Top 7 things to check when buying a Rugged PDA – Configurability

9 04 2012
How Configurable your Rugged PDA is key to keeping costs down.

How Configurable your Rugged PDA is key to keeping costs down and your solution focussed.

We spoke about usability of the rugged PDA yesterday but today we’re going to look into how you really get a device working for you by configuring it.

Hardware Spec

Firstly check to see if you can configure the rugged handheld before you buy it.  By taking out Bar code Scanners and choosing the right config you could be saving a lot of money.

Secondly ask to see if anything can be fitted after the sale.  Some rugged PDA’s we sell have the ability to add certain modules back in to them after the sale.

How configurable is the Handheld in terms of the keyboard, type of LCD, battery and accessories?  If you get these right you’ll be saving hours of lost time from users not being happy.

OS and software

The other area where you can configure a rugged PDA, that you can’t typically do with a smart phone is to configure the persistent memory areas of the device. 

Make sure you understand and use the functionality that allows you to create persistent applications that will be hard reset resistant.  Also make sure that you can tweak and configure the start-up routines, the registry and also make these changes persistent.  This can often be the difference between a dream and a nightmare!

How easy is it to configure the Rugged Handheld’s settings and what applications allow you to do this.  Settings like the CPU speed, 3G bands, Battery and backlight behaviour etc all need configuring to get the most out of your device.  You’ll need help from the reseller to tweak many areas and some PDA’s expose more than others.

Lastly look at the repair and service facilities of the reseller and ask about how your devices will come out of repair configured.  It’s no good you doing all this work when the devices come out of repair vanilla again.

Rugged PDA’s are rarely ready to run out of the box unless you’re using them in the most basic manner.  If you want them to work 100% for you then you need to configure them before and after the sale.

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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Top 7 things to check when buying a Rugged PDA

6 04 2012
Design, Size, Weight, Keyboard and buttons - All make up the usability of a Rugged PDA

Design, Size, Weight, Keyboard and buttons - All make up the usability of a Rugged PDA

Today its number 4 out of 7 and we look at usability of the Rugged PDA.  If the device you buy isn’t going to be highly user friendly then you;re in trouble from the start.  I’ve seen countless deployments struggle in my time from customers who learnt this the hard way and spent the next 3 years fielding all kinds of issues with how the device worked on for their solution.

Getting your Project Right

Firstly split your project up into 3 rough sections.  The overall advice here is to be empirical.

Rugged Handheld Assessment – work with a reseller who can loan you kit, if you have a small number of devices then offer to cover the postage if they aren’t playing ball but just get your hands on 2 or 3 devices that seem to fit the bill.  Be empirical, if one doesn’t work then work our why and feed this back to the reseller.  They will be able to suggest something better.

I can’t stress this enough.  Always have a user sponsor involved.  No matter how clever or how much you think you know, your users will always find something essential that was overlooked.  No I’m not saying pander to your users needs, if we left everything to them they would all be playing Angry Birds on iPhones! but always involve them.

Pilot – Now pilot with a few devices for a slightly longer time.  Buy a device, don’t hog the precious loan kit of the reseller, get your hands on your own device and play with it.  Get the developers into it and get it working.  This will iron out the minute details that will help your deployment run smoothly.

Lastly Deploy – Deploy the whole solution knowing you have the right rugged PDA this time!

Device Usability

Obvious things will make the device more usable for you, here’s some things to check right here:

Keyboard – Qwerty are great for lots of data input, but fiddly and small otherwise.  Numeric have big buttons but they’re not great for inputting text.  Keyboards are not all equal, some are appalling some of fabulous!

LCD Size – Small = small device but is small what you want?  a 2.8 or 3″ LCD is like going back to the 90′s, they are very small and fiddly and a good piece of mobile software should be usable largely on screen anyway.  3.5″+ will prove far more usable.

Battery – Some people just use batteries up!  Check the sizes available, the types and the lasting power of the rugged handheld.  Ask the reseller for their own tests and if you prioritize battery, you get a different set of proposals.

API and OS – Some devices have far better customisation ability than others.  If persistent applications and tweaking is needed then ask early about it.

lastly just remember that the usability can make or break a rugged PDA.  Always hammer them whilst testing them out and give them a good once over so that you know they’ll cope in the hands of your users.

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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Top 7 things to check when buying a Rugged PDA

4 04 2012
It's sometimes the little things that count like the quality of the keyboard.

It's sometimes the little things that count like the quality of the keyboard.

Today we continue our top 7 tips when buying a rugged PDA, which is designed to help customers ask the right questions and look at the right areas of their proposed rugged Handheld purchase.  last time we looked at Accessories, today we’re looking at Quality.

5 / 7 – Quality

We measure the quality of a rugged PDA using the following guide:

Plastics used

Are they cheap or strong and do you know that you have a rugged PDA in your hand when using it, not a jumped up smart phone?

Design

Are there any USP’s to the design to make it rugged or is this just another PDA?  Does it have the attention to detail in the design that will not only make it tougher but more usable too?

IP and drop spec rating check

Check the spec, check how they test as you’ll be surprised in the variation you see.

Components

There are good well established components and architectures and there are cheap ones too.  Ask about these to make sure the price isn’t hiding something.  Cheap is great as long as the device works and will last and uses established components.

Service

Is the service shabby or is it as good as the prestige brands.  Some brands like Dotel and Pidion enjoy better service than anything now but often you’ll need to ask about the service you get both contracted and warranty level.

Gut Feel

Lastly don;t be afraid to use your gut feel.  If the device just feels over priced or too cheap then that’s not a good foot to start on.  If your reseller is impartial he’s going to be more worried about getting the right product for you.

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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Letter and Block Recogniser on Windows Mobile 6.5

30 03 2012

WM6.5 Device often don't have the full recognisers enabled (Left). After the fix they're all back (Right)

The block and letter recognizer function on the SIP keyboard in Windows Mobile 6.5 has largely been taken away as an option on rugged PDA’s but in most cases it’s still there, you just have to expose it.

Now it’s not as easy to just give you a reg key in this case because they’re all stored in different locations on different devices.  However we do have a great CAB file that should work on most.  For those of you who are really in to doing this manually then you’re looking for the “SIPInputMethod” key and setting it to 1.  It should be in the HK Classes Root folder somewhere.

The way you do this is to just tweak a few values in your registry or ask us for a cab file here and hey presto the options are back.

www.ruggedandmobile.com

 


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Buying a Rugged PDA – Top 7 Things to Check

29 03 2012

 

Accessories can make the difference between an awkward and efficient mobile solution

Accessories can make the difference between an awkward and efficient mobile solution

Yesterday we looked at Sp[ec and features and today we’re looking at Accessories.  Rugged PDA’s all come with a varying degree of accessories which can be a make or break for your device.  We list the main ones you should be looking for right here.

6. Accessories

We’ll try to do this in order of importance but of course this will be different for each customer.

  • Cases - Check out the case options.  Are there any choices with cases or holsters, can you customise them at all and are they cheap or properly rugged?
  • Stylus – Are there options for the stylus, are they cheap to replace and are they decent quality?
  • Does the reseller also have all the items that will keep you going throughout the life of the device.  Styles, hand straps, LCD protectors and spares?
  • Batteries - Do they come in different sizes and are these easy and cheap to replace.  You will need new batteries at some point.
  • Cradles - Single desktop USB cradles range in price form £40 to over £120 for some devices.  Whats in the box?  Can you get a quad cradle, ethernet option or charge only versions?
  • Cables and snap ons.  What exist to help you connect to the PDA directly?  Can you charge with a small cable, sync and connect to other devices at all?
  • Vehicle accessories – Chargers, cradles etc all need to be considered.  Buy cheap ones at your peril as these will burn the Rugged Handheld out over time.
  • Price - Check out the pricing of the accessories and assess how much these are going to cost you over the 3-5 year life of your device.  It can all add up to horrendous amounts.

lastly always check what you get in the box.  For instance with a Motorola or Intermec device you get nothing.  You don;t even get a charger which you have to add in to the price.  With Pidion or Dotel it’s the opposite with cradles and all leads and more in the box already. 

Tomorrow we’ll count down to Number 5 and look at the general Ruggedness and quality of the device.

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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