December 2017

RuggON Corporation, a supplier of fully rugged computers, announced their sponsorship of the German Haribo Racing Team which is part of the customer racing program of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. Pit crews are using the RuggON PX-501B rugged Windows tablet for vehicle diagnostics, on-the-spot repairs, and vehicle tuning on the famed Nürburgring race course in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Sharing the racing team's emphasis on reliability, performance, and durability, the RuggON PX-501B proved to be a perfect complement to Mercedes-AMG's supercars. [See RuggON news]

Pentium Silver and Gold
Intel, seemingly, will stop at nothing to make their byzantine processor lineup even more, well, byzantine. The company has now announced Pentium Silver and Gold processors, where the Gold varieties use big Kaby Lake cores whereas the Silver versions are now based on "Gemini Lake" (which is the successor to Apollo Lake, which was the successor of Braswell, which was the successor of Bay Trail). There are actually also Celeron-branded new chips in Gemini Lake. Intel's idea here seems to use Celeron and Pentium to offer something that covers the big gap between high-end Atom and low-end Core processors, both in terms of cost, performance, power usage and features. For a table of the new chips, see here. [See Intel press release] -- Posted Monday, December 18, 2017

Full review: GammaTech DURABOOK SA14 R3
RuggedPCReview performed a full analysis of the GammaTech DURABOOK SA14 and found it to be a semi-rugged, super-solid notebook computer designed to be substantially tougher and more durable than standard consumer notebooks, but without the high cost of a fully rugged model. It's a very trust-inspiring, albeit rather heavy, machine with a bright, reflection-free 14-inch wide-format display, good connectivity, very good battery life, and excellent performance thanks to a recent upgrade to 7th generation Intel Core processors. [See full review of the GammaTech DURABOOK SA14 R3] -- Posted Friday, December 15, 2017

Datalogic introduces the Skorpio X4 mobile computer
Datalogic, a global leader in automatic data capture and industrial automation markets, is proud to announce the Skorpio X4 mobile computer representing the next generation of the highly-successful Skorpio mobile computer line from Datalogic. This rugged mobile computer is especially suitable for mobile commerce solutions in the retail environment both in-store and back-end receiving. [See Datalogic press release and RuggedPCReview's description, analysis and specs of the Datalogic Skorpio X4] -- Posted Wednesday, December 13, 2017

RuggON MT7000 all-in-one vehicle terminal
There's much efficiency to be gained from fleet management, asset management, and Electronic Logging (ELD) applications. The RuggON MT7000 all-in-one vehicle panel computer, available with either Windows 10 IoT Enterprise or Android, is an interesting and well-executed example of the rapidly growing class of IoT building blocks, devices that merge sensor, communications, processing and advanced human interface technologies to offer unprecedented tracking, control, and opportunity in organically connected IoT systems. [See description, analysis and specs of the RuggON MT7000] -- Posted Friday, December 8, 2017

Empowering the connected colleague
Interesting coverage of an Essential Retail webinar on the topic of connected retail. The webinar, sponsored by Datalogic, discussed the retail automation market that's worth almost US$11 billion per year and is set to rise by 10% annually up to 2022. [See Empowering the connected colleague] -- Posted Thursday, December 7, 2017

Featured blog: Rugged Tech Talk with DT Research
More and more rugged technology firms have blogs, and most do a great job in presenting basics, specifics and examples of rugged computing technology to their customers and interested parties. Today's highlight is on DT Research's Rugged Tech Talk with DT Research blog. Established in its current form in July 2016, the nicely formatted blog covers a new topic or issue on average once a week. Recent topics include 4 Benefits of Rugged Tablets for Construction Site Managers, How Rugged Medical Tablets are Revolutionizing Emergency Medical Services, The Three Types of First Responders Who Need Rugged Tablet Solutions, and Why 4G LTE is the Future of Tablet Tech Communications. [visit Rugged Tech Talk with DT Research] -- Posted Thursday, December 7, 2017

Full review: ARBOR FPC-7900 series of robust Intel 7th generation powered Box PCs with available PCI/PCIe expansion
Performance used to be a secondary consideration in industrial computers, but the emergence of Industry 4.0, the IoT, and factory automation have changed that. State-of-the-art performance must now be available in Box PCs, as well as the kind of extensive onboard I/O needed in industrial settings. ARBOR Technology's new FPC-7900 line of robust Box PCs offers all that, and also special form factors that can accommodate PCI expansion. [See full review of the ARBOR FPC-7900 series of high-performance industrial Box PCs] -- Posted Wednesday, December 6, 2017

McElroy selects Getac ZX70 fully rugged tablet to be a part of DataLogger® 6 solution for measuring accuracy and efficiency in pipeline fusions
McElroy, the leading manufacturer and innovator of pipe fusion equipment, has selected the Getac ZX70 fully rugged tablet, to be incorporated into the company's DataLogger 6 solution for quality assurance in the field. The ZX70 was ultimately selected for its lightweight, fully rugged design, Android 6.0 platform, custom RS232 adapter and exceptional customer service. [See Getac/McElroy press release] -- Posted Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Sonim raises $37 million in capital to extend leadership in ultra rugged phones
Sonim Technologies, maker of the world's toughest cell phones, today announced it has raised $37 million in capital from B. Riley Financial, Inc., a diversified financial services company, through its operating subsidiaries B. Riley FBR, Inc. and B. Riley Principal Investments, LLC. The funding includes $27 million of equity capital and $10 million of subordinated debt capital through a revolving credit facility. As a leading manufacturer of phones that will survive the toughest conditions, Sonim is poised for rapid growth across multiple industries, with a focus on the public safety sector. [See Sonim press release] -- Posted Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Case study: Handheld Group's Nautiz X8 assists explorer as navigation tool, weather station, phone and personal computer
Alex Bellini, an Italian explorer and environmental advocate, accompanied by Handheld Group Nautiz X8, journeyed across the largest glacier in Europe in winter 2016-2017 to raise awareness about the effects of climate change on our planet's frozen structures. Communicating with a support team, navigating remote landscapes and tracking weather patterns were all indispensable parts of Bellini's expedition. He used the weatherproof Nautiz X8 handheld as a navigation tool, weather station, phone and personal computer on his trek across Vatnajökull glacier, which covers approximately 5,000 square kilometers (1,930 square miles) of southeast Iceland. [Read Handheld Group's Nautiz X8 assists explorer as navigation tool, weather station, phone and personal computer] -- Posted Tuesday, December 5, 2017

What happened in rugged computing 5 years ago: Dec. 2012
In December 2012, we reviewed the Motion CL910 tablet and the SDG Systems Rampage 6, one of the earliest Android-based rugged handhelds which was based on Juniper Systems' Mesa. Sprint added the rugged Sonim XP STRIKE phone, Getac upgraded their V100/200 and B300 lines to 3rd gen Core processors, and Gammatech supplied their T7Q rugged tablets to Victory Police Motorcycles. Datalogic introduced the Lynx PDA, Xplore sold 900 iX104C5M rugged Windows tablets to the US military, and Honeywell acquired Intermec. [See full December 2012 archive] -- Posted Friday, December 1, 2017

Havis introduces upgraded universal laptop and tablet cradle line for a wide variety of devices
Havis Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of in-vehicle mobile office solutions for mobile professionals, has announced a new, upgraded line of universal cradle solutions for a wide range of tablet and laptop models. The new generation of Havis universal cradles, which includes the UT-1000 Series, the UT-2000 Series, and the UT-301 Cradles, are lighter yet still ultra-rugged and allow for more mounting options. The new Universal Cradle line is made from high-performance, injection-molded materials and some feature a durable, powder coat painted top plate. The thin, low profile design of the cradles maximizes mobile office space and enhances visibility. The rugged construction of the Havis Universal Cradles allows for longer service life and future redeployments. The new Universal Cradle line is made from high-performance, injection-molded materials and some feature a durable, powder coat painted top plate. The thin, low profile design of the cradles maximizes mobile office space and enhances visibility. The rugged construction of the Havis Universal Cradles allows for longer service life and future redeployments. [See Havis press release] -- Posted Friday, December 1, 2017