Rugged fixed mount tablet
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

DT Research, Inc., with headquarters in San Jose, California, develops and manufactures information appliances including tablet devices and digital signage solutions for vertical markets. The company's WebDT 360 and the slightly larger WebDT 310 are being used as light and handy solutions for many mobile computing applications. In April of 2008, DT Research added the rugged WebDT 520, a fixed mount tablet for use in forklifts, emergency vehicles, warehousing, and even in marine and boating applications.

The WebDT 520 is a tablet with a footprint of 12.1 x 9.45 inches. It is 1.6 inches thick and weighs less than six pounds. Its 12.1-inch display has a resistive touch screen and 1024 x 768 XGA resolution. It is a standard TFT LCD, but a outdoor-viewable option is available. The WebDT 520 runs either Windows XP Embedded or Windows XP Professional on a 1GHz AMD Mobile Sempron processor. Depending on the operating system and intended use, there are a variety of storage options. The 520 vehicle mount computer can accommodate up to 16GB of Flash, hard disks up to 120GB, and it also supports a 32 or 64GB solid state drive.

The WebDT 520 sports impressive ruggedness specs. Its magnesium-aluminum alloy housing can withstand substantial abuse. It is sealed to IP65 specifications, which means it is totally protected against dust and also against low pressure water jets from all directions. It can be used in an operating temperature range of 32 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. If that is not enough, DT Research offers a -4 degree Fahrenheit anti-freeze option. As a fixed-mount computer, the DT 520 is either plugged in or uses 12-36 Volt DC power. However, it can also be ordered with an optional battery pack that also works as an uninterruptible power supply to add additional reliability.

The WebDT 520 offers excellent connectivity via four USB 2.0 ports, a legacy serial port, gigabit Ethernet, a PC Card slot and an Express Card slot. Wireless communication is either via Bluetooth Class 2, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, or an optional 3G or GSM module. DT Research also offers an optional GPS module for mapping applications.

DT Research stresses the "fixed computing" aspect of the WebDT 520 rugged fixed mount tablet, i.e. as an embedded OS device it can be configured to run only specific applications. This increases both security and ease-of-use. Pricing starts at US$2,600.