Light and handy industrial Retail Mobile Computer
(by Kirk Linsky)

The MC17 Retail Mobile Computer is a "portable self-scanning terminal" running Windows CE 5.0 Professional on a 312MHz or 520MHz Marvell PXA270 processor. This is not a general purpose light industrial Pocket PC or handheld computer. Instead, the MC17 was designed from the start as a next generation retail shopping tool. The idea here was to give shoppers an unprecedented shopping experience where they use the small 9.5-ounce terminal to check prices, locate items, find complementary products, get personal recommendations, and finally check out quickly and efficiently. The potential here is endless, but whether it is a realistic proposition remains to be seen.

As is, the MC17 is an elegantly designed and ultra-ergonomic handheld with a 2.8-inch 240 x 320 pixel QVGA display, onboard 802.11b/g WiFi, a laser scanner, and enough battery power to run for a good eight hours. It's tough enough to survive multiple 4-foot drops, 500 half-meter tumbles, and take the general day-to-day abuse in a retail environment. Programmable buttons make the device easy to use.

The MC17 comes in two versions. The MC17A is the basic model whereas the MC17T adds a touchscreen, a faster processor and more memory via an additional gigabyte of SD storage.

Part of a long series of critically acclaimed Symbol technologies designs, the MC17 has been honored with three of the industry's most prestigious industrial design awards, including the International Design Excellence award, iF Product Design award and Good Design award.