July 2015

Xplore expands relationship with leading U.S. railroad transportation company
Xplore announced it has been awarded an additional Xplore Bobcat tablet computer order from a leading U.S. railroad transportation company which uses the fully-rugged Bobcat tablets to achieve cost savings and increase mobility in its yards. The railroad originally selected the Bobcat for its fully-rugged IP65 rating and extended 14-hour battery life — both useful features for efficient operations in a railroad yard. [See Xplore media release] -- Posted Friday, July 31, 2015

IDC: Worldwide tablet market continues to decline
According to IDC, the worldwide tablet market declined 7% on year in the second quarter of 2015 with shipments totaling 44.7 million units. Marked by little hardware innovation and limited vendor portfolio updates, the market also declined 3.9% compared to the first quarter of 2015. In terms of shipments, Apple remains first with a 2Q15 24.5% marketshare (2Q14 27.7%), Samsung is second with 17% (2Q14 18%), Lenovo third with 5.7% (2Q14 4.9%), Huawei 4th with 3.7% (2Q14 1.7%), tied with LG. -- Posted Friday, July 31, 2015

Thai-based home product center goes mobile with rugged Panasonic tablets
The Panasonic Solutions for Business Blog reports how Thailand's HomePro Centre chain was looking for mobility solutions to help employees more efficiently track inventory, pricing, promotions, and other in-store operations. Like many retailers, they experimented with supplying their sales team with consumer-grade tablets, but this proved to be an expensive proposition, and HomePro ended up going with the Toughpad, Panasonic’s enterprise-grade rugged tablet line. [See Thai-based home product center goes mobile with rugged Panasonic tablets] -- Posted Thursday, July 30, 2015

MobileDemand: World's first rugged tablets with Windows 10
MobileDemand, a worldwide provider of innovative, Windows-based rugged tablets, says it has announced the availability of Windows 10 across its family of devices. This includes the cloud-based xTablet Flex 10 and Flex 8, the rugged and sealed xTablet T1400 and T1600, and the fully rugged xTablet T1200. As with Windows 8, MobileDemand says it is the world’s first rugged device provider to offer tablets with Windows 10. [See MobileDemand blog] -- Posted Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Case study: Handheld Group's rugged Algiz 7 tablet saves huge at Carlton Plants in Oregon
Carlton Plants in Dayton, Oregon, grows millions of individual trees and shrubs on its 1,750-acre property. Workers have switched to using the Handheld Group Algiz 7 and a custom Microsoft Access database to track plant numbers and health. As a result, they’re saving countless worker hours spent on recording and re-recording items due to weather-damaged records, and have opened up time for exciting new projects. [See Carlton Plant case study] -- Posted Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Intel defines six desktop market segments
According to DigiTimes, Intel, in a bid to promote desktop CPU platforms, has divided the whole market into six segments in terms of market positioning and price: "Enthusiast tower" caters to gaming, video/audio, and high performance, "mainstream" designates a high performance-to-price ratio, and then there are "All-in-one (AIO) PCs," "Mini PCs (NUC)," "Portable AIO PCs" and "Compute Sticks." Once can only guess how many additional CPUs Intel will release to cover all those platforms, and wonder if Intel will also further stratify the mobile markets. -- Posted Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Trimble rugged handhelds being used for traumatic brain injury assessment system
The image on the right shows the Trimble Juno T41 rugged handheld computer, which is being used by a company called BrainScope, as it has developed assessment software for football concussion injuries directly on the field. BrainScope has been awarded more than $27 million of U.S. Department of Defense research contracts for the development of its TBI ( traumatic brain injury) and concussion assessment technology and has received significant funding from private investors to accelerate its development efforts. [See Brainscope media release and Trimble Juno T41 page] -- Posted Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Arestech adds rugged in-vehicle computing product line
Arestech announced their new in-vehicle computing product line. The first offering is the high-performance VBC-6060 that's powered by an Intel Core i7–4700­EQ CPU, has a wide operating temperature range of -13 to 158°F, CAN Bus, multiple PoE ports for direct-connecting video surveillance devices, MIL-Std-810G shock and vibration testing, all in a 11.4 x 3.60 x 9.40 inch box that weighs just over 10 lbs. [See Arestech VBC-6060 product page] -- Posted Tuesday, July 28, 2015

HZO and Dell partner to protect the new Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet
HZO, Inc, which provides manufacturers and device makers with a nanotechnology solution that inoculate electronic components and devices from damage and failure caused by exposure to any kind of liquid, announced it has partnered with Dell to protect its new Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet. HZO says that the new rugged Dell tablet is one of the first devices with HZO Protection that is built to withstand long-term exposure to the harshest weather and industrial conditions. [See HZO media release] -- Posted Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Samwell releases speedy Intel Bay Trail-powered 10.4-inch RUGGEDBOOK 752 with excellent connectivity
A substantial tech upgrade from its predecessors, the Samwell Ruggedbook PC-752 provides full Windows functionality in a rugged tablet form factor. Of compact size and weighing just over three pounds, the PC-752 is considerably lighter than most full-size rugged tablets. Its 10.4-inch resistive touch screen with 1024 x 768 pixel XGA resolution offers plenty of space to run Windows comfortably (a 9.7-inch procap screen is also available). There is excellent wired connectivity on board, all the connectors are standard size, and there is a wealth of wireless functionality, and also dual integrated cameras. [See description, analysis and specs of the Samwell RUGGEDBOOK PC-752] -- Posted Monday, July 27, 2015

Xplore wins $1.4 million contract
Xplore Technologies announced it was awarded a $1.4 million contract from a leading provider of top-quality construction rental equipment and tools. The customer purchased Xplore’s Motion F5te and F5m rugged tablets and desktop docking solutions. The tablets will be used by mechanics to make them more productive and less reliant on traditional desktop PCs. [See Xplore media release] -- Posted Friday, July 24, 2015

Full review: Getac V110 Gen 2 rugged convertible notebook
Getac's second generation V110 is a remarkably thin and light rugged convertible notebook computer that's been upgraded with Intel "Broadwell" 5th generation Core processors and a variety of functional and technology improvements. Benefitting from the latest version of its LumiBond display layer bonding process and a new glove-capable operating mode, we found the second gen V110 an impressive upgrade to an already compelling mobile computing solution for tough jobs. [See full review of the 2nd gen Getac V110] -- Posted Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Dell launches Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet
Dell announced the Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet to complement its line of rugged laptops and rugged convertible notebooks. The new tablet has a 11.6-inch capacitive multi-touch screen that can be operated with gloves, weighs 3.6 pounds, is IP65-sealed, and is available with ATEX and C1D2 certification for use in hazardous locations. Based on Intel's super-efficient Broadwell-M processors, the Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet has up to 12 hours battery life. Modular expansion can cover even unique interface requirements. Dell's new tablet starts at around US$1,600 and will be available by the end of July. [See description, analysis and specs of the Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet] -- Posted Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Datalogic announces preliminary Q2 2015 financials
Datalogic announced preliminary sales revenues for Q2 2015 of 135.2 million Euro, up from 115.8 million Euro Q2 of 2014. Of the divisions, Automated Data Capture, which includes Datalogic's mobile computers, did 93.4 million Euro, up 21% from the 76.8 million Euro from the same quarter last year. Industrial Automation did 34.8 million Euro, up from 32.1 million Euro the same quarter last year. [See Datalogic financials press release] -- Posted Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Panasonic explains the EMV/NFC relationship
Panasonic's Solutions For Business Blog explains how Magnetic Stripe Reader (MSR) technology has been the primary payment method for credit card carriers for decades. EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) and NFC (near-field communication) payment technologies have made their way onto the landscape and are becoming more integrated into mainstream payment methods. [Read about the EMV/NFC Relationship] -- Posted Monday, July 20, 2015

Logic Supply unveils rugged in-vehicle NVR
Logic Supply announced their brand new Intel Core i7-4770TE-powered MX1000 fanless, rugged in-vehicle NVR. The company says it is the first rugged mobile NVR to be certified by Milestone for use with their XProtect video management software. This system allows Milestone's global network of resellers to offer a reliable, in-vehicle-ready security device with support for up to 25 HD cameras. [See Logic Supply media release and MX1000 product page] -- Posted Sunday, July 19, 2015

Added: Cipherlab RS30 Series rugged Android smartphone
CipherLab introduced the RS30 Series, a modern, nicely sized Android 4.7-inch procap smartphone that's significantly tougher than consumer phones and can be used for much more demanding scanning and data collection jobs. A very bright Gorilla Glass 3-protected screen (510 nits), HF RFID/NFC, and a choice of either a linear imager, a laser scanner, or a 1D/2D imager complement the offering. [See description, analysis and specs of the CipherLab RS30 Series] -- Posted Friday, July 17, 2015

Budget-friendly sub-meter GPS solution available through Juniper Systems
Juniper Systems announced it will be exhibiting at the upcoming Esri User Conference in San Diego July 20–24. Most GIS professionals know that attaining sub-meter GPS accuracy typically comes with a hefty price tag. Juniper Systems, on the other hand, will show its budget-friendly, easy-to-use sub-meter GPS solution using Esri ArcPad, Effigis’ EZSurv Post-Processing software, and its ultra-rugged handheld computers. [See Juniper media release] -- Posted Friday, July 17, 2015

GammaTech to feature rugged tablets and notebooks at NAPO 2015
GammaTech announced it will showcase its latest mobile rugged tablet and PC options for the public safety industry at NAPO's (National Association of Police Organizations) 37th Annual Convention in Savannah, Georgia from July 19 to July 23. GammaTech will exhibit its popular models — the R11 rugged tablet (see our review), the R8300 fully rugged notebook (see our review), as well as the U12Ci convertible and SA14 semi-rugged notebook (see our review) — at its booth to leading public safety communications professionals. [See GammaTech site] -- Posted Friday, July 17, 2015

Added: Amrel Rocky DF7A rugged 5-inch Android handheld
Amrel has introduced the Rocky DF7A fully rugged Android handheld. Essentially a tech update to the earlier Rocky DF6 that was available with either Windows Embedded CE or Android, the new DF7A is Android-only and uses capacitive multi-touch instead of a resistive digitizer. Featuring a bright sunlight-readable 5-inch SVGA display, the IP66-sealed DF7A excels in flexibility and configurability, making it suitable for numerous heavy-duty field deployments. [See description, analysis and specs of the Amrel Rocky DF7A -- Posted Thursday, July 16, 2015

Finnair pilots use purpose-built Panasonic enterprise tablets
Panasonic's Solutions for Business Blog describes how Finnair pilots are using Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1 rugged enterprise tablets for their electronic flight bags, or EFBs, to replace all-in-one user manuals for their aircraft. Finnair started with a review field of 20 different Windows 8 tablets before they decided on the Toughpad. [See Finnair Pilots Stay in the Air with Purpose-Built Enterprise Tablets] -- Posted Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Full review: ARBOR Gladius 8 compact rugged tablet
With the Gladius 8, ARBOR Technology presents an elegant, rugged and very compact 8-inch class Android tablet for IoT (Internet of Things) and numerous other applications. RuggedPCReview examined the 1.35-pound Gladius 8 in detail and found it to be a technologically advanced multi-purpose handheld tablet computer with industrial-grade scanning and NFC capabilities, a very good 12mp camera, IP65 sealing, excellent drop and temperature resistance, and a bright 7.85-inch capacitive multi-touch display. [See full review of the ARBOR Technology Gladius 8] -- Posted Monday, July 13, 2015

AIS publishes video on benefits of modularity in Panel PC
American Industrial Systems published a new demonstration video focusing on the modularity of their premium and standard series of Intelligent Industrial Touch Panel PCs. The video presents the key advantages, features and benefits of modularity, a design approach that subdivides a system into smaller parts called modules that can be independently created and then used in different systems. [View AIS Benefits of modular design in industrial panel PCs -- Posted Monday, July 13, 2015

Digitimes voices concerns about tablet sales
In an article about supposed upcoming Apple products, Digitimes expressed general concerns about the tablet market: "With demand for tablets weakening a lot faster than expected, sales of iPad, white-box and brand tablets have all been seriously impacted recently. Strong popularity of smartphones with 5-inch and above displays plus the fact that [the] tablet is lacking new innovative applications are also major factors seriously undermining tablet sales." -- Posted Monday, July 13, 2015

British SuperGroup deploys 300 Datalogic Scorpio X3 handhelds
Datalogic announced that together with solution partner Symcirrus it has successfully completed a roll out of Datalogic Skorpio X3 mobile computers (see our review of the Scorpio X3) to fashion retailer SuperGroup Plc. The roll out of some 300 Skorpio X3 devices in store follows an earlier move by the retailer to automate its distribution centers with Datalogic Falcon X3 rugged scanners. [See Datalogic media release] -- Posted Friday, July 10, 2015

10 things to love about Windows 10
In a new entry on their Ruggedized Computing Blog, Mobile Demand points out that the launch of Windows 10 is just 20 days away, and lists ten features of Microsoft's new operating system most users will love. The list starts with the Start Menu being back and ends with the fact that Windows 10 will be free for most users who have a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 license. [Read 10 Features of Windows 10 That You'll Love] -- Posted Friday, July 10, 2015

VDC Research: Uneven growth for rugged mobile market after Q1
According to VDC Research, the overall rugged mobile market has been on a rollercoaster ride since Q1 2015. The rugged notebook market shrunk to its smallest size in more than four years due to the weak European economy and new enterprise ruggedness requirements. The tablet market, though, surged nearly 40% year-over-year. Rugged handhelds, despite dominating the total rugged market, have been relatively flat. VDC Research's "Rugged Mobile Quarterly Shipments Q1 2015" report addresses what this overall imbalance means for the rugged mobile market for the remainder of 2015 and beyond. [See VDC press release] -- Posted Friday, July 10, 2015

Carlson Software releases Surveyor2—A faster, more powerful data collector for surveyors
Carlson Software has released its new Carlson Surveyor2, the newest model in its Carlson Surveyor line of data collectors. The Surveyor2 is paired with Carlson’s software to provide a powerful, complete solution for surveying, stake out, construction layout, and GIS mapping. The Carlson Surveyor 2 — manufactured by Juniper Systems and very similar to the Juniper Allegro 2 — has a 4.3-inch full-VGA display, runs Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5.3, is IP68-sealed, and offers up to 20 hours of battery life. [See media release] -- Posted Friday, July 10, 2015

Rugged Olixir mobile drives now with up to 6TB storage
Olixir reports that its semi-rugged and rugged Mobile DataVault drives now come in capacities up to 6TB, with 8TB coming soon. The removable/external drives offer 1200G shock protection and can be used with either a USB 3.0/eSATA cable or a 5.25-inch docking bay. Elixir optionally offers a FIPS 140-2 encryption and environmental dust filters. Note that some of Elixir's drives offer extreme temperature options and are built to pass MIL-STD-810 drop tests. [See Elixir mobile DataVault] -- Posted Friday, July 10, 2015

Added: ARBOR Gladius G1052C
ARBOR Technology announced the Gladius G1052C, a major technology update of its prior Gladius G1050. The Gladius 1052C is a rugged Intel Bay Trail powered 10.4-inch Windows tablet with capacitive touch, a 23-key keypad for rapid data entry, and broad data capture functionality. A 800 nits sunlight-readable version is available. [See description, analysis and specs of the ARBOR Gladius G1052C] -- Posted Thursday, July 9, 2015

Advantech reports revenue growth
According to Digitimes, embedded systems manufacturer Advantech reported consolidated revenues of US$120 million for June 2015, representing a 20% increase over June 2014. Total sales for the first half of 2015 were US$606 million, up 7.95% compared the first half of last year. -- Posted Thursday, July 9, 2015

Winmate: Technology that Streamlines Port Logistics
Winmate's latest newsletter is entitled "Technology that Streamlines Port Logistics." It describes the challenges of keeping track of and managing the numerous assets arriving, departing and moving around ports at any given time. From gateway logistics to transportation and delivery of goods to warehouse inventory management, having the right ruggedized, industrial-strength technology ensures rapid, accurate data collection and communication between transporters, dispatchers and receivers. [See Winmate's Technology that Streamlines Port Logistics] -- Posted Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Microsoft announces restructuring of phone hardware business
Microsoft announced plans to restructure the company’s phone hardware business (i.e. the former Nokia Devices and Services business) to focus and align resources. This includes a reduction of up to 7,800 jobs, primarily in the phone business. The new layoffs are on top of the 18,000 layoffs Microsoft announced July 2014. [See Microsoft media release] -- Posted Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Xplore secures $1.5 million order for Danish Ambulance service project
Xplore Technologies announced that the Danish Ambulance service will deploy almost 600 Motion C5 tablet PCs as part of an innovative “Intelligent Ambulance” project that has been proven to save lives. Set to be deployed across five regional health services, the C5 units will enable ambulance teams to capture, accurately and quickly, all relevant patient data and transmit it the hospital ahead of arrival. The project was coordinated by CSC Scandihealth and Atea, with software developed by Judex, hardware supplied by Lexit and installation carried out by Radiocom. [See Xplore media release] -- Posted Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Getac reports revenue growth
According to Digitimes, Getac Technology Corporation announced consolidated revenues of US$50.4 million for June 2015, up 11.3% on month and 14.8% on year, with revenues for the first half of 2015 reaching US$270 million, up 17.7% on year. The ruggedized PC business is expected to contribute 50% of the company's overall revenues in 2015, up from about 40% in 2014. -- Posted Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Janam introduces XM2-RFID UHF
Janam introduced the XM2-RFID UHF, a compact, rugged keyboard PDA with RFID reader and industrial-grade scanner. Based on Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5, Janam's new handheld RFID reader is designed to fill the need for a light, quick, and affordable device for the rapidly expanding deployment of EPCglobal Class 1 Gen 2, ISO18000-63 RFID data capture applications. [See description, analysis and specs of the Janam XM2-RFID UHF] -- Posted Monday, July 6, 2015

RAM introduces IntelliSkin for Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 tablets
RAM Mounts announced IntelliSkin™ for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4. IntelliSkin is a protective sleeve for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 and 10.1 featuring GDS™ Technology to ruggedize and protect Samsung devices for commercial use. IntelliSkin offers drop protection as well as an integrated connector that's molded directly into the skin, preventing damage to the connector from repetitious docking and undocking. For docking, there's the spring-loaded, quick release TAB-TITE cradle as well as the TAB-LOCK cradle with a keyed lock. [See IntelliSkin, TAB-TITE, and TAB-LOCK] -- Posted Friday, July 3, 2015

Article: 'Blue light' segments in transition — rugged computers a game-changer in critical field rescue situations
Handheld Group CEO Jerker Hellström explains how new advanced technological solutions — both hardware and software — are changing the security, public safety, and law enforcement sectors to the very core — and for the better. Advanced mobile applications and rugged mobile computers have greatly improved these professions' ability to perform in time-critical situations and in less than favorable environments. [Read 'Blue light' segments in transition] -- Posted Friday, July 3, 2015

What happened in rugged computing 5 years ago: June 2010
In July 2010, Intermec's Q2 2010 revenues were US$161.2 million with a net loss of US$2.7 million, both a bit better than the year before. Datalogic's Q2 2010 revenues were US$132 million (up 33.3% from Q2 of 2009), with a net profit of US$9.3 million. MobileDemand Tablet PCs were used by the Red Bull Racing NASCAR teams, and the company launched a Public Sector Group. Juniper Systems introduced the Mesa Rugged Notepad. In-Stat predicted that the transition to 4G wireless would be slow, with just 3.6% of WWAN-enabled devices using it by 2014. Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies wrote about "The Trials and Tribulations of Team Android" but concluded that "they may stay competitive yet." Motion Computing announced that it will resell ritePen 4.0, and Microsoft licensed the ARM architecture. [See July 2010 news archive] -- Posted Thursday, July 2, 2015