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April 19, 2022
If I were on the board of a rugged device provider...
If I were on the board of a rugged device provider, here's what I would ask them to consider.
Folks, I would say, there are truly and literally billions of smartphones out there. Almost everyone uses them every day, including on the job. Many are inexpensive and easily replaced. Almost all are put in a protective sleeve or case.
That is monumental competition for makers and vendors of dedicated rugged handhelds. To get a piece of the pie, to make the case that a customer should buy rugged devices instead of cheaper consumer devices, you have to outline why they should. Outline, describe, and prove.
You should point at all the advantages of rugged devices. And not just the devices themselves, but also why your expertise, your experience, the extra services you provide, the help you can offer, the connections you have that can help, all of that you must outline and present. The potential payoff is huge. As is, I see a lot of missed opportunity.
So here are a few things I’d like for you to think about:
Rugged-friendly design
As immensely popular as consumer smartphones are, they really are not as user-friendly as they could be. Example: the smartphone industry decided that it’s super-fashionable to have displays that take up the entire surface of the device, and often even wrap around the perimeter. The result is that you can barely touch such devices without triggering unwanted action.
Another example: they make them so sleek and slippery as to virtually guarantee that they slip out of one’s hand. And surfaces are so gleaming and glossy that they are certain to crack or scratch. Rugged handheld manufacturers must stay away from that. Yes, there is great temptation to make rugged handhelds look just as trendy as consumer smartphones, but it should not come at the cost of common sense.
Smartphone makers love flat, flush surfaces without margins around them and without any protective recess at all. And even many rugged device manufacturers make their devices much too slippery. Make them grippy, please. So that they feel secure in one’s hand, and so that you can lean them at something without them slipping and falling.
Make sure your customers know just how tough your product is!
I cringe every time I scan the specifications of a rugged device, and there’s just the barest minimum of ruggedness information. Isn’t ruggedness the very reason why customers pay extra for more robust design? Isn’t ruggedness what sets rugged devices apart from consumer smartphones? So why not explain, in detail, what the device is protected against? And how well protected it is? I shouldn’t even have to say that. It is self-evident. Simply adding statements like “MIL-STD compliant” to a spec sheet is wholly insufficient. So here’s what I’d like to see:
It's the MIL-STD-801H now!
For many long years, the MIL-STD-801G ruled. It was the definite document that described ruggedness testing procedures. It was far from perfect, because the DOD didn’t have rugged mobile device testing in mind when they created the standard. But that’s beside the point. The point is that MIL-STD-810G has been replaced with MIL-STD-810H. Yet, years after the new standard was introduced, the majority of ruggedness specs continue to refer to the old standard. Which may make some customers wonder just how serious the testing is. So read the pertaining sections of the new standard, test according to the new standard, and get certified by the new standard rules.
Add the crush spec
Years ago, when Olympus still made cameras (you can still buy “Olympus” cameras, but they are no longer made by the actual company), the company excelled with their tough and rugged adventure cameras. Olympus “Tough” cameras sported ruggedness properties that met and often exceeded those of rugged handhelds, including handling depths of up to 70 feet even with buttons, ports and a touch screen. Olympus went out of its way to highlight how tough their products were, explained what it all meant, and included pictures and videos.
And they included one spec that I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a rugged handheld, but that was part of almost all Olympus adventure camera specs -- the “crush spec.” How much pressure can a device handle before it gets crushed? Makes perfect sense. On the job it’s quite possible to step on a device. Sit on it, crush it between things. How much can it handle? Consider adding “crush resistance” to the specs.
Always include the tumble spec
The drop spec is good, but after most drops, devices tumble. Which is why a few rugged handheld makers include the tumble spec. It’s different from the static drop test in that it quantifies how many “tumbles” – slipping out of one’s hands while walking with the device – it can handle. That’s a good thing to know. And it should be included in every rugged handheld spec sheet.
Aim for IP68
IP67 is generally considered the gold standard for ingress protection in rugged mobile computers. No dust gets in, and the device can handle full immersion. Within reason, of course, and with IP67 that means no more than three feet of water and no longer than 30 minutes.
Problem is that there are now any number of consumer smartphones that claim IP68 protection. While IP68 isn’t terribly well defined even in the official standard (it essentially says continuous immersion but not how long and how deep), the general assumption of course is that IP68 is better than IP67. And it just doesn’t feel right that a fragile iPhone has an IP68 rating whereas most rugged handhelds max out at IP67. So I’d give that some thought and aim for a good, solid IP68 rating for most rugged handhelds.
Ruggedness information: Set an example
With all those vague, non-specific, all-encompassing “MIL-STD tested!” claims by rugged-wannabes, it is surprising how little specific, solid, detailed ruggedness information is provided by many genuine vendors of true rugged devices. Ruggedness testing is a specific, scientific discipline with easily describable results. The specs of each rugged device should have a comprehensive list of test results, in plain English. And that should be backed up with making detailed test results available to customers. A brief “Tested to MILD-STD requirements” simply is not enough.
Better cameras!
Almost every smartphone has at least two cameras built in these days – a front-facing one for video calls and a rear-facing one to take pictures – and many have three or four or even more. And that’s not even counting IR cameras, LiDAR and others. The cameras in almost all smartphones are very good and a good number are excellent.
Sadly, the majority of cameras in rugged handhelds aren’t very good, ranging from embarrassingly bad to sort of okay, with just a very few laudable exceptions. That is not acceptable. Cameras in rugged tools for the job should be just as good or better than what comes in a consumer phone. Users of rugged handhelds should be able to fully count on the cameras in their devices to get the job done, and done well. That is not the case now, and that must change. Shouldn’t professional users get professional gear, the best?
Keep Google contained
Sigh. Google owns Android, and Android owns the handheld and smartphone market for pretty much every device that’s not an iPhone. We’re talking monopoly here, and Google is taking advantage of that with an ever more heavy-handed presence in every Android device. During setup of an Android phone or computer users are practically forced to accept Google services, and Google products and services are pushed relentlessly. Compared to early Android devices, the latest Android hardware feels a bit like delivery vehicles for Google advertising and solicitation. That’s an unfortunate development, and providers of rugged handhelds should do whatever they can to minimize Google’s intrusions and activities on their devices.
But, you might say, isn’t there Android AOSP (“Android Open System Project”) that is free of Google’s choking presence? Yes, there is AOSP, or I should say there was. While AOSP still exists, Google has gone out of its way to make it so barren and unattractive that it feels like a penalty box for those who refuse to give Google free reign over their devices. None of the popular Google apps are available on AOSP, there is no access to the unfortunately named Google Play Store. AOSP users who want to download apps must rely on often shady third party Android app stores. And backup is disabled on AOSP. Yes, no backup. Some has changed as of late, but AOSP remains a sad place. Your customers deserve better. Find a solution!
Android updates…
Android’s rapid-fire version update policy has long been a source of frustration. That’s because unlike Apple or Microsoft OS software, Android OS updates may or may not be available for any given Android device. Have you ever wondered why so many rugged Android devices seem to run on old versions of Android? That’s because they can’t be upgraded. Customers often need to wait until a tech update of a device that comes with a newer version. The situation is so bad that vendor guarantees that a device will support the next two or three versions is considered an extra. It shouldn’t be that way. Yes, each new rev of an operating system is usually bigger and bulkier than the prior one, and thus makes hardware obsolete after a while. But not being able to upgrade at all? Unacceptable.
What IS that emphasis on enterprise?
Google likes to talk about Android for the enterprise, an effort to make Android devices more acceptable for use in enterprises. That means extra security and conforming to standard workplace practices. The problem is that it’s not terribly clear what exactly that means. Google’s Android Enterprise page says “The program offers APIs and other tools for developers to integrate support for Android into their enterprise mobility management (EMM) solutions.” All good buzz words, but what do they actually mean? I think rugged handheld providers should make every effort to spell out exactly for their customers what it means.
Add dedicated/demo apps
Among Google’s many bad habits with Android is the constant renaming and reshuffling of the user interface. From version to version everything is different, features are moved around, grouped differently, and so on. Sometimes just finding a necessary setting requires way too much time locating. Rugged handheld vendors should help their customers as much as they can by offering/creating demo apps, group important features, turn off Google’s often intrusive and self-serving defaults, and also create/package apps that truly add value to customers.
Custom cases or sleeves
The case of the case is a weird one. Consumer smartphones are, for truly no good reason, as slender, fragile and glitzy as possible, so much so that almost all users get a protective case that guards against scratching and breaking. The smartphone industry has delegated ruggedness to third party case vendors. A very weird situation.
That said, decent cases do protect, and sometimes amazingly well. So much so that there’s any number of YouTube videos of iPhones in cases shown to survive massive drops, again and again. Rugged handhelds have ruggedness built in. They don’t need a case. But not many claim a drop spec higher than four feet. Which is most peculiar, because when you use such a device as a phone and it drops while you’re making a call, it’ll fall from more than four feet. Five or six feet should definitely be standard in a rugged handheld. But that may require more protection, and that means a bigger, bulkier case.
So why not take a cue from those few very smart suppliers that offer custom protective sleeve that add extra protection for just a few dollars? Just in case a customer needs the extra protection.
Dare to be different
On my desk I have six handhelds. Apple and Android. Premium and economy priced. Rugged and non-rugged. They all look the same. Glossy black rectangles with rounded corners. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but why not dare to be different? Dare to feature functionality rather than make it blend in. Dare to have a brand identity. Sure, if a billion and a half phones are sold each year that all look like glossy black rectangles, it takes guts to be different, to not also make a glossy black rectangle. Maybe deviate just a little? Make some baby steps?
And that’s that. A few things to consider if you design, make, or distribute rugged handhelds. The complete global acceptance of handheld computers for virtually everything has opened vast new markets for rugged handhelds. A share of that can be yours, a potentially much larger one than ever before. But you have to differentiate yourself and emphasize your strengths and the compelling advantages of your products.
Make it so.
Posted by conradb212 at April 19, 2022 8:57 PM