February 2018

Panasonic today announced at Mobile World Congress the fully rugged Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 Thermal Imaging Tablet designed to capture and process images on the move. The handy 7-inch tablet equipped with a FLIR Lepton micro thermal camera, is a Windows-based device that allows field workers to take and process accurate thermal images on the spot and link these images to other line of business applications and add metadata content such as QR codes. [See Panasonic press release]

5 ways to tell if your “rugged” tablet, laptop or handheld is a knock-off
As the demand for ruggedized mobile computing gear grows (and how surprising is that, given the sliver-thin, fragile nature of consumer phones and tablets?), we're seeing more and more products that claim to be rugged, but really are not. Go on Alibaba or even eBay and you'll find thousands of "rugged" handhelds and tablets, all claiming impressive ruggedness specs. Only, as a recent blog by Xplore points out, if those products are truly rugged, then a Volkswagen with a trailer hitch attached to it is a commercial truck... [See 5 Ways to Tell if Your “Rugged” Tablet, Laptop or Handheld is a Knock-Off] -- Posted Tuesday, February 27, 2018 by chb

GammaTech changes name to Durabook Americas
GammaTech Computer Corporation, the North American branch of Twinhead International Corporation, today announced it has changed its name to Durabook Americas, Inc. The new name reflects the company's longstanding focus on the DURABOOK brand as well as changing market conditions that emphasize the need for reliable, purpose-built, mobile computing solutions. [See press release] -- Posted Thursday, February 22, 2018 by chb

Xplore rugged tablet chosen as primary computing console for state-of-the-art thermal validation system
Xplore Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:XPLR) today announced that it has received purchase orders totaling more than $2.4 million for Xplore F5m rugged tablet PCs from one of the largest manufacturers of advanced sensing technologies and innovative embedded measurement solutions in the United States. The OEM has chosen the clean-room approved F5m to serve as the dedicated computer console for its new advanced thermal validation system. [See Xplore press release] -- Posted Wednesday, February 21, 2018 by chb

RuggON announces the Rextorm PX501 tablet, a versatile and rugged Jack-of-all-Trades
RuggON Corporation, a leader in the design and manufacturing of ruggedized computing products, launched the third generation Rextorm PX501 for any data collection, control, and management application, even in the harshest environments. The Rextorm PX501 is equipped with a powerful Intel Core i5 Kaby Lake processor, a range of seamless connectivity and data capture options, and a touch screen display with bright, 1000 nits, sunlight readable display. Thanks to its massive battery life, ubiquitous GNSS coverage, and custom accessories allow for maximum mobility and off-base operation, while being backed by RuggON's hallmark uncompromising ruggedness, it allows for extended off-base operation. [See RuggON press release] -- Posted Friday, February 9, 2018 by chb

Xplore: Is the business market finally folding on laptops?
In its always interesting blog, Xplore Technologies discussed the position of the laptop in today's business markets. The latest market numbers show that traditional laptops are no longer the “one” computer that can go anywhere – or that professionals really want to lug around everywhere. This is driving OEMs to increasingly invest in 2-in-1 tablet designs that can serve as laptop replacements – and research shows that businesses are buying into these tablet-based alternatives given the numerous benefits to both end-users and IT (i.e. the business’ bottom line). [See Xplore bog] -- Posted Thursday, February 8, 2018 by chb

Full review: ARBOR Technology G60 Mobile Inspection Assistant with integrated thermal imaging
Arbor Technology's G60 "Mobile Inspection Assistant" is quite unique. Yes, it's a rugged Android handheld computer and phone, but it's also so much more. Integrated FLIR-based thermal imaging allows all sorts of inspection work where detection of heat signatures is required for the job. An internal mPCIe expansion slot means there can be both public and private mobile broadband communication. Optional via expansion modules include a high speed or long range barcode reader, UHF reader, and a laser distance reader. We're impressed. [See full review of the ARBOR G60 Mobile Inspection Assistant] -- Posted Thursday, February 8, 2018 by chb

Refined Toughbook 20 delivers more features, more value in a rugged 2-in-1 package
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 2018 version of its popular and critically-praised 2-in-1 detachable laptop, the Toughbook 20. At only 3.9 pounds, this fully-rugged laptop is perfect for today's workers on-the-go, with the features and rugged construction to keep working, no matter what challenges it meets. Now equipped with a refreshed processor — the Intel Core i5-7Y57 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz, the Toughbook 20 laptop is more capable than ever before. And with a 256GB SSD standard on all models — and an option to expand to 512GB — workers can store more data on-the-go and access it with the speed they need. [See Panasonic press release] -- Posted Wednesday, February 7, 2018 by chb

U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center launches DT Research rugged tablets
DT Research, the world's leading designer and manufacturer of purpose-built computing solutions for vertical markets, today announced that the U.S Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) has selected the DT Research DT311 Rugged Tablets for deployment to U.S. Navy personnel working at various shipyards across the country. The purpose-built tablets designed by Silicon Valley-based DT Research can be used for technical maintenance management, warehouse and fleet inventory control, field testing and training, and other field-office data operations. With seamless office-to-field workflow, productivity significantly improves, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of personnel. [See DT Research press release] -- Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 by chb

IDC: tablet unit sales dropping, but detachables grow
According to IDC, the worldwide detachable tablet market was 49.6 million units in Q4 2017, down from 53.8 million in Q4 2016. Of those, detachables grew about 10% to 6.5 million, which means that pure tablets dropped from about 48 million to 43 million. Apple remained the clear leader both in Q4 2017 and for all of 2017. But in Q4, Amazon passed Samsung. Overall, the big 5 (Apple, Amazon, Samsung, Huawei and Lenovo) grew even more dominant, accounting for 2/3 of all tablets in 2017. [See IDC press release] -- Posted Monday, February 5, 2018 by chb

Trimble announces new MX9 mobile mapping system for surveying, engineering and geospatial professionals
Trimble announced the release of the Trimble MX9 mobile mapping solution. The Trimble MX9 combines a vehicle-mounted mobile lidar system, multi-camera imaging and field software for efficient, precise and high-volume data capture for a broad range of mobile mapping applications such as road surveys, topographic mapping, 3D-modeling and asset management. [See Trimble press release] -- Posted Monday, February 5, 2018 by chb