level, everything looks well thought out, and there is great attention to detail. Even the white silicon glue that seals certain areas is applied cleanly and precisely (which isn't always the case in systems that come to our lab).

Below are a few interesting details from the inside of the Janam XT3. On the left the camera, middle top a look at the silicone glue that is used to seal ports, middle bottom the small backup battery that makes the XT3 battery hot-swappable, and on the right there's a close-up of the replaceable pink rubber o-ring seal.

The rapid advance in smartphone performance makes customers expect no less from their work devices. For rugged and industrial device manufacturers this means more frequent tech updates than in the past. It also means staying as close to the state-of-the-art as possible to fend off quick obsolescence.

The table below shows a cross section of benchmark results we've run in our lab.

720 x 1280 pixel resolution translates into 294 pixels per inch. That's sharper than any of the retina iPads save one (the 7.9-inch mini Retina), much sharper than any 4K TV or monitor or "retina" desktop, but not as sharp as Janam's own XT200 that has FHD resolution and 441ppi. Handhelds for the job generally don't need the very high resolution of some of the premium consumer smartphones which now approach 600 ppi.

The display is protected by chemically strengthened Gorilla Glass 3. Janam specs describe the screen as daylight readable, offering 500 nits luminance.

The picture below show a comparison between the Janam XT3 and an iPhone 7 Plus outdoors, with both devices set to maximum screen brightness. Our test Apple 7 Plus clocked in at a maximum screen brightness of 550 nits. The XT3 display, which we measured at 475 nits, looked almost as bright. Both displays are glossy, so there are reflections outdoors. Most smartphone and tablet users have learned to live with that.

The XT3 display also sports another quality that we consider very important: very good viewing angles from all directions. That means you don't have to hold the device just so in order to properly see what's on the screen. It looks the same no matter what angle you look at it from. There are also no color or contrast shifts, which is also very important when you work with color-coded apps.

Scanning is likely of primary interest to many XT3 customers. Our test unit came with an optional integrated industrial-grade miniature scan engine from Honeywell. The N6703 1D/2D imager (see N670x info) is tiny, measuring just 0.27 x 0.93 x 0.64 inches and weighing barely more than a tenth of an ounce, which is why there isn't a scanner bulge on the XT3.

The N6703 has a red aiming LED crosshair and can handle anything from total darkness to bright sunlight. It's fast enough to capture virtually any 1D or 2D bar code in milliseconds. Our XT3 came with a ScanSetting utility to configure the scanner for whatever job it's intended to be used. Below are some sample scan configuration screens:

Like almost ever handheld or tablet today, the XT3 has both front and rear cameras. The 5mp user-facing camera is for video calls. The rear-facing camera is for visual documentation of job conditions, repairs, project status and the like. Its maximum resolution is 13-megapixel, and it captures pictures with up to 4,160 x 3,120 pixel resolution. 13-megapixel is what you get in premium smartphones. Both cameras can be used for stills as well as for video.

In the past, the performance of cameras integrated into rugged vertical market handhelds and tablets was underwhelming. A few years ago, even the best lagged behind what was available in inexpensive point & shoots. Fortunately, this is now changing due to customer demand and the availability of much better camera modules for handhelds.

In our testing, we found the rear-facing documentation camera of the Janam XT3 to be very competent. The sample pictures we took were suitable for all but the most demanding documentation tasks. Most shots came out fine on the first try, the camera was quick, color was very good, and camera didn't over-compress images. It was also remarkably good at focussing on the right subject rather than wandering off.

The screen snap above shows the free Open Camera app that we downloaded from the Google Play Store. The interface of the default Android camera is very basic, with just +/-2EV exposure control, three flash modes, and six picture sizes from 1 up to 13 megapixels. That's not enough for the very good camera hardware. Most users will want to download one of the many camera apps from the Google Play Store.

The pictures below were shot with the Janam XT3 in 13mp mode. Click on the image to bring up a full-size version.

What's important here is that the rear camera of the XT3 is absolutely good enough to use for image and video documentation on the job. There's hardly any need to take a long a dedicated camera or use one's smartphone. There is very good sharpness and image detail, and the focus is quick and precise. And there's little of the massive image compression that often renders pictures from such integrated cameras useless.

Video is also significantly better than what one could expect from cameras integrated into rugged devices just a year or two ago. Frame rate and focussing are quick and the camera doesn't fall behind. Even 4K video worked flawlessly. The 5mp front camera is also quite good (it can do 1080p video), and both cameras have digital zoom.

Ruggedness comes at a cost. Extra components cost, extra protection costs, and a rugged device will be thicker and heavier than a consumer product. Yet, in order to appeal to customers used to light and slender smartphones, ruggedized handhelds must be appealing enough to be accepted, and they must not be too bulky or heavy.

So what degree of ruggedness did Janam bake into their rather attractive XT3? We already reported on build quality and structural design. But what about this handheld's ruggedness specifications?

First, the Janam XT3 carries IP67 sealing where the "6" means it is totally protected against dust, and the "7" means that it is also protected against the effects of full immersion in water down to a depth of one meter (3.3 feet). That makes the XT3 invulnerable to dust and liquids. It can be used the rain, even in a down-pour. And if it falls into a puddle or even a shallow stream, no problem. That said, many modern consumer phones, which are much easier to seal, are now IP68 rated, which means they are completely waterproof even at longer deeper immersion. So IP67 is no longer as special, but for most applications it's good enough.

Note that capacitive multi-touch and water generally don't get along because the technology relies on measuring capacitance between touches. Janam addressed that to some extent with a display surface that makes liquids pearl into tiny drops, making multi-touch possible even in the rain. Gloves are another problem with capacitive multi-touch, but the XT3's touch controller is sensitive enough to allow working with thin gloves.

The device can handle multiple drops from five feet to concrete. When it comes to mobile computers that are used while being carried around — such as tablets and handhelds — you want for them to be able to survive drops of four feet, because that is about as far as they'll fall. You also want for them to survive those falls no matter what they hit and in what position they make impact. And no matter how hot or cold it is. The XT3 was tested for all that.

The unit's operating temperature range of -4 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 to 60 degrees Celsius) is wide enough to allow the device to be used almost anywhere. That's important because mobile devices may encounter very high temperatures in vehicles or sitting in the sun, or very low ones if they are inadvertently left in an unheated environment.

Janam specs also state vibration testing at an amplitude of 2MM from 10Hz to 33Hz in all three axes, one hour per axis, but there's no reference to which tests were performed. It'd be good to know specifics. In addition, we've found YouTube videos of the device being subjected to extreme abuse, with no adverse effects.

Like all of Janam's mobile computing hardware, the XT3 is a device that caters to the needs of customers who use their devices at and for work. That means ruggedness and durability that goes far beyond what consumer smartphones can offer. It means industrial-grade components such as an integrated Honeywell 1D/2D barcode reader module rather than just using the internal camera with a scanner app as consumer devices usually do.

The sharp, bright 5.0-inch capacitive multi-touch display of the Janam XT3 is big roomy enough for the job without making the ruggedized device too big or heavy. The device is thicker and heavier than a consumer phone, but its footprint is no bigger than that of a current smartphone, and most people can easily hold and use it in one hand. The battery is replaceable, which is always good in a device used in the field.

There's integrated GPS, NFC/RFID reading, and mobile broadband. There's the integrated industrial-grade 1D/2D imager for bar code reading. The dual cameras (13mp and 5mp) are among the very best we've seen in rugged devices. And there's a modern USB-C port.

The device is elegant, well designed, and meticulously finished. It's also fully rugged and carries IP67 sealing, which means it won't even mind a drop into a puddle or stream.

What does all that make the Janam XT3? Back when we reviewed the predecessor XT2, we called it "an attractive choice for any enterprise seeking to deploy and manage smartphone-style Android-based handhelds with industrial durability and data collection technology." The XT3 is still that, but now it's a whole lot faster and more powerful. -- Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, September 2020

Janam XT3 Specifications: