On May 14, 2018, Xplore Technologies introduced the Xplore M60 handheld computer to complement its existing roster of rugged tablet computers. The M60 is Xplore's first entry in the rugged handheld space and the company's response to increasing demand for large and powerful, yet still ultra-mobile, handhelds that can easily access specialized enterprise applications and data.
But isn't Xplore the self-proclaimed "Rugged Tablet Authority," the company who has been pioneering rugged tablets since the mid 1990s and never deviated from the tablet form factor? It is, but the tablet market is shifting from the old phone/tablet split to one where ever larger and more powerful phones are increasingly replacing small tablets. 
Why? Because, given today's crop of 6-inch and growing smartphones, it hardly makes sense to many users to also carry along a slightly larger tablet that is heavier and bulkier and usually doesn't have cellular service.
So what we're seeing is a new split in device responsibility where ultra-mobile handhelds are used for lower-end tasks once reserved for small tablets, and larger tablets for computing-intensive tasks that once required a laptop or workstation.
What is the Xplore M60 all about? It's an Android device (with the latest version, Android 8.0 "Oreo"), has a big and sharp 6-inch screen, and a footprint just a bit larger than that of the iPhone 8 Plus or a Samsung Galaxy S8+. It weighs more, of course, because it's an inherently rugged device with ample protection.
What makes the Xplore M60 special? After all, 
today's premium smartphones are already plenty competent, largely waterproof, and there are good cases for them. But consumer smartphones need to be super-slender and trendy, which really doesn't help much if you use them on the job, and especially not on tough jobs.
To make something more suitable, Xplore started with fairly state-of-the-art guts, gave the device strong bones in the form of a magnesium-alloy internal frame, and then clad the whole thing in a very attractive and highly protective rubberized enclosure.
That alone, though, would probably still not be enough to make the M60 a truly compelling proposition. Consumer smartphones are simply to easy to buy and replace, and they get the very latest tech every six month to a year. But do they come with an industrial-grade scanner? No. Are they really rugged or is the protection only skin-deep? Likely the latter. And if something goes wrong, would you rather take it up with an Apple "genius" at the mall or the service professionals from a company that's been handling rugged computers for going on a quarter of a century?
Or take accessories. For consumer phones that mostly means your choice of 87,000 cute cases. For the Xplore M60, it means not only the aforementioned industrial-grade scanner, but also a vehicle charge cradle (see below), a desk charger, a very solid handstrap, a multibay battery charger, and a handy belt-pouch.
On the hardware side, the M60 is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm 8953 "Snap Dragon" CPU that's also seeing duty in a large number of consumer smartphones. The 550 nits 6-inch display offers full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel solution. That makes for 367 pixels per inch, super-sharp and right between the iPhone 8 and 8 plus. There's, of course, capacitive multitouch, Gorilla Glass protection, and the screen is wet and glove touch capable. There are the standard three Android touch buttons, but also three programmable hardware function keys. That always comes in handy.
One of the reasons why the M60 is heftier than civilian devices is its massive 8,200 mAH battery that Xplore says is good for up to 22 hours of use. That's several shifts and no consumer phone can touch that. Plus, the battery is replaceable.
There are dual cameras, 5 and 13 megapixel, speedy 802.11ac WiFi, a wide range of mobile broadband wireless technologies, fast and efficient Bluetooth 4.1, a micro-SD card slot to complement the 32GB of eMMC storage, and a universal USB Type C port.
The (factory-installed) scanner option is definitely a key feature of the M60. The scanner engine Xplore chose is the highly regarded Honeywell N3680 2D imager. It allows quick and accurate point and click scanning of key data, enabling effortless tracking, tracing, and managing everything from raw materials and finished goods to trucks and trains with complete confidence.
Scan range is two to 15 inches depending on the symbology used.
On the software side, not only does the Xplore M60 come with Android 8.0 but also Android for Work and MDM/EMM certification. What does that mean? MDM/EMM certification means full support of the standard Google APIs required for Mobile Device Management (MDM) or Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solutions. Those provide the critical software infrastructure that organizations of all sizes and across all industries mandate on their mobile devices. Android for Work provides work-specific profiles, whole-device encryption, and also "whitelist" capabilities that maximize security.
And then there is ruggedness, perhaps the primary raison d'etre for the M60. The device can handle 5-foot drops, which is important because the industry-standard four feet aren't enough when you use the M60 as a phone where it's held higher than four feet. The M60 can operate in a very wide temperature range of -4 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Sealing is at the IP68 level, the highest there is. The "6" stands for being dustproof and the "8" for protection against long periods underwater (manufacturers should specify how deep and how long). That's all that's currently in the spec sheet and we suspect there's a lot more. We'll edit once we have all the data.
What does it all amount to? We haven't had hands-on with the remarkably affordable Xplore M60 yet, but judging by the documentation, specs and images, this looks like a very impressive (let alone attractive) device that covers all the bases. From the looks of it, Xplore Technologies has served notice that, for real work, the days of going with consumer phones in a case is coming to an end.
