4rd generation of Getac's rugged thin & light 11.6-inch tablet goes Kaby Lake, ups speed, versatility, usability and security.
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

On September 26, 2017, Getac introduced the 4th generation F110 fully rugged tablet computer. It's once again a very noticeable upgrade to the company's popular large-screen tablet. Most importantly, there's a switch to Intel 7th generation "Kaby Lake" Core processors, which means Getac leaves Windows 7 behind and fully concentrates on Windows 10 and its many inherent features and capabilities.

It seems like only yesterday that Getac introduced its remarkably thin and light fully rugged large screen F110 tablet. Under an inch thick, weighing just over three pounds, carrying IP65 sealing, and sporting a large 11.6-inch display, the F110 came with the very latest technology.

But Getac did not rest on its high-tech laurels. A year later the company upgraded to the next generation of Intel's Core processors, and another year later to the one after that. And now they are doing it again. Getac customers get the benefit of a switch to Intel's 7th generation of "Kaby Lake" chips and a host of other advances.

A thoroughly modern rugged tablet platform

But before we get into the details of the latest upgrade, a few words about the F110 platform. This is not just a fortified consumer tablet, nor is it a slimmed-down version of an old-style rugged tablet. Instead, it's a reinvention of what a tough, durable, versatile tablet for deployment in the field should be, one that can take punishment, and survive bumps and drops and intense dust and liquid exposure. And also one that provides state-of-the-art performance and functionality.

Getac calls the F110 a large screen tablet. That's because its display measures 11.6 inches diagonally. That means a good deal more screen real estate than 10-inch tablets have. How much more? The F110's screen is 29% larger than that of the standard iPad, and has almost three times as much screen surface than a typical 7-inch tablet. For a fully rugged Windows tablet that's important. For Windows, larger is almost always better, and especially so when wearing gloves or using classic apps and the classic desktop.

Let's talk speed

But let's talk performance and efficiency, as that's a big part of what the 4th gen Getac F110 is all about. In the past, the realities of long product cycles and (relatively) low volumes in industrial and vertical markets meant technology was always a generation or two behind. That's no longer acceptable to today's customers.

While being "current" in the use of Intel processors is fleeting, for now the 4th generation F110 is as state-of-the-art under the hood as is practical, giving customers access to contemporary speed and features. Here is the processor lineup Getac F110 customers can choose from:

Getac F110: Available Processor Options

Available F110 CPUs	Intel Core i7	Intel Core i7	Intel Core i5	Intel Core i5
Model	7600U	7500U	7300U	7200U
Cores/Threads	2/4	2/4	2/4	2/4
Base Clock Speed	2.80 GHz	2.70 GHz	2.60 GHz	2.50 GHz
Turbo Speed	3.90 GHz	3.50 GHz	3.50 GHz	3.10 GHz
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	15 watts	15 watts	15 watts	15 watts
Smart Cache	4MB	4MB	3MB	3MB
Integrated graphics	HD Graphics 620	HD Graphics 620	HD Graphics 620	HD Graphics 620
Graphics base speed	300 MHz	300 MHz	300 MHz	300 MHz
Graphics max speed	1.15 GHz	1.05 GHz	1.10 GHz	1.00 GHz
Intel Stable Image Platform Program	Yes	No	Yes	No
Intel TSX-NI	Yes	No	Yes	No
Intel Trusted Execution	Yes	No	Yes	No
Intel vPro	Yes	No	Yes	No

Note that for the latest F110, as was the already the case for the prior generation, Getac isn't offering a representative of the i3 low end of the Core processor family which lacks such popular features as Intel's "turbo" mode.

Instead, there are the i5-7200U and i5-7300U, which differ a bit in speed and certain baked-in Intel technologies that may be irrelevant to most customers, but vitally important to some.

On the high end, the top-of-the-line is the i7-7600U, which is the fastest of the lot, with the also available i7-7500U just a bit slower, but missing some possibly needed Intel technologies.

Overall, these processors are not very different from one another, all having the same graphics, the same number of cores and threads, and mostly the same features. To view the full spec table for these four CPUs, see here.

Baked-in technologies matter

For a brief explanation of those Intel technologies that some of the chips available for the F110 have or don't have:

• The extra security and manageability capabilities of vPro, especially, are required in many enterprise deployments (see Wiki Intel vPro).

• TSX-NI Transactional Synchronization Extensions New Instructions) helps make parallel operations more efficient via improved control of locks in software (see Wiki TSX),

• SIPP (Stable Image Platform Program) allows deployment of standardized, stable image PC platforms for at least 15 months (see Intel SIPP), and

• Trusted Execution technology provides security capabilities such as measured launch and protected execution, and may thus also be an enterprise requirement (see Wiki Trusted Execution Technology). Skylake also brings Intel Authenticate, Intel's new enhanced hardware security that strengthens identity protection.

In addition, the 4rd gen Intel Kaby Lake-based F110 benefits from fast, efficient DDR4 RAM, as well as the latest and more efficient Intel WiFi (8265ac) and Bluetooth (BT 4.2) versions.

Windows likes big screens

The Getac F110 comes with a very bright sunlight-readable 800-nit 1,366 x 768 pixel screen, which is a good match for Microsoft Windows on an 11.6-inch display—icons, check and scroll boxes, and text are not too tiny in "legacy" desktop mode. The screen uses IPS technology, so there are near perfect viewing angles from all directions. We'd have liked to see a higher resolution screen, but that has to wait for a future update.

And as is common in screen technology, Getac has its own special sauces for best possible viewability and contrast outdoors, theirs being QuadraClear (referring to four core elements, those being brightness, anti-reflective coatings, and both linear and circular polarizers) and LumiBond 2, where display glass is bonded with the touch panel and LCD, minimizing internal reflection, and there's specially optimized capacitive multi-touch that works with gloves on and when it rains.

But it doesn't stop there. The F110 comes with a hard-tipped capacitive pen that's much better and more precise than those squishy wide-tipped capacitive pens that are no better than a finger. And for deployments where maximum precision is needed, Getac also offers an optional active digitizer/pen.

Optimizing the tablet form factor

Part of the secret of the F110's slender profile is its dual batteries. They are recessed into the backside of the device, easily accessible underneath a sturdy milled aluminum cover that snaps into place, and has an o-ring rubber seal to keep water out. The dual battery arrangement means the F110 has hot-swappable power. The batteries pack a combined 48 watt-hours, which doesn't sound like very much, but Kaby Lake's remarkable power saving technologies allows smaller batteries for a lighter, thinner design without giving up battery life.

In terms of onboard I/O, like most slender tablets, the F110 doesn't have much. You do get audio, a single USB 3.0 port, and a legacy RS232 DB9 port on top of the device. At the bottom is a triple antenna pass-through, a docking port, and power. That's it. You do, however, get the choice of the serial port our unit had, or a second USB port, a MicroSD card slot, RS232, RJ45 LAN or even a Honeywell N6603 2D imager barcode reader instead. There are two optional cameras, a webcam facing the user (full 1080p now), and an 8mp autofocus documentation camera.

For wireless communication, the 4th gen F110 comes with an Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265 802.11ac module, Class 1 Bluetooth V4.2, and optional global broadband in the form of a 4G LTE Sierra Wireless AirPrime EM7455 module (see EM7455 spec sheet) with up to three times the download speed of the EM7355 module used in the 3rd gen F110.

Security: ever more important

Security is becoming ever more important, and the Getac F110 is well equipped in that regard with a TPM 2.0 module that monitors and protects system start-ups to ensure the device is tamper-free before releasing control to the operating system while BitLocker protects data at rest, in use and in transit, strong multifactor authentication, and full support for Windows 10 security features to help protect against known and emerging threats. There's also a slot for the simple but effective Kensington lock, and customers can specify either a fingerprint reader or standard or contactless Smart Card reader.

An interesting new option for the 4th gen F110 is a special IR camera option that works in conjunction with the Windows Hello face authentication, an enterprise-grade identity verification mechanism that's integrated into the Windows Biometric Framework (see Windows Hello face authentication). Microsoft claims that the chance of a false positive is less than 1 in 100,000.

A tough tablet

On the ruggedness side, the latest F110 tablet is as tough as ever. It can operate between -6° and 140° Fahrenheit (-21° to 60°C). Sealing is at the IP65 standards (completely dustproof and able to handle low-pressure water jets from all directions), and the machine fills MIL-STD-810G testing requirements for humidity, altitude, shock, drop, vibration and others. There's compliance with ANSI/ISA 12.12.01, which is similar to, but more stringent than, UL1604 it replaces. The tablet is also MIL-STD-461F (electromagnetic interference) ready.

Staying at the leading edge

With this fourth generation of its popular F110, Getac offers a well designed and engineered, field-proven, and technologically up-to-date Windows tablet whose large, bright 11.6-inch display is perfect for serious work in the field. It's a thin, compact and powerful design that's streamlined yet configurable. Its light weight belies its substantial ruggedness. There's effortless multi-touch operation, a well-working capacitive pen, and also an active pen for dealing with the Windows desktop or whenever precision and ink capture is required.

Getac didn't have to update the F110 to the very latest advances in technology and security yet again so quickly, but it did. That will certainly not go unnoticed.