Popular rugged flashlight-style handheld
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

Introduced in 2003, the MC9000-G was conceived as a modern and relatively compact and lightweight flashlight-style handheld computer for barcode scanning-intensive applications (such as supply chain management) throughout the enterprise, and ended up becoming Symbol's most successful line of rugged handhelds ever. The MC9000's original design included a large 3.8-inch mono or color display, good processing power, a choice of a 43 or 53-key keypad, internal WiFi, and several long and short range 1D laser scanners or 2D imager options. The device is very rugged both in terms of sealing and drop specs. Rugged notebook-style rubber bumpers and a specially designed torque cell contributed to the stellar 6-foot drop spec. The MC9000-G came with either Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC or the more developer-oriented CE .NET 4.2. A pistol grip reduced user fatigue and makes the MC9000-G a powerful, versatile tool for data collection and processing in numerous vertical and industrial markets.

Thanks to the great popularity of the MC9000 Series, Symbol updated the line with the 9090 Series, and added a variety of special versions targeted for different markets. All 9000 models now use the powerful Intel PXA270 processor and run the versatile Windows Mobile 5.0 platform. By 2006, Symbol had produced 500,000 9000 Series computers, an incredible number in this market.

Current 9000 Series models include the MC9090-G, designed for indoor use in scan-intensive environments; the MC9090-K, geared towards indoor/outdoor use with support for voice and data convergence; the MC9090-S with a slightly smaller and more compact form factor; and the MC9097 which includes Nextel Walkie-Talkie capability.