January 2019

Unlike generic consumer tech, industrial and vertical market computing products must often excel in one specific area, prioritize certain certain functions over others, or tackle tasks that require customization. That's where the term "purpose built" comes in — created or configured for a specific industry or a specific task. A recent entry in the Rugged Tech Talk with DT Research blog examines the "purpose built" concept in more detail. The articles looks into various fields (like military, government, logistics, etc.) and highlights the special requirements of those markets, and how a company like DT Research is equipped to purpose-build their tablet products for those markets. [See What does "purpose built" mean in the rugged tablet world? ]

Havis offers new docking solution for Getac K120 products
Not all rugged mobile computers are carried around on the job. Many are mounted on job sites, inside vehicles, on shop floors and in many other ways and settings. That's where Havis docking and mounting solutions come in. A recent entry in the excellent Havis blog highlighted the company's new docking solution for the Getac K120 12.5-inch rugged tablet. These docking stations offer computer charging, security and connection to peripherals for enterprise, medical and in-vehicle workplaces. [See Havis blog on Getac K120 docking solutions] -- Posted Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Detailed preview: Handheld's new 6-inch Nautiz X6 phablet
Handheld Group announced their new NAUTIZ X6, an ultra-rugged phablet — phone plus tablet — that combines the big-screen functionality of a tablet with the go-anywhere performance of a rugged phone. Running Android 8 on a 6-inch screen, the Nautiz 6 benefits from Handheld’s proprietary MaxGo software suite as well as an available multi-shift battery and a snap-on expansion module system. [See description, analysis and specs of the Handheld Nautiz X6] -- Posted Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Panasonic: Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service equips 50 vehicles with Panasonic rugged tablets
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is transforming life for firefighters on the frontline by equipping them with Panasonic rugged Toughpad tablets to access vital information during operations. The service has deployed 13 inch Panasonic Toughbook CF-D1 tablets in the front cabs of its fire appliances. These Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) are permanently mounted in the front of the vehicle and are connected to the existing Tetra Network. They are being used to provide vital information on the way to a call out, including routing, sending status updates to command and control, meeting risk assessment requirements and locating nearby hydrant locations. [See Panasonic media release] -- Posted Tuesday, January 29, 2019

New: Datalogic Memor 10 enterprise smartphone/PDA
Consumer smartphones are designed to be as slender and glitzy as possible, which makes them fragile and unsuitable for serious enterprise use. Datalogic's new Memor 10, on the other hand, combines the technology and ease of use of a modern smartphone with the durability and functionality of a rugged handheld computer. And it has wireless charging, an available pistol-grip, and industrial-grade scanning. [See description, analysis and specs of the Datalogic Memor 10] -- Posted Monday, January 28, 2019

Zebra Technologies to acquire Temptime Corporation
Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA), an innovator at the edge of the enterprise with solutions and partners that enable businesses to gain a performance edge, today announced that it intends to acquire Temptime Corporation, a privately-held developer and manufacturer of temperature monitoring solutions for mission-critical applications in the healthcare industry. [See Zebra media release] -- Posted Monday, January 28, 2019

Added: DT Research DT372AP high-performance 7-inch GNSS tablet
DT Research also released a faster, tougher 7-inch tablet with a long-lasting big battery and five programmable hardware function buttons. The DT372AP comes in a separate DT372AP-TR GNSS tablet version as well, that one with a built-in survey-grade RTK GNSS module with optional foldable antenna. [See description, analysis and specs of the DT Research DT372AP] -- Posted Friday, January 25, 2019

Added: DT Research DT370CR multi-functional 7-inch tablet
Despite big-screen handhelds encroaching on small tablets, we're seeing a resurgence of 7-inch vertical market tablets. One of them is DT Research's 7-inch DT370CR that's available with either Windows 10 IoT Enterprise or Android. With a sharp, bright capacitive multi-touch display and programmable hardware buttons, the DT370CR can serve the needs of users in numerous fields. [See description, analysis and specs of the DT Research DT370CR] -- Posted Friday, January 25, 2019

Full review: The new Trimble Yuma 7
Trimble just introduced the new Yuma 7 today, but RuggedPCReview.com worked with Trimble to bring you a full, detailed review of this remarkable, and remarkably compact, rugged 7-inch tablet the same day. The Yuma 7 was designed from the ground up for the toughest jobs imaginable. And, thanks to its innovative EMPOWER expansion concept, the Yuma 7 is endlessly customizable via bolt-on functionality modules from Trimble itself or from third parties. Customers of the existing Yuma 2 will love the new model's much higher (3X) performance. [See full review of the Trimble Yuma 7] -- Posted Thursday, January 24, 2019

Full review: MobileDemand's rugged case for the 9.7-inch iPad
iPads remain hugely popular. Lots of people would use them on the job, if they just weren't so fragile and easily broken. MobileDemand offers a compelling solution with their Rugged Case for iPad 9.7, one that completely protects the iPad (it survived 26 10-foot drops in their testing!!), offers numerous handle and mounting options, yet still provides add-on capability for PCI-compliant point-of-sale magstrip readers and PIN pads. [See full review of the MobileDemand Rugged Case for iPad 9.7-inch] -- Posted Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Police Scotland to deploy Motorola Solutions Pronto, a leading digital policing application developed in Scotland
Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) has been awarded a three year contract to roll-out its Pronto digital policing application software to 10,000 officers across Scotland. The contract is part of a broader deal between Police Scotland and EE, part of BT Group, to deliver its National Mobile Working Solution. [See Motorola Solutions media release] -- Posted Tuesday, January 22, 2019

ARBOR 2019 catalogs available
ARBOR Technology's 2019 catalogs are available for download. One each for rugged mobile computing, embedded computing, industrial automation, and medical computing. ARBOR's annual product catalogs are among the best and most comprehensive in the industry. They (understandably) want your contact info before download, but the catalogs are worth it. [ARBOR Technology 2019 catalog downloads] -- Posted Tuesday, January 22, 2019

FLIR launches Scion Thermal Monocular for public safety professionals
FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced today the launch of the FLIR Scion Professional Thermal Monocular (PTM) for public safety professionals. The Scion PTM is powered by FLIR's high-performance Boson® thermal core for greater image quality and features connectivity with FLIR TruWITNESS® to allow real-time encrypted thermal video streaming to provide professionals with greater situational awareness. [See FLIR media release] -- Posted Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Teguar blog: Do Fanless Computers Overheat?
With current technologies, computers generate heat that must be dissipated in order to facilitate reliable operation and peak performance This can be done with fans or via passive thermal management. A recent blog post by Teguar Computers poses the question "Do Fanless Computers Overheat?" and presents a nice overview of fanless computing technology, especially as it applies to fanless panel PCs and fanless box PCs. [See "Do Fanless Computers Overheat?"] -- Posted Friday, January 18, 2019

Durabook case study on warehouse inventory management efficiency
Durabook Americas just published a nicely done case study on the challenges warehouses are facing, the requirements of a system to address those challenges, and the results obtained by implementing a Durabook U11 rugged tablet based solution. For every 100 items received, Durabook is es􏰁ma􏰁ng a 7.8-minute improvement in efficiency and an 11-minute improvement efficiency in the same volume of items picked. [See Durabook Americas' Warehouse Case Study] -- Posted Friday, January 18, 2019

Cincoze introduces palm-sized fanless embedded computer ideal for entry-level edge computing applications
Cincoze, a professional manufacturer of embedded computing platforms, is pleased to introduce its palm-sized fanless embedded computer DA-1100 series. Cincoze' new DA-1100 series is based on the Intel® Pentium® N4200 / Celeron N3350 processor with integrated Gen9 Intel HD Graphics 500 series. It brings reliable computing performance, and powerful graphics performance to embedded computing systems. [See Cincose media release] -- Posted Friday, January 18, 2019

Winmate announces medically certified 10.1-inch rugged tablet
Winmate announced the release of a IEC/EN 60601-1, IEC 60601-1-2 medically certified 10.1-inch rugged tablet for healthcare applications, the M101P-ME. Powered by an Intel "Apollo Lake" CPU and offering full-HD 1920 x 1200 resolution on a 10.1” IPS display, the tablet's housing has antimicrobial properties that make it suitable for use in hospital halls, waiting rooms or nurse stations for communicating and documenting patient information, allowing paramedics and nurses to instantly access and keep patient records. [See Winmate M101P-ME product page] -- Posted Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Juniper: Cedar CP3 rugged smartphone has a volatile organic compound sensor
When we previewed Juniper Systems' Cedar CP3 rugged smartphone, we noticed something unusual: the CP3 had a VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) sensor that can be used to determine air quality! In a recent blog, Juniper now discusses the many interesting uses for such a sensor, like detecting acceptable air quality levels at the work place or limiting exposure to unhealthy compounds. The blog also looks into what such a sensor can and cannot detect and includes a video of how the sensor works. [See Juniper blog on rugged smartphone air quality sensor -- Posted Tuesday, January 15, 2019

JLT Mobile Computers to showcase repair and maintenance services, portable rugged Android and Windows IT solutions at ProMAT
JLT Mobile Computers, a leading developer and manufacturer of reliable computers for demanding environments — and renowned for its high-level of support and flexibility in addressing customer challenges — will be presenting end-to-end rugged mobile IT solutions for the manufacturing and supply chain industry at ProMAT 2019, Booth S4273. Visitors to the JLT Booth S4273 will be able to see the latest Android and Windows rugged tablets and handheld computers, get introduced to the new JLT RepairEngine online maintenance management tool, and learn about JLT's expanded repair services, which now include third-party products from most manufacturers, including Honeywell, Zebra, LXE and Intermec. [See JLT Mobile media release] -- Posted Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Janam unveils RFID sled for XT2 Series of rugged touch computers
Janam Technologies LLC, a leading provider of rugged mobile computers that scan barcodes and communicate wirelessly, today announced the availability of a high-performance UHF RFID sled for its XT2 series of rugged touch computers. With industry-leading read range, Janam's newest mobile computing accessory instantly transforms the XT2 and XT2+ into lightweight, rugged, handheld RFID readers. [See Janam media release] -- Posted Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Oregon Department of Transportation expands use of DT Research high accuracy GNSS rugged tablets statewide
DT Research, the leading designer and manufacturer of purpose-built computing solutions for vertical markets, today announced the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has expanded its use of DT Research GNSS rugged tablets to all 15 of its construction management offices across the state and also use the tablets for biology, geology, roadway and wetland projects. DT Research worked closely with ODOT to design purpose-built rugged tablets that empower state workers to easily collect and transmit geospatial measurements in the field using GNSS Real Time Kinematic (RTK) technologies. [See DT Research media release] -- Posted Monday, January 14, 2019

Zebra mobile computers help enable Walgreens to bridge the digital and physical store experience
Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA), an innovator at the edge of the enterprise with solutions and partners that enable businesses to gain a performance edge, today announced Walgreens, one of the nation's largest drugstore chains, is using Zebra enterprise-class handheld mobile computers and tablets to help enhance store operations and transform the shopping experience for customers. Walgreens has selected Zebra's ET50 tablet and TC51 mobile computer for use in all its stores across the U.S. It will showcase some of its inventory management and store operations solutions at Zebra's booth (#2101) at the National Retail Federation (NRF) Annual Convention & EXPO on Jan. 13-15, 2019 in New York City. [See Zebra media release] -- Posted Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Full review: Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme Tablet
The Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme Tablet is for those who a) want an exceptionally well designed and executed tablet for tough jobs, b) want a pure tablet, but one with a perfectly matched optional detachable keyboard, and c) prefer one-stop shopping with a world-leading provider of commercial PCs with large scale production experience and extensive support. In its second iteration, the 11.6-inch Dell rugged tablet sports higher Full HD resolution, lighter starting weight, and much higher performance thanks to a switch from Core M to "full" 6th, 7th, and 8th generation Intel Core processors as well as availability of super-fast PCIe NVMe-based solid state storage. [See full review of the Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme Tablet] -- Posted Monday, January 7, 2019

Winmate obtains the latest medical device quality management systems standard
Winmate has obtained ISO 13485:2016 and EN ISO 13485:2016 quality management system certification for the design, development, production, installation, and servicing of medical devices. This means that any Winmate displays or tablets that are developed for use in the medcal industry are intrinsically safe and meet all the latest regulatory design requirements. This recertification updates and supersedes the previous ISO 13485:2003 and EN ISO 13485:2012 medical manufacturing certification that Winmate had been accredited with. [See Winmate media release] -- Posted Thursday, January 3, 2019

What happend in rugged computing 10 years ago: January 2009
In January 2009, GD-Itronix released the high-performance "vehicle-rugged" GD6000 rugged notebook, and President Obama supposedly used a rugged, secure General Dynamics Sectera Edge smartphone. DTResearch launched their WebDT 400 Series of handheld POS devices. OQO, a pioneer in tiny Windows computers, promised an Atompowered model 2+ with OLED screen. Trimble added three versions of its super-rugged Nomad 800 handheld. Getac increased its European presence and expected significant increases in military notebook shipments, Panasonic upgraded its CF-19 and CF-30 to Celeron 2 processors, AMD sold its handheld unit to Qualcom, LXE released two new rugged vehicle-mount computers (the VX8 and VX9), Psion Teklogix announced their rugged 2-inch PrintAbout printers, Glacier upgraded its Ridgeline tablet to Core 2 Duo, and the SD Card Association announced the SDXC card standard. [See what happened in rugged computing five years ago in January 2009] -- Posted Wednesday, January 2, 2019