December 2008

Full review: Handheld US M3 Mobile
Those who need a rugged yet light and compact industrial multi-function PDA should take a look at the M3 Mobile offered by Handheld U.S. It's a Pocket PC, a GSM/GPRS/EDGE voice/data phone, a 2-megapixel camera, and a terrific data capture device thanks to an extended keypad and either a laser scanner or 1D/2D imager. You can also get integrated GPS and the battery can last through a full 8-hour shift. While light and handy, the M3 Mobile has a wide operating temperature range and can handle 5-foot drops. [Read full review of the Handheld US M3 Mobile] -- Posted Monday, December 29, 2008

Case study: Rugged mobile printers in mining operation
These days, mining companies around the world need to keep meticulous track of the explosives they use. This requires sophisticated automation and control systems, and equipment rugged enough to handle adverse mining environments. Read how a strip mining operator in the Ukraine built a system around rugged mobile printers from Extech. [Read rugged mobile printers in mining case study] -- Posted Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Motion Computing secures $6 million in new funding
Motion Computing announced it has received funding of $6 million from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), G-51 Capital, and other new investors. The funds will be used to drive continued expansion into the healthcare market and support international growth opportunities. The Motion C5 is the world’s first Mobile Clinical Assistant (MCA), now deployed in more than 4,000 healthcare organizations worldwide. Additionally, Motion recently entered new markets with the F5 rugged field tool, which is being used across vertical industries that require a highly durable device in a lightweight and portable design. -- Posted Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Rugged digital video system for police motorcycles
Digital Ally, which develops, manufactures and markets advanced video surveillance products for law enforcement, homeland security and commercial security applications, announced the introduction of its new DVM-500M Digital Video System for police motorcycles and other mobile applications in the law enforcement and public safety markets. The DVM-500M integrates an entire GPS-enabled wireless digital video surveillance and recording system into a replacement rear view mirror that is specifically designed for the harsh weather and environmental conditions encountered by police motorcycle officers.
-- Posted Monday, December 22, 2008

Toshiba first to announce 512GB solid-state drives
Toshiba became the first to announce 512GB solid state drives in a new series of SSDs that also includes 64, 128 and 256GB capacities in flash modules or more conventional 1.8 and 2.5-inch enclosures. At over US$3/GB, pricing remains significantly higher than that of standard rotating media hard disks. This means that SSDs will likely remain optional, albeit at times highly desirable, equipment for most rugged devices in the foreseeable future. -- Posted Thursday, December 18, 2008

Parvus to develop MIL-STD version of Cisco Aironet AP for U.S. Navy
Lockheed Martin awarded Parvus, which has experience in developing rugged computing solutions for the U.S. military, a contract to develop, test and supply a ruggedized version of the Cisco Aironet wireless access point for next-gen destroyers. Parvus will improve Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Cisco Aironet technology to meet unique harsh environmental and electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC) conditions onboard destroyers to provide secure Wi-Fi for the crew. Parvus will build the equipment to MIL-STD-810F, MIL-STD-461E and other military standards. -- Posted Thursday, December 18, 2008

Protecting secure USB keys from compromised computers
USB keys are hugely useful but also an increasing source of malware infection. IronKey prides itself in its authentication, encryption, and identity management systems that are used in its secure FIPS 140-2 Level 2 certified Flash Drives. IronKey now announced a new level of flash drive usage control that allows IT administrators to remotely restrict IronKey devices from being used outside specified enterprise IP addresses, preventing users from unlocking IronKey devices from home or in untrusted network environments. -- Posted Thursday, December 18, 2008

Motion announces Tablet PC recycling and donation program
Motion Computing®, a leader in mobile computing and wireless communications, announced today that it has partnered with Goodwill Industries and TechTurn, an industry leader in technology resale, refurbishing and secure data retirement for the Motion® Tablet PC recycling and donation program. The program allows for the free return of all Motion-branded products for donation or processing and disposal in an environmentally safe manner. [Read full release] -- Posted Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Case Study: Dive Support Computing with General Dynamics Itronix MR-1 rugged UMPC
Scuba divers rely on wrist- or console-mount dive computers to safely explore the vast world beneath the ocean surface. Most dive computers can communicate with desktop and notebook computers, but the feature is rarely used in a timely, productive manner. We used the super-compact General Dynamics Itronix MR-1 rugged UMPC as a dive support computer on a dive expedition to Honduras where we needed long battery life, a sunlight-viewable display, and the ability to be used on a dive boat mattered. [Read case study "General Dynamics Itronix MR-1 rugged UMPC boosts safety and productivity"] -- Posted Tuesday, December 16, 2008

DRS Technologies receives $531 million contract extension for rugged systems
DRS Technologies, Inc., A Finmeccanica Company that also offers the ARMOR line of rugged computers (see ARMOR X10 review and ARMOR C12 reviews), announced that it received an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) $531 million contract ceiling extension to its current JV5 production contract, to provide JV-5 ultra-rugged vehicle computing and display systems for the U.S. Army’s Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below (FBCB2) program and Blue Force Tracking (BFT) and the United States Marine Corps (USMC) situational awareness requirements. [see press release] -- Posted Monday, December 15, 2008

TDS Nomads used in Lockheed Martin situation awareness technology
Lockheed Martin has developed and is fielding a game-changing distributed technology that significantly improves situational awareness for dismounted Warfighters. Called DisOPS, the tool suite enables small unit patrols to share information and coordinate maneuvers with new levels of speed and accuracy. The system uses Tablet PC convertibles as well as TDS Nomad rugged handhelds. For a report on DisOPS, go to page 27 of Lockheed Martin's Insight Magazine. -- Posted Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Intermec releases rugged computer and RFID reader deployment Kit for Microsoft BizTalk RFID Mobile
Intermec announced the release of an Intermec Device Deployment Kit to support Microsoft BizTalk RFID Mobile, making mobile RFID solutions easier for customers and partners to develop, deploy and manage. The deployment kit extends the management and event processing experience to mobile devices and allows for communication between a server and mobile platforms. Additionally, it gives Microsoft software integration partners the tools that developers need to quickly and easily build plug-and-play vertical market applications for the CN3 and CK61 mobile computers with the IP30 snap-on RFID reader, as well as the CV30 fixed vehicle computer with the IV7 vehicle mount RFID reader. The Intermec Device Deployment Kit for BizTalk RFID Mobile is available as a free download.
-- Posted Monday, December 8, 2008

Sonim partners with Land Rover on rugged phones
Sonim Technologies announced it will embark on a partnership with Land Rover that will include the launch of co-branded rugged mobile phone products as well as an eco-friendly packaging. The Land Rover phones will be submersible, Bluetooth-compliant and certified to withstand salt, fog, humidity, transport and thermal shock and a 1.6-meter drop to concrete from any angle. -- Posted Sunday, December 7, 2008

Two Technologies unveils Safari rugged handheld
Two Technologies introduced the rugged Safari handheld computer designed for a broad range of outdoor and indoor applications. The IP65-sealed Safari can handle 5-foot drops, a wide operating temperature range, and runs Windows CE .NET 5.0 on a 520MHz version of the Marvell PXA270 processor. There is a 3.5-inch QVGA touchscreen, various keypad layouts, integrated barcode scanning, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a variety of options including GSM/GPRS/EDGE, GPS and RFID. [Read description and specs of the 2T Safari rugged handheld computer] -- Posted Friday, December 5, 2008

Two additional reviews now available in PDF format
The full reviews of the RMT DAP CE8640B Windows CE-based rugged handheld and the RMT SwitchBack ultra-rugged UMPC are now available in print-style PDF format [View RMT CE8640B review and RMT SwitchBack review] -- Posted Thursday, December 4, 2008

Trimble adds more powerful versions to its Juno lineup
Trimble added two models to its lineup of Juno handheld computers. The Juno SB and Juno SC handhelds are pocket-sized devices with integrated GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth, a 3-megapixel camera, a 533 MHz processor, 128 MB of RAM, a MicroSD/SDHC memory card slot, an all-day battery and a 3.5 inch display. -- Posted Tuesday, December 2, 2008