September 2017

With the xTablet T1150, MobileDemand adds a third option to its 10-inch rugged tablet lineup. The T1150 represents the top-of-the-line among the trio (the other two being the low-end Flex 10A and the mid-range T1550), offering additional refinement and performance as well as options not available in the lower-end products. RuggedPCReview.com conducted a full review of the MobileDemand xTablet T1150, and found it a compelling package for anyone who needs Windows on tough jobs, even those that require high-level sealing, high resolution, GPS, and industrial-grade scanning. [See full review of the MobileDemand xTablet T1150]

GoPro releases Hero6 action camera
GoPro released a new top-of-the-line action camera with the Hero6. It's the same size as the Hero5 and looks the same, but can record 4k/60 and 1080p/240 instead of the Hero5's 5k/30 and 720P/240. Other new features include wake-on-voice, touch-zoom, and better image stabilization. Price is US$499 vs US$399 for the still available Hero5. The Hero6 is waterproof down to 33 feet even without a protective housing. [See GoPro press release] -- Posted Thursday, September 28, 2017

True Story: How Field Service First Got a Handle on Mobility (Thanks to Hospitals)
Many rugged laptops have attached handles, and carry handles are available for some rugged tablets as accessories. But there are some rugged tablets that have a handle built right into their design. That goes back well over a decade when Intel researchers, ever interested in exploring new markets for their chips, came up with what they called the "Mobile Clinical Assistant" reference platform, or simply MCA. in 2007, Motion Computing was the first to convert the concept into a product, the Motion C5. Others followed, and Motion, now part of Xplore, continues the C5/F5 tablets with integrated handles to this day. The whole story is explained in Bob Ashenbrenner's article True Story: How Field Service First Got a Handle on Mobility (Thanks to Hospitals) on Xplore Technologies' blog. [Read True Story: How Field Service First Got a Handle on Mobility (Thanks to Hospitals)] -- Posted Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Getac's next gen F110 fully rugged tablet provides maximum performance and multi-layer security in 'right size' form factor
Getac is introducing its 4th generation F110 fully rugged tablet, one of the company's best-selling mobile devices. Designed to help field service professionals meet the demands of extreme working environments, the F110 combines Intel® Kaby Lake processors and new multi-layer security features with a fully rugged design to create the best performing and most secure fully rugged tablet in the market. [See Getac press release and RuggedPCReview's description, analysis and specs of the Getac F110] -- Posted Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Zebra Technologies unveils Savanna platform to power data-driven applications for the digital enterprise
Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA), the market leader in rugged mobile computers, barcode scanners and barcode printers enhanced with software and services to enable real-time visibility, today announced Savanna, a fundamental building-block platform for accelerating Enterprise Asset Intelligence and the digital transformation of enterprise operations for Zebra's customers and partners. [See Zebra press release] -- Posted Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Avalue wireless intelligent medical cart makes a modern wireless power operating room real
Avalue Technology Inc., a global embedded solution provider and associate member of Intel's Internet of Things Solutions Alliance — is aiming at the rapid development of the medical market with the introduction of the intelligent Geni-Cart medical cart with smart wireless power and carrying FDA 510(k) medical certification. The Geni-Cart solution, offered by Avalue Group's Bytec, wirelessly supports various medical equipment, video, and computing systems for use in operation rooms, emergency rooms and other medical settings. [See Avalue press release -- Posted Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Panasonic expects India to account for 5% of its rugged revenues
ET Telecom says that according to Panasonic, India should represent at least 5% of Panasonic's global rugged device revenues in the next two to three years. Panasonic's Toughbook products now have a 65% market share in India. [See article] -- Posted Friday, September 22, 2017

Enhanced Toughbook 54 reinforces Panasonic commitment to equipping the extraordinary
Panasonic, an industry leading manufacturer of mobile computing solutions that are purpose-built for the way people work, announced the U.S. launch of the latest 2017 version of its acclaimed Toughbook 54 notebook. The flexible, functional and high-performing device is the world's lightest and thinnest 14" semi-rugged laptop. Designed with today's demanding mobile workers in mind, the new Toughbook 54 furthers Panasonic's commitment to equipping the extraordinary. [See Panasonic press release and RuggedPCReview's description, analysis and specs of the Toughbook 54] -- Posted Thursday, September 21, 2017

Zebra Technologies and RILA announce strategic partnership to further retail innovation
Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA), the market leader in rugged mobile computers, barcode scanners and barcode printers enhanced with software and services to enable real-time visibility, announced its strategic partnership with the Retail Industry Leaders Association's (RILA) Tech Center for Innovation. The partnership will focus on identifying and harnessing emerging technologies to the benefit of the global retail industry. [See Zebra press release] -- Posted Thursday, September 21, 2017

Xplore secures yet another multi-million-dollar Android rugged tablet order from top telecommunications provider's fiber optic division
Xplore Technologies Corp (NASDAQ: XPLR) announced that one of the largest broadband and wireless telecommunications companies in the United States has placed a new $2.6 million follow-on order for Xplore XSLATE D10 tablets to support the ongoing expansion of its Fiber Optic Services Division workforce, which first standardized on the custom-engineered tablet platform in August 2016. It is the only fully rugged Android mobile device that offers full computing capabilities and the HDMI-in port technicians need to conduct high speed network quality tests at the time of install. [See Xplore press release] -- Posted Tuesday, September 19, 2017

The impact of iPhones on the rugged handheld market
Apple has been selling well over 200 million iPhones annually for the past several years. This affects the rugged handheld market both directly and indirectly. On the positive side, the iPhone brought universal acceptance of smartphones. That accelerated acceptance of handheld computing platforms in numerous industries and opened new applications and markets to makers of rugged handhelds. On the not so positive side, many of those sales opportunities didn't go to providers of rugged handhelds. Instead, they were filled by standard iPhones. There are many examples where aging rugged handhelds were replaced by iPhones, sometimes by the tens of thousands. That happened despite the relatively high cost of iPhones and despite their inherent fragility. [read The impact of iPhones on the rugged handheld market] -- Posted Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Xplore secures million-dollar rugged tablet order from Latin American law enforcement agency
Xplore Technologies Corp (NASDAQ: XPLR) announced that one of the largest Latin American police forces has placed an order totaling more than $1 million for Xplore XSLATE B10 fully rugged tablets, vehicle docks and accessories. The 10.1" Intel-powered XSLATE B10 was the only rugged tablet solution on the market that could meet the law enforcement agency's strict performance standards and ergonomic requirements. [See Xplore press release] -- Posted Tuesday, September 12, 2017

What's IP69K?
Most readers of RuggedPCReview.com are very familiar with the IP ingress protection system that tells in two numbers how well protected a device is against solids and liquids. Most rugged mobile devices max out at IP67, which means totally sealed against dust and also able to handle short term full immersion in water. Recently, we've seen more claims of IEC 60529 IP69K protection. What does the "9K" stand for? That'd be complete protection against the high temperature, high pressure water wash-down procedures used in certain industries where intense cleaning is crucial. Testing includes close-up blasting of 176F water at 1160-1450 psi of pressure. -- Posted Monday, September 11, 2017

JLT Mobile Computers selected by Swire Coca-Cola, USA, one of the largest independent Coca-Cola bottlers in the United States
JLT Mobile Computers, a leading developer and manufacturer of reliable computers for demanding environments, has started the delivery of more than 300 of its JLT1214N forklift computers to Swire Coca-Cola, USA, one of the largest Coca-Cola bottlers in the United States. The delivery process will continue throughout 2017 and into the first quarter of 2018 as Swire Coca-Cola recently expanded its territory in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and northern Idaho, including the cities of Albuquerque, Denver, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, Spokane and Tucson. [See JLT Mobile press release] -- Posted Monday, September 11, 2017

Handheld launches blog at ruggedinformer.com
Handheld Group, a leading supplier of rugged mobile computers, announced the launch of its new blog, RUGGEDINFORMER.COM. RuggedInformer.com will serve as a resource for mobility professionals, field technicians, IT managers, and others who are engaged in workforce mobilization. It will be a resource to learn more about rugged computers and stay informed about mobility news and emerging rugged technologies. [See Handheld Group press release] -- Posted Friday, September 8, 2017

Airline swaps pen and paper for Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1
European cargo airline West Atlantic is transforming life for aviation crew, who formerly used pen and paper to keep on top of logistics, by equipping them with Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1 rugged tablets. The result is a better and more efficient working day in the form of saved time, increased user-friendliness and better overview. [See Panasonic Europe press release] -- Posted Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Review: Kingston IronKey S1000 FIPS 140-2 Level 3 compliant secure flash drive
USB flash drives are being sold by the hundreds of millions every year. They are terrific and everyone loves them. But they are also a major security risk and a primary source of data breaches. The solution is secure, encrypted USB keys compliant with FIPS 140-2 Level 3, which is mandatory for governments at any level and those who are doing business with government. RuggedPCReview is taking a detailed look at the
Kingston IronKey S1000 line of rugged, heavy-duty USB keys that truly protects your data. [See Kingston IronKey S1000 — for when you need a rugged, heavy-duty USB key that truly protects your data] -- Posted Tuesday, September 5, 2017

What happened in rugged computing 5 years ago: Sept. 2012
In September 2012, Getac its deal with FedEx TechConnect and introduced the Z710 rugged Android tablet. Panasonic upgraded most of its rugged notebooks to 3rd generation Core processors. The Handheld Group launched its Nautiz X1 rugged Android smartphone. MobileDemand introduced the xTablet T7200 with Pixel Xi screen. Intermec posted a video demonstrating major abuse on a CK71 handheld, and its Vocollect unit introduced the rugged SRX2 headset. Synaptics' ClearPad Series 3 offers multi-touch even with gloves on. DigiTimes predicted hard times for the Intel Atom, just when Intel announced the Atom Z2760 for Windows 8 tablets and convertibles. NORCO introduced the PPC-3308 rugged Tablet PC, Western Digital a super-thin 2.5-inch hybrid hard drive, and Avalue the EPS-QM57 series of Core i7-based rugged embedded industrial PCs. [See September 2012 archive] -- Posted Sunday, September 3, 2017

Intel's 8th-gen U Series Core processors
On August 21, Intel announced what the company calls their 8th Generation Intel Core processors. For now that's just four chips, the i5-8250U and i5-8350U, and the i7-8550U and i7-8650U (see here). From what we can tell, these remain 15-watt 14nm chips with the same 7th gen Kaby Lake architecture, which already was only a minor advance over 6th gen Skylake. What has changed, though, is that these four chips are all quad-core/eight thread systems, so whatever software takes advantage of that will be significantly faster. But what about battery life with all these extra cores? Intel says it's "uncompromised," and that's likely because the new chips run at a much lower base frequency (albeit higher turbo boost) than the equivalent Kaby Lake processors. So what we'll likely see will be the availability of 8th gen chips as high end options. But, for now, 8th gen doesn't look "must have." -- Posted Friday, September 1, 2017