Fully rugged PDA in a small package
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

In October of 2007, Psion (then called Psion Teklogix) introduced the ikôn. The company proudly called it a rugged PDA, in reference to the original PDA -- Personal Digital Assistant -- market Psion helped pioneering more than 20 years ago with its organizers. For a device this rugged, the ikôn is small and compact (4.2 x 6.3 x 1.8 inches) and rather light (about 16 ounces). The sunlight readable touch screen measures 3.7 inches diagonally and has full 480 x 640 VGA resolution. The ikôn is powered by the 624MHz version of Marvell's PXA270 processor. It uses 128MB of RAM and 128MB of Flash to run either Windows CE 5.0 or Windows Mobile 6.0 Classic or Pro.

On the ruggedness side, the ikôn can operate in a temperature range of 14 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit; handle multiple 5 foot drops; passes shock, vibration and ESD tests; and carries a IP65 ingress protection rating. That means it is totally sealed against dust and is also protected against low pressure jets of water from all directions.

As far as connectivity goes, the ikôn has integrated GPS, an integrated 2 megapixel camera, USB and serial, and a variety of options so customers can equip the device as required for their application. You can get 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 Class II, and various cellular options (GSM/GPRS/UMTS). You can also get a laser scanner or imager. A variety of docks and mounts are also available:

Psion Teklogix targets the RoHS-compatible ikôn towards field service, healthcare, retail, transportation, warehousing & distribution and related markets.