About ruggedness testing and why the ingress protection rating of mobile computers is especially important What sets rugged handheld computers and tablets apart from standard consumer products is their ability to take the kind of punishment that comes with using a device on the job and in the field where conditions can be harsh. As a result, the specification sheets of virtually all rugged devices include the results of certain ruggedness tests. How much of that data is […] →Read more
When things hidden in fine print can mean the difference between your computer being fast or sluggish Until about a decade ago, most computer processors did not include graphics. Graphics were part of the chipsets that worked in tandem with CPUs, and if that wasn’t good enough, there were separate graphics cards. Around 2010, wanting to play a bigger part in graphics, Intel began integrating graphics directly into the CPU, and that’s the way it’s been ever since. […] →Read more
Is it the crowning “one wire” connectivity and charging answer to the increasingly fragmented USB landscape? by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer With computers, no matter what kind of computer, connectivity is everything. If there’s no cell service or no WiFi, one is disconnected from the world. And it’s pretty much the same with wires and cables. Unless you have the right ones with the right plugs you’re out of luck. That was a very big deal in the early […] →Read more
With the rapid succession of Intel Core processor generations it’s difficult to keep track of what’s available, what it can do for you, and what really matters when selecting the most suitable processor for your systems. It seems like only yesterday that Intel introduced the high-end Core processor brand, and now it’s a decade later and we’re already seeing the 11th generation. While initially it wasn’t very difficult to keep the generations apart and determine when and what […] →Read more
DJI Enterprise — Drones are becoming serious business
Every time I see a crew set up ladders around a building to examine a reef, assess damage, or determine how to maintain or expand a structure, I wonder why they don’t use drones instead. Drones eliminate the cost of transporting and setting up ladders and scaffolds, eliminate the danger of accidents, and get the job done so much faster. We view drones as an increasingly important part of work in the field. They are your eye in […] →Read more
There has in the history of the world rarely been a greater disparity in function, sophistication and overall competence than that between today’s marvelously complex, powerful and competent computers and their crude, endlessly frustrating and absolutely useless and non-sensical on/off buttons. Sorry to start off that way, but it simply needed to be said. Computers are binary creations, living and operating in a world of 0s and 1s. For a computer, things are either on or off, 1 […] →Read more
Dec. 1996: Microsoft finally validates the pen with its new Windows CE operating system for handheld computers.
Almost a quarter of a century ago I wrote the following Editor’s column in Pen Computing Magazine. It was a very different world back then. The first PDAs had been introduced, but no none quite knew what to make of them. Apple struggled with its Newton MessagePad. Palm introduced its Pilot. And Microsoft introduced its Windows CE. Editorial in December 1996 Edition of Pen Computing Magazine: The big news in the pen computing and PDA world, of course, […] →Read more
Consumer Smartphones vs Rugged Handhelds — How can providers of rugged handhelds prevail against the competition from inexpensive consumer tech?
What is the difference between consumer smartphones and handheld computers that have specifically been designed to be rugged and capable of withstanding a variety of handling and environmental challenges? That is a question that’s been asked ever since the advent of modern smartphones, which is generally since the Apple iPhone was introduced in 2007. Opportunity or challenge? The question comes up because the massive global (and initially unanticipated) success of smartphones has been both a big opportunity for […] →Read more
In these pandemic times, it’s hard to get definite answers on almost anything, we learn something new every day and week, and a lot of what is happening doesn’t seem to make sense. In short, for almost a year now, we’re all just going along for the ride. That’s why a news communication from faytech this morning caught my eye and attention. faytech’s founder is German but the company is now mostly located in China. Their motto is […] →Read more
Computers don’t have a single horsepower rating, so how do you best determine their real world performance? Unlike vehicles whose specifications include a horsepower rating, computers don’t have a single number that indicates how powerful they are. True, horsepower (what an antiquated term that is) isn’t really all that relevant, because that number alone doesn’t tell the whole story. The same engine that makes a light vehicle a rocket might struggle in a larger, heavier vehicle. And […] →Read more
How the rugged PC “drop spec” just became different
The Department of Defense significantly expands drop test definitions and procedures in the new MIL-STD-810H Test Method Standard You wouldn’t know it from looking at almost all of the published ruggedness testing results, but the good old DOD MIL-STD-810G was replaced by the MIL-STD-810H in January 2019. And if you thought the old MIL-STD-810G was massive in size, the new one is bigger yet. While the old MIL-STD-810G document was 804 pages, the new one has 1,089. That’s […] →Read more
The uneven performance of cameras in rugged handhelds and tablets
Recently I ran the usual set of integrated camera test pictures for our RuggedPCReview.com product testing lab with four devices all at once. That meant taking two pictures each of the 20 or so test settings around our offices in East Tennessee. The settings represent some tasks that users of rugged handhelds and tablets might do on the job. Examples are meter reading, capturing information from accessible and not-so-accessible labels, markings, or instructions, and so on. For a […] →Read more
In this article I’ll present some of my thoughts on Android, where it’s been, and where it’s going. I’ll discuss both my personal experiences with Android as well as my observations as Editor-in-Chief of RuggedPCReview.com. Although my primary phone has been an iPhone ever since Steve Jobs introduced the first one, and although my primary tablet is an iPad, and also has been ever since the iPad was introduced to a snickering media that mocked the tablet as […] →Read more
Drones have made tremendous progress and will likely become part of many jobs. In this article I will provide a brief overview of drone technology, and the application and impact it may have on field operations. Because, believe it or not, drones may well become part of your job. Not too terribly long ago I came across an article and an accompanying YouTube video by a man who had attached a small digital camera to a remote controlled […] →Read more
If you take a handheld computer or a tablet or a laptop outdoors and on the job, it’s really important whether you can still see what’s on the screen clearly enough to actually use the computer. Whether you can or not depends on a lot of things, like how bright it is outside, whether there are reflections, the size of the screen, its sharpness and contrast, viewing angles, and so on. Experts calculate the “effective” contrast ratio in […] →Read more
Ditching laptops for tablets — evolution or disruptive paradigm shift?
We do product testing adventure trips two or three times a year. That means packing a lot of equipment, including chargers, memory cards of various sizes and standards, all sorts of cables and adapters, suitable software, batteries and their chargers, and whatever it takes to keep the whole thing running. At the center of it all, on every trip, was a laptop powerful and competent enough to handle whatever came our way. Not this time. We spent two […] →Read more
Ruggedized mobile computing gear costs more than standard consumer technology, but in the long run it often costs less. That’s because rugged computers don’t break down as often, they last longer, and there isn’t as much downtime. What that means is that despite the higher initial purchase price, the total cost of ownership of rugged equipment is often lower. That, however, only works if ruggedized products indeed don’t break down as often, indeed last longer, and indeed do […] →Read more
Make IP67 the minimum standard for rugged handhelds
Few outside of the rugged computing and perhaps a couple other sectors know what an “IP” rating means, or the specific significance of “IP67.” Those inside those markets, however, cherish the designation for what it is — a degree of protection that brings peace of mind. Really? Well, yes. If an electronic device is “IP67-sealed,” that means neither dust nor water will get in. Specifically, there’s “ingress protection” designed to keep solids and liquids out. Of the two, […] →Read more
by David MacNeill I am the target market for HomePod. It’s an all-Apple house, subscribed to Apple Music and iCloud Drive — we’re all in. You can AirPlay other music services and devices to HomePod, but it’s really designed for fanboys like me. Can I order corn flakes from Amazon with it? No. Would I ever want to do that? No. As a speaker, it is not overly expensive. The sky’s the limit for audiophile-grade speakers so $349 […] →Read more
Just a very brief entry. So this morning it is 18 degrees Fahrenheit, our water test facility beautifully frozen over, the light conditions just right. It’s the day we’ve been waiting for for winter product photography. Get everything set up, put the test unit in place. It’s absolutely freezing, my fingers barely work. So we put the test unit in place, set it carefully, gt right of any reflections, then turn the unit on s we can take […] →Read more
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 […] →Read more
A future where quality is king — A look at Zebra’s 2017 Manufacturing Vision Study
On July 31st, 2017, Zebra Technologies Corporation published the results of their 2017 Manufacturing Vision Study on emerging trends that are shaping the future of industrial manufacturing. The broad result of the global study suggests that manufacturers are adopting IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) and Industry 4.0 concepts to get better insights and information about their manufacturing process and, most importantly, to improve quality. Why Zebra knows Why should such a study come from Zebra? Isn’t Zebra in […] →Read more
GammaTech Computer Corporation is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month, July 2017. That’s amazing longevity in an industry where big names come and go. And it marks GammaTech as one of the pioneers in an industry and technology that truly changed the world. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 40 years since the Apple II rang in the era of personal computers, seen first just as expensive toys for nerds and hobbyists, but then, four years later, […] →Read more
It’s been three weeks since I finally gave in and bought a Series 2 Apple Watch. While the Apple Watch isn’t a rugged device and thus not something we’d normally report on, it is a wearable device and wearable computing power is playing an increasingly prominent role. That’s because unlike even handhelds, a wrist-mount is always there, always handy and it doesn’t need to be stowed away. So what’s been my experience over the first three weeks with […] →Read more
So I finally got an Apple Watch. Series 2, the one that’s waterproof and has onboard GPS. I chose the larger one with the 42mm screen. When you need reading glasses every millimeter counts. That meant a $400 investment for a bottom-of-the-line watch with the aluminum case (as compared to the much more expensive stainless steel and ceramic ones). I picked space-gray with a black Nike sport band. What took me so long? I am not sure. As […] →Read more
History repeats itself: it’s now the Surface Laptop
So the long awaited Microsoft Surface Pro 5 has finally been unveiled as the “new Surface Pro.” In its media release, Microsoft calls it “the next generation of the iconic product line and the most versatile laptop on the planet. The new Surface Pro delivers the most performance and battery life in a laptop that is this thin, light and quiet.” So right off the bat, Microsoft makes it clear that it now considers the Surface Pro a […] →Read more
A few days ago I used one of the readily available website analysis tools to check RuggedPCReview.com. The resulting report gave me a stern “site not mobile-optimized” lecture. “Mobile-optimized,” of course, refers to the fact that sites on the one-size-fits-all world wide web are being viewed on a very wide range of devices with a very wide range of screen sizes. And it is certainly true that viewing a webpage on a 27-inch display is a very different […] →Read more
At RuggedPCReview.com, we often analyze and report on mobile computing devices with integrated WWAN (mobile broadband) capability and a SIM card slot. SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards are smart cards that contain a subscribers phone number and certain data. Initially just used for the early GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) networks, SIM cards are now also used by carriers that based their networks on the rival CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology, like Sprint and Verizon. However, […] →Read more
Interesting situation with mobile operating systems in the industrial and enterprise space. For many years, Windows Mobile (later named Windows Embedded Handheld) was the OS of choice, but then Microsoft stranded it. The industry hung in there with the abandoned mini OS for a number of years, but then slowly began looking at Android as a replacement. But now, just as Android is gathering steam in industrial handheld markets, Microsoft finally introduced a Windows Mobile replacement in Windows […] →Read more
RuggedPCReview readers who view our site on a modern tablet, smartphone or high resolution monitor have probably noticed that many images on RuggedPCReview.com are noticeably crisper and sharper than those on the vast majority of websites. Why is that? It’s because earlier in 2016 we started serving images in both standard and high resolution. That way, if your browser automatically detects that you’re viewing a page on a device with a high resolution display, it’ll serve a high […] →Read more
Back in 2003 we approached the then-titans of the rugged notebook industry with this challenge: “Send us whatever you consider your best all-purpose rugged notebook computer for a roundup!” Who did we send that challenge to? You’d think Panasonic, Getac and Dell or GammaTech. Panasonic, yes, but back then the other two we chose for the shootout were Itronix and Amrel. Panasonic, of course, had been making rugged notebooks since 1996, and Itronix, too. Itronix, which at time […] →Read more
Intel introduces Kaby Lake, the 7th generation of Core processors
In August, Intel officially introduced the first few of its 7th generation Core processors, codenamed “Kaby Lake.” That comes at a time where the news about PCs generally isn’t very good, where Microsoft has a very hard time convincing users to switch to Windows 10, and where it’s becoming increasingly more difficult for vertical market hardware manufacturers to keep up with Intel’s rapid-fire release of new generations of high-end processors. 7th generation Kaby Lake also comes at a […] →Read more
Congrats to Xplore Technologies: 20 years of rugged tablets, and only rugged tablets
At the January 1997 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I walked into the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center on the lookout for something — anything — new and exciting in tablets or pen computers. Sure, Microsoft had announced Windows CE at the Fall Comdex in response to Apple’s Newton Message Pad and the emerging “Palm Economy,’ and our bi-monthly Pen Computing Magazine was doing well. But, by and large, handhelds and tablets were very […] →Read more
At RuggedPCReview, we take things apart. We open up handhelds, tablets, panels, notebooks and industrial PCs. We dissect them methodically, documenting our progress, jotting down observations and commentary. What we find inside a product becomes part of our detailed reviews, including pictures of the insides and of interesting details. We do this because ruggedness isn’t something that’s just skin-deep. Truly rugged mobile computing devices are designed from the ground up to be tough and rugged and being able […] →Read more
According to numerous reports online, Microsoft will apparently stop offering the Surface 3 tablet by the end of 2016 and it’s not certain if there’ll ever be a Surface 4. Microsoft, of course, has had a checkered past with its forays into hardware, and many of the company’s hardware partners likely have mixed feelings about the Surface tablets that are direct competition for their own products. Yet, the Surface tablets appeared to have been quite successful. After a […] →Read more
According to numerous reports online, Microsoft will apparently stop offering the Surface 3 tablet by the end of 2016 and it’s not certain if there’ll ever be a Surface 4. Microsoft, of course, has had a checkered past with its forays into hardware, and many of the company’s hardware partners likely have mixed feelings about the Surface tablets that are direct competition for their own products. Yet, the Surface tablets appeared to have been quite successful. After a […] →Read more
Back in the day when we published Pen Computing Magazine and Digital Camera Magazine and some other titles in print, we always prided ourselves to be in total control of our own destiny. We did virtually everything inhouse — writing editing, photography, layout, prepress, web, marketing and advertising — and most of us had mastered several of those disciplines. We didn’t want to farm anything out or rely on any one expert. We felt the same about software. […] →Read more
Back in the day when we published Pen Computing Magazine and Digital Camera Magazine and some other titles in print, we always prided ourselves to be in total control of our own destiny. We did virtually everything inhouse — writing editing, photography, layout, prepress, web, marketing and advertising — and most of us had mastered several of those disciplines. We didn’t want to farm anything out or rely on any one expert. We felt the same about software. […] →Read more
They used to say, and likely still do, that a picture is worth a thousand words. That’s certainly true, but it can also be quite misleading as pictures often tell a story rather than the story. There can be quite a difference between these two. The media is very adept at using carefully chosen pictures that tell a story that may or may not be so, or present the story with a slant or an agenda. One could […] →Read more
Keeping an eye on the level of technology offered in consumer tech: Dell Venue 8
The consumer market is really, really tough. Sure, massive fortunes can be made off it thanks to the sheer size of it, and thus the potential of millions of units sold. But few products ever make it into that sales stratosphere, and the competition is brutal. Make one mistake, be it in technology, manufacturing, marketing or just about anywhere else, and the product tanks, expensively. Add to that the fickle taste of consumers, the unpredictability of trends, a […] →Read more
I’ve now had the iPad Pro for a good couple of months and the Apple Pencil for a month and a half. How do I use them? Have they changed my life? As far as the iPad Pro goes, it has totally replaced my iPad Air 2. I don’t think I’ve used the Air 2 once since I got the Pro. However, I am doing the exact same things on the Pro that I used to do on […] →Read more
A few weeks after the Apple iPad Pro began shipping, the Apple Pencil is now available also. This is big news because it was Apple who finally made the tablet form factor a success, and they did it without a pen. Which is remarkable, as tablet computers initially were conceived specifically as a modern equivalent of a standard notepad that you wrote on with a pen. And remarkable again as Steve Jobs was adamantly opposed to pens and […] →Read more
Will the Apple iPad Pro herald an era of “pro” use of tablets?
My iPad Pro came in and I want to share my first impressions, and also my thoughts on where all this is leading. Anyone who first sees the iPad Pro will immediately notice its size. The iPad Pro is big. 12 x 8.7 inches versus 9.4 x 6.6 inches for the iPad Air 2. So the iPad Pro’s footprint is 68% larger than that of the standard iPad. Amazingly though, at 0.27 inches the iPad Pro is barely […] →Read more
A short while ago I received a press release from the Universal Stylus Initiative. I filed that away in my mind, but got back to it because the concept certainly sounds interesting. Having used, described, tested and compared numerous pen and touch technologies over the past two decades in my work first at Pen Computing Magazine and then at RuggedPCReview, I definitely consider it a relevant and increasingly timely topic (witness Apple’s announcement of the iPad Pro with […] →Read more
This morning I received an email from German touchscreen device developer and manufacturer faytech. The company prides itself in its ability to design and engineer high-quality products in Germany, then have them manufactured cost-efficiently in Asia, while providing local service. This email, though, wasn’t about their latest touchscreen products. It was about the processors they use in their touchscreen panels and PCs. Specifically, it was about replacing the ubiquitous Intel Atom N2600 with the newer Intel Celeron N2807 […] →Read more
Xplore Technologies acquires Motion — How it came about
Today I listened to the full Investor Call broadcast Xplore held on April 16 about its acquisition of Motion Computing, and a lot of things are clearer now (listen to it here). Motion didn’t exactly choose to be acquired, and this was not one of these situations where a big company comes along and makes a financial offer just too sweet to resist. What happened was that Motion found itself in a financial bind caused by third party […] →Read more
On April 16, 2015, Xplore Technologies and Motion Computing announced that Xplore was acquiring Motion. This was not a total surprise as both companies are in the rugged tablet computer market, both are pioneers in tablets, and both are located within ten miles from each other in Austin, Texas. And yet, the announcement came as a surprise to me. When I had interviewed Motion CEO Peter Poulin in February of this year, Poulin had ended with saying “Motion […] →Read more
Conversation with Peter Poulin, CEO Motion Computing
On February 5th I had a chance to speak with Peter Poulin, who was appointed Motion Computing’s CEO on December 11, 2014. An industry veteran with more than 25 years of sales, marketing and general management experience in the public and private sectors, the company’s press release said Poulin’s goal will be to capitalize on the company’s deep mobility expertise and aggressive investments in the design and development of ruggedized tablet platforms and integrated mobility solutions to expand […] →Read more
Anyone who’s ever watched the “Storage Wars” reality TV series on the A&E Network knows that with storage, you never know what you’re going to get. That’s true for stuff people stow away in storage units, and it’s also increasingly true with the kind of storage in our electronic devices. There was a time when RAM was RAM and disk was disk, and for the most part the only rule was that more was better. But that was […] →Read more
Intrinsically safe ecom Tab-Ex: another rugged tablet based on Samsung hardware
This morning I saw in the news that at the IFA Berlin show, ecom instruments launched what the press release called the “world’s first Zone 1/Div. 1 tablet computer”. New tablets are launched all the time, but I quickly realized that this was relevant for two reasons: First, the Zone 1/Div. 1 designation means it’s a tablet for use in hazardous locations. Zone 1, in the IEC/ATEX classification system that handles intrinsic safety issues, means the devices can […] →Read more