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Android Rugged PDA’s – The Race is On

16 03 2012

Which will be first the Rock 3 (left) or Pidion BM170?

Which will be the first Android Rugged PDA the Rock 3 (left) Pidion BM170, or BIP-6000?

Having just done a series on what it takes to be a rugged PDA, I thought I’d share with people where the rugged market stands on Android Rugged PDA’s right now.

At the moment there is technically nothing commercially available, however the Pidion BIP-6000 is supposed to be here very soon, with eternal and frustrating delays occurring all the time, and the Pidion BM170 is also to follow. Why Pidion didn’t do this with the BM170 first is beyond me really, its more suitable to an android scenario and is less complex to deal with in terms of an SDK’s required but there we go!

But at the moment there is nothing launched, so in our opinion Pidion can’t yet take the prize of being the first Rugged PDA with Android in the UK.

There is a new contender to this prize in the Rock 5 which is a small, IP67, droppable rugged PDA that’s around the £350 mark , includes an NFC RFID reader and is actually quite good. This is due to be on sale 1st April and if talks here go to plan it will be regarded by us as a fully rugged solution so the race is on.

We have heard reports of Skeye launching an Android version of their Dart but like the Pidion, this has actually got to be commercially available and buyable! Anyone out there who has anything to add on this would be gratefully received on our comments section!

We've got an Android BIP6000, it's only a first when the customers have them!

www.ruggedandmobile.com

The 5 Tests of Rugged PDA’s – Data Capture and configurability

15 03 2012

Some devices can be configured and have more data capture optiosn than others...

Part 5 of our blog series on mission critical rugged pda’s, to see the index go here for the 5 tests that a rugged PDA should pass. Today we’re talking about Rugged PDA Data Capture Capabilities.

I personally htink this test needs reviewing as we’re seeing a definite increase in demand for rugged PDA’s that are running very simple, none data capture applications. However a rugged PDA does still need to have some core data capture technology as an option at the least.

Bar code Scanner

Bar code scanners are probably the key difference between a smart phone and rugged pda. A camera will not scan bar codes efficiently and it will mis-read them too. If you’re scanning bar codes, do yourself a favour and get a rugged pda with a proper bar code scanner in it.

Industrial WiFi

Another big difference in most rugged PDA’s is that they usually have the option of a better WiFI chip. Cisco CCX approved chips will help you connect, stay connected and allow better browsing through large networks, handing off far better. They are also optimised for VOIP, PTT and many industrial applications that require a string, constant connection.

RFID

RFID is becoming more and more popular and the readers have become a low-cost option now. NFC is cheap and for card payments, but if you want to use RFID for anything else then you need a decent HF, LF or even UHF rugged device. Remember that RFID needs a big battery to run it all day too.

GPRS and 3G

Most RUgged PDA’s still have the option of using GPRS or 3G and each still have their benefits. Remember that without a GPRS or 3G chip you can;t send data back to HQ whilst in the field and you can’t also take phone calls.

Touch Screen

Capactive screens which are pretty much 100% of the smart phone market do not allow you take signature without expensive capacitive pens that are still very hit and miss. Resistive touch screens are still the way to go in the rugged market. They work for POD better, work whilst wearing gloves and they are far cheaper to replace when broken.

GPS

GPS is int everything these days, it’s here for completeness more than anything else. Be aware though that to do anything in the tracking realm you will need a good GPS chip.

www.ruggedandmobile.com

Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: Bar code scanner, Dotel H300, Rugged PDA
Categories : Top Tips

The 5 Tests of Rugged PDA’s – Parts Availability

14 03 2012

Cheaper Rugged PDA Repair services are a lot better these days than you think.

Part 4 of a small series on mission critical rugged pda’s, to see the index go here for the 5 tests that a rugged PDA should pass. Today we’re talking about Rugged PDA Parts.

Other than having a decent Roadmap for your rugged handheld, I htink this is the next most important indicator of a fully rugged PDA. We interchange the tersm “Rugged” with “mission Critical” here. We kind of see rugged PDA’s as the servers of the mobile PDA market, so they tend to be a little boring, a little behind the latest technology but always there, working away and allowing you to do the fun srtuff with your customers.

Parts scenario

Spare parts are essential to a long PDA life and they also show a true committment from the manufacturer to the “rugged” cause. When buying a RUgged PDA alwasy ask about the repair and parts processes so that you know you have somehting that will work for the term you need it to. We wake up thinking about RUgged Hanhelds and Barcodes here but the chances are you probably don’t, so having a rugged PDA that isn;t going to change for years is what you need.

Parts Garentee

Parts should not just be guarenteed if you take out a service contract, they should be available for anything you buy. You wouldn’t buy a car if someone told you that the parts are probably not going to be around after 10 years so why should you buy a Rugged PDA if the parts might not be avaialbe for 3?. Ask the reseller what the parts scenario is, ask for any gurentees but the most important thing to ask is about really old PDA’s and if you can still get the parts for them which will test the brand you are proposing to buy.

Repair Scenario

We have manyt mahy customers, for one reason or another, who simply can’t buy service up front but they still need something that they can rely upon for years and that has a decent repair solution regardless of whether they have a full on service contract,or if its a warranty or out of warranty repair. Having to wait for 4 weeks (which is what we have had to wait for onlur latest Motorola kit, 7 weeks and counting for Psion) is too long, in fact it’s insulting. There are many brands now that are filling this void and offering great service, grear repair solutions and parts guarentees all as part of the rugged PDA’s life. I htink lack of greed of the manufcaturer and reseller plays a big part in how well you woill be looked after you buy.

Fabrication

So inevitably parts will go south but it’s not necessarily the end of the story as we live in a very different world these days. If we can’t find it for you then we make and we have access to fabrication facilities, we have our own fabrication right here and we do our best tokeep you running. We only offer this on certain brands though that have committed to this ethos.

www.ruggedandmobile.com

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Tags: Rugged PDA, Rugged PDA parts, Rugged PDA Repair
Categories : Top Tips

The 5 Tests of Rugged PDA’s – Roadmap

13 03 2012

This is part of a small series just click here to see the index for the 5 tests that a rugged PDA should pass. Today we’re talking about Rugged PDA roadmap.

Above and beyond anything else, this is probably the 1 factor when choosing a PDA that will cost you the most if you get it wrong or if the manufacturer lets you down. A rugged PDA roadmap means the following:

Good notice on the end of life

Especially these days, even rugged PDA’s can;t be around for ever and have to be replaced as new technology advances. We don’t do 2 weeks notice here though, or whilst stocks last like the networks do with smartphones. To be mission critical and therefore to be rugged a PDA has to have a good amount of notice to give everyone a decent time to adjust to the new device and let go of the old ones.

Introduction period

Likewise a decent amount of time is also required when introducing new Rugged Handhelds. If they come on to the market abruptly and with no warning it doesn’t give people time to plan. It also really peeves people off if they spend lots of money and their device is old after 2 weeks! I would mention that this is for general folk here. Showing the new thing coming out soon, secretly to only the larger customers is not enough to pass this test.

Replacement strategy

Resellers must be told the strategy of the new device. Is it replacing anything or is it supplemental to the range. Is it replacing something over time depending on how the sales go? We need to know so we sell the right device.

Demo availability

Early versions of the kit need to be made available to resellers so they can demo new kit early to customers and understand the kit when it goes into general sale. New technology often has hidden extra work involved and hidden risks that need to be tested on the resellers not the end users.

Long life

The life of a rugged PDA needs to also be longer than a few months. We’re not into the next best thing in the rugged market and we need to know we can buy the same device for multiple years, with our without a service contract.

Parts Availability

This is a really important committment where parts must be available for years after end of life for any rugged PDA, with or without a service contract. We’re fabricated too many parts for too many well known brands these days just to keep them running months after they go end of life and it’s not good enough. Parts and repairs must go on for a minimum of 3 years after any rugged PDA has been discontinued.

Upgrade compatibility

Inevitably those QVGA LCD’s will stop being manufactured but at least VGA are the same ratio. 3MP cameras will all turn into 5MP but will they still store and save the images in the same way? It’s really important how your chosen rugged PDA handles these changes. Some like Pidion make constant incremental changes to their devices to keep them fresh and relevant but this doesn;t go without it’s risks. A new device at the least must be able to sit and function along side it’s predecessors with the minimal of fuss.

Roadmap History

Always ask about what has happened before because it will tell you if a device is truly regarded as rugged or not. If the manufacturer shows a poor committment to what they are discontinuing then it could spell real agony for your business so make sure you ask the questions!

www.ruggedandmobile.com

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Tags: Rugged PDA, Rugged PDA end of life, rugged-pda-Roadmap
Categories : Top Tips

The 5 Tests of Rugged PDA’s – Support

9 03 2012

Repair services are essential to be truly rugged

Hi peeps just click here to see the index for the 5 tests that a rugged PDA should pass. Today were talking about Service and Support.

This is one of the fundamental areas that a rugged PDA repair service needs to have that set’s it aside frim smartphone type insurance.

Warranty might be all you need!

I know, I know, warranty is a basic service that’s free wfor 12 months with all rugged handhedls but for some lets be honest, it’s often enough. However even at this level a rugged PDA must have some kind of decent service. There must be a warranty process to get the device fixed, it should take no more than a week in house to be any good so ask about typical timings and it should also not have ridiculous pricing for all those necessary screen repairs etc etc.

Comprehensive Service

Warranty is all well and good bit a comprehensive service offering is something that sets rugged PDA’s aside too. This brings a repair service thats more TCO to the end user adding shorter SLA’s usually 24 to 72 hours and it should cover any accidental damage, wear and tear and all bills for parts and labour too so you know you can get your rugged PDA fixed quickly and at no cost. There are abuse clauses built in to every contract and some manufactruers are getting a lot more stingy than others so again check that out to.

Heldpdesk and Managed Services

A good reseller should be able to serve a managed helpdesk thats designed to help not put up walls between you and people. We have a portal that has a great self service area showicasing our expertise, we have a simple helpdesk for RMA’s and we can integrate this with all manner of systems if we need to. We can create accoutns for your team so that we can effectively mange your solution for you. This is all part of being able deliver a mission critical mentality into the life of your solution, not just up front.

Access to technical expertise

Again this seems to fall on the shoulders of the reseller but I can;t stress enough how important technical expertise will be to you in order to keep your solution running. To give you an idea, this week alone we have helped with the following ( listed these knowing this this blog was coming up!):

BT pairing and Phone issue.
Setting up policies for WEH6.5 for exchange server (they are very different to WM6.1).
SDK help with an H300, ES400, MC65, Psion WAP
COM port set-up and supply of connectors for bespoke leads.
Barcode symbology selection advice and advsiing on the best PDA for that.
Camera memory issue on WM6.5 devices.
Hard resetting advice on multiple devices.
OS update on BIP-6000 due to power issues on previius firmware.

All of the above is simple day to day stuff that we deal with, i’d like to see your mobile operator help on this!

I would also add that we feel an account contact is necessary for all sales made to businesses buying line of business rugged PDA’s. Youneed to have someone that takes your business as seriously as you do.

www.ruggedandmobile.com

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Tags: Rugged PDA, Rugged PDA Repair, Rugged PDA Support
Categories : Top Tips

The 5 tests of Rugged PDA’s – Ruggedness

8 03 2012

Rugged doesn't just mean drop specs and IP ratings!

To be a truly rugged PDA we believe at Rugged and Mobile that it has to pass 5 tests, which are:

1. Ruggedness of device

2. Service and Support

3. Roadmap and History.

4. Parts Availability

5. Data Capture Abilities and configurability of components.

Every one of these has to make the grade here at Rugged and Mobile or we don’t consider the device to be rugged or line of business material! We’re going to cover these off in 5 separate blog articles and today we look at PDA Ruggedness.

Rugged PDA Ruggedness

IP Rating

We talk about IP ratings a lot and there are far better articles on this site if you search for IP ratings in the search box. In a nutshell, IP ratings come with 2 numbers, E.G. IP65. The first number is a measure of it’s ability to cope with physical things that can get inside the rugged PDA. On a scale of 1 to 6 we tend to stick around 5 and 6 which is all about dust resistance. The second digit is about how water proof the device is and the scale goes from 0 to 8. To be rugged you need at least IP54. IP42 or IP43 is not rugged what-so-ever, most smartphones are IP42 if they took the test!

Drops and tumbles

Every rugged PDA should at the minimum have a drop spec of 1.2 metres. We’d really like to see 1.5M to be honest but 1.2 is better that most smart phone kit. This isn’t a guarantee that you can drop the device from 1.5M though. Drop anything on it’s LCD screen and it risks breaking, however it is a good relative measure of ruggedness.

The tumble spec is a measure of how many times the device has been tumbled about and this is usually done in a washing machine style test. It gives you an indication of the general wear and tear resistance ability of the Rugged Handheld.

It must be said that the above tests can be self certified in most cases so always look for the signs of something that is truly rugged by inspection too.

Rugged by Design

Take a look at the device and see if there are any potential areas that look weak. Aerials for instance break and render the device useless while needing repair and some keyboards can be poor too. Is the LCD recessed? Does the battery cover look IP65 as well as the device? Are the plastics used solid like in the Dotel H300 and has the device been put together well? It might be IP 65 on paper but if the case has been poorly fitted then it will leak.

Does the PDA have any design features. The MC65 has a fair few that allow it to claim a degree of ruggedness over its competitors.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about the support that is required for a device to be deemed rugged here at Rugged and mobile!

www.ruggedandmobile.com

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Tags: Dotel H300, Pidion BM170, rugged handheld, Rugged PDA
Categories : Top Tips

O2 Discontinue Motorola ES400

7 03 2012

Motorola ES400 - Fading away from the networks

We have had a lot of our customers come to us this week with rumours that O2 are discontinuing the Motorola ES400 and the rumours are indeed true. We checked out the statements being sent out to O2 customers (that happen to be ours too!) and whilst they have a small stock left, they will be removing the ES400 from it’s core offerings as soon as this has gone.

As far as we’re concerned the Motorola ES400 is still available and after talking to Motorola, yesterday it should be for another year.

If you take mission critical seriously, and you can take my word for it, most mobile solutions are or should be mission critical, then you need a rugged PDA that’s not just rugged but has lots of expertise behind it, inexpensive and quick repairs regardless of service contracts and most importantly a defined roadmap with lots of notice. Network operators offer none of this, they have turned what could have been a lovely semi-rugged device in the Motorola ES400 into a smartphone scenario for many and there will be issues with this as it is dropped.

At rugged and mobile the mission critical and “Rugged” mean almost the same. Everyone that bought through O2 will now find it more and more difficult to get help and to get service as they focus on something else no doubt and probably try to push that in to you to lock you in for another 2 or 3 years contract. I’m sorry to whine but it’s the facts we see every day here and you only have to have owned an iPhone to know exactly what I mean.

We judge the last element above about being rugged quite seriously and we also reflect on how the manufacturer has acted in the past. You can see here how manufacturers do that and why some are better suited to mission critical than others.

The lessons to be learned here are to always make sure you buy your hardware from someone who knows everything there is to know about and also someone who will be as passionate about your business and solutions as you are.

www.ruggedandmobile.com

Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Motorola ES400 Discontinued, Motorola ES400 End of line, Rugged PDA
Categories : News & Communication, The rest...

Android Rugged PDA’s – The Race is On