April 2022

Honeywell Q1 2022 financials
Honeywell reported Q1 2022 net sales of US$8.376 billion, compared to US8.454 billion for Q1 2021. Q1 2022 income was US$1.134 billion, compared to US$1.448 billion in Q1 2021. Safety and Productivity Solutions sales (which includes Honeywell AIDC that makes handheld computers and scanners) for Q1 2022 decreased 15% on an organic basis year over year due to lower personal protective equipment and warehouse automation volume. Honeywell full-year sales are now expected to be in the range of $35.5 billion to $36.4 billion [See Honeywell Q1 2022 financials] -- Posted Friday, April 29, 2022

Innovative Kensington rugged case enhances protection and connection for Surface Pro 8
Kensington, the worldwide leader of desktop computing and mobility solutions for IT, business, and home office professionals and The Professionals' Choice, today announced the launch of BlackBelt™ Rugged Case with Integrated Mobile Dock for Surface™ Pro 8. An industry-first, the new BlackBelt case combines a full-featured docking station with military-grade device protection in a slim, sturdy design that enhances the use of Surface Pro 8 in the office and provides ease-of-mind when using the device on the go. [See Kensington media release] -- Posted Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Data storage: it’s all coming up NVMe
Great article by Military+Aerospace Electronics's John Keller about the use of speedy PCIe NVMe storage for military and aerospace applications. Whereas over the past couple of years here at RuggedPCReview.com we've seen an almost universal switch from older SATA-based storage to the much quicker NVMe in general-purpose rugged systems, Keller describes that NVMe isn't (yet) quite the slam-dunk in certain military systems due to drawbacks in cost, ruggedization, thermal management requirements, and power consumption. [Read Data storage: it’s all coming up NVMe] -- Posted Wednesday, April 27, 2022

VDC Research: The Global Market for Rugged Handheld Computers and Rugged Smartphones
VDC Research reports that the rugged handheld computer market hit hyper-drive in 2021 to exceed $3.6B, fueled by investments supporting e-commerce logistics, retail and transportation solutions. The rugged smartphone market for line of business applications had a similarly strong year with global revenues reaching almost $2B in 2021. [See Executive Summary] -- Posted Wednesday, April 27, 2022

April 27 Winmate webinar on rugged convertible laptops
On April 27, 2022, 11:00 AM EMEA Region (GMT+2)/05:00 PM APAC Region (GMT+8), Darren Wang, Sr. Marketing Manager at Winmate, will talk about streamlining business and workflows with rugged convertible laptops. He'll touch upon market trends and challenges, present an overview of the very focused rugged laptop vertical market, key selling points, as well as his company's product introductions. Signup up here. -- Posted Tuesday, April 26, 2022

xDIM Mobile, powered by 4DMobile, awarded 2022 Bronze Edison Award
The MobileDemand team is proud to announce xDIM Mobile Dimensioning, powered by 4DMobile, has been awarded the Bronze 2022 Edison Best New Product Award™ in the Manufacturing, Logistics, and Transportation: Supply Chain Solutions category! Established in 1987, the Edison Awards™ is among the most prestigious global accolades "honoring excellence in new product and service development, marketing, human-centered design, and innovation." [See MobileDemand media release] -- Posted Tuesday, April 26, 2022

RuggON 10-inch SOL PA501B rugged tablet now with Android 11 and GMS certification
RuggON Corporation reports that its RuggON 10" rugged SOL PA501B tablet is now available with Android 11 and full Google GMS certification, delivering a wealth of features for enterprise security as well as IT and user device control features. Android 11 optimizes enterprise workflow and task management by making tablet operation, privacy setting and connected devices easier to use and manage at work and on the job. [See RuggON media release] -- Posted Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Cincoze embedded computers — the heart of smart manufacturing
Cincoze, a leading embedded computer brand, considers that in the current industrial manufacturing environment, increasing computing power is an important factor for driving intelligent manufacturing growth. So, in addition to increasing computing performance, Cincoze continuously improves product robustness and provides modular I/O expansion to cater to different applications. Cincoze computers are suitable for regular and critical systems at the heart of intelligent manufacturing applications such as automatic loading and unloading, CNC processing, and automated optical inspection (AOI). [See Cincoze media release] -- Posted Monday, April 25, 2022

Review: Teguar Economy Panel PC Series
Sometimes you don't need something fancy, just something that works reliably and gets the job done. When it comes to industrial Panel PCs, that's what Teguar had in mind with its budged-friendly Economy Panel PC Series, a trio of affordable panels suitable for a wide variety of applications. RuggedPCReview describes the series and tested two of the models in detail, the 15-inch TP-3493-15 and the 22-inch TP-5593-22. Impressive and great deals. [See review of the Teguar Economy Panel PC Series] -- Posted Thursday, April 21, 2022

JLT Mobile Computers strengthens brand presence at LogiMAT 2022 with showcase of ultra-reliable forklift computers for Windows and Android
JLT Mobile Computers, a leading developer of reliable computing solutions for demanding environments, welcomes the live return of LogiMAT 2022 in Stuttgart, Germany, May 31 to June 2, 2022, by strengthening its brand presence at Germany's key logistics show. For the first time, JLT will be presenting its extensive portfolio of high-end vehicle-mount and portable Android and Windows computers, software, accessories, and services under its own JLT logo (Hall 8/Booth A15). As with previous years, JLT's products will also be on display at the stand of its local partner ecovium (Hall 8/Booth D61). [See JLT Mobile media release] -- Posted Thursday, April 21, 2022

Handheld fulfills record order to world-leading package delivery company
Handheld Group, a leading manufacturer of rugged mobile computers, today announces the delivery of a record order to a global leader in logistic solutions. The record order is for Handheld's newly launched SP500X ScanPrinter, an innovative wearable solution used for package sorting and printing across the customer's distribution facilities. The SP500X ScanPrinter is replacing a previous solution that Handheld has been providing to the logistics giant since 2012. [See Handheld Group media release] -- Posted Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Juniper Systems launches next-generation Geode GNS3 GNSS Receiver
Juniper Systems is excited to introduce the all-new Geode™ GNS3 GNSS Receiver. The Geode GNS3 allows users to easily collect real-time GNSS data with sub-meter, sub-foot, and decimeter accuracy options — without the huge price tag or complexity of other precision receivers. This scalable platform allows users to purchase the level of accuracy they need now while having the option to increase accuracy in the future. The Geode GNS3 GNSS receiver is now available worldwide. [See Juniper Systems media release] -- Posted Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Getac collaborates with non-profit organization One Tree Planted to support forestry restoration
Getac a leader in rugged computing solutions, has announced a partnership with One Tree Planted as part of its Earth Day 2022 sustainability initiative. Getac will invite partners and customers to jointly participate in the "Our Solutions Your Success" campaign, with a goal of planting 30,000 trees. Inspired by customers from the public safety, natural resources, and environmental protection sectors, the collaboration sees both organizations working together to raise funds to make an impact on sustainability. [See Getac media release] -- Posted Wednesday, April 20, 2022

If I were on the board of a rugged device provider...
Folks, I would say, there are truly and literally billions of smartphones out there. Almost everyone uses them every day, including on the job. Many are inexpensive and easily replaced. Almost all are put in a protective sleeve or case. That is monumental competition for makers and vendors of dedicated rugged handhelds. To get a piece of the pie, to make the case that a customer should buy rugged devices instead of cheaper consumer devices, you have to outline why they should. Outline, describe, and prove. [Read full blog post] -- Posted Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Review: MobileDemand Rugged Case and Bundle for Lenovo Tab K10
Is today's phone too small to perform the work? Does your field team need Android but your budget won't allow for the few purpose-built Android tablets? Then you should look at the MobileDemand Rugged Case and Bundle for Lenovo Tab K10. How's a 10-inch Android tablet from the biggest PC company in the world WITH a terrific custom-designed rugged case for you for under $400? [See review of the MobileDemand Rugged Case and Bundle for Lenovo Tab K10] -- Posted Tuesday, April 19, 2022

EMDOOR INFO announces durable, powerful EM-I87J and EM-I17J rugged tablet computers
EMDOOR INFO, a professional designer and manufacturer of rugged handhelds, tablets, notebooks, PCs and vehicle mount computers, as well as a provider of customized hardware and software solutions, announces the launch of two new rugged Windows tablets designed for uncompromised performance, flexibility and reliability in the world's toughest jobs. [See EMDOOR media release] -- Posted Thursday, April 14, 2022

What everyone should know about last mile delivery
DRONEDEK, a company specializing in smart mailboxes for drone deliveries, focuses on the last (and most important) mile. DRONEDEK uses drone technology to get the package to the intended destination. Their system has a patented safe and secure receptacle that a drone delivers to. Dubbed as the "mailbox of the future," DRONEDEK provides receptacles this year. [See DRONEDEK media release] -- Posted Monday, April 11, 2022

FULL REVIEW: Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme
The Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme laptop takes ruggedness to, well, the extreme. It is a modern, full-size, fully rugged laptop that isn't bulky and weighs barely more than a semi-rugged design. It doesn't look much different from the semi-rugged Latitude 5430 but inside it's built and sealed like Fort Knox. RuggedPCReview examined and tested the 13.3-inch, Intel 11th gen-powered and Thunderbolt 4-enabled Dell 7330 Rugged Extreme in detail and found it a modern, high-performance and gratifyingly robust computing tool for the kind of jobs where failure simply isn't an option. [See full review of the Dell Latitude 7730 Rugged Extreme] -- Posted Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Motorola Solutions expands its broadband Push-to-Talk services across Switzerland
Motorola Solutions today announced that it is providing Swisscom a next generation, 3GPP standards-compliant push-to-talk (PTT) solution, enabling the Swiss telecommunications provider to offer an instant communication service to its business customers. The new PTT service connects individuals and groups instantaneously over Swisscom's broadband network and allows it to offer priority usage to critical users in emergency situations. [See Motorola Solutions media release] -- Posted Monday, April 4, 2022

Interview with Rick Hwang, President of Getac Technology Corporation
Periodically, we ask industry leaders in the rugged computing and communications market questions about their products, their views, and their opinions on trends, emerging technologies and a variety of other issues. In this installment, RuggedPCReview is talking with Mr. Rick Hwang, President of Getac Technology Corporations. [Interview: Rick Hwang, President of Getac Technology Corporation] -- Posted Monday, April 4, 2022

What happened in rugged computing 10 years ago: April 2012
In April 2012, GD-Itronix opened an online store for its rugged computers and accessories, Motorola Solutions reported Q1 sales of almost US$2 billion and US$232 million profit, and Intel introduced its high-end quad-core 3rd gen"Ivy Bridge" Core processors. Microsoft announced there will be three versions of Windows 8 (plain Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, and Windows RT for ARM). Socket Mobile turned 20. iSiS-Ex released 19-inch Zone 2 workstations, Advantech created a site just for hazardous application solutions, IBM introduced a new foundation for mobile computing, and Intermec released two new rugged high-speed label printers. e-con Systems explained the challenges of integrating decent cameras into rugged systems, Cybernet Manufacturing launched the CyberMed T10 tablet for use in clinical environments. RuggedPCReview analyzed the nature and potential of Windows 8 for ARM devices and concluded it was probably a longshot. [See April 2012 RuggedPCReview archives] -- Posted Monday, April 4, 2022