Considerations of Small Rugged PDA’s

2 08 2011
Small Rugged PDA's

Small Rugged PDA's

Small rugged PDA’s are a relatively new group of Rugged PDA that fit right in between the most popular lightweight rugged PDA and semi-rugged PDA classes .  Typically Small Rugged PDA’s are semi-rugged, some might say even smartphone, in size but they still carry all the elements required by their larger sibling devices.  This means barcode scanners, keyboard choice and full ruggedness is the bare minimum you need to be called a small rugged PDA!  In  a world where everything went small but is going larger again, is a small rugged PDA all it’s cracked up to be?  We take a look at some pro’s and cons of the little workhorses here.

Feature packed

Small Rugged PDA’s all have pretty much the same features, specs and accessories that their larger counterparts have so expect to see cradles, serial connectors, a plethora of vehicle accessories and a full choice of barcode scanners and even RFID readers in some cases.  THese devices have everything on paper that larger Rugged PDA’s have but in a smaller and lighter form factor.  Can’t be bad!

Pros and Cons of small

Obviously its about size here, small rugged PDA’s are simply rugged PDA’s shrunk down and they really do give your workers a lightweight, slim and small device that’s a pleasure, not a burden, to lug around on an 8 hour shift.  They’ll fit into a pocket easily, are still small enough to drop into a tool box and they are genuinely small.  With a drop in size however come some negatives.  2.8″ LCD’s are the order of the day here which is like going back 10 years in the Smartphone world (Remember the very first HTC/Microsoft SPV phones, well they all had 2.8″ LCD’s!).  Keyboards are tight too, especially if you opt for a qwerty and small Rugged PDA’s also often miss the extra scan buttons that make life just that bit easier.  The smaller the PDA, the smaller the battery will be too although most have got round this by employing better energy-saving techniques or by using Li-POL batteries.

 

Spot the small rugged PDA

Spot the small rugged PDA!

Rugged by Design

To be in Rugged and Mobile’s Small Rugged PDA, the device has to be fully rugged and nothing here disappoints on paper, IP54 or more is the order of the day, MIL drop specs are all present and correct and we see some recessed screens but we also see chrome, Mini and Micro USB connectors that simply aren’t rugged and in a lot of cases the devices use and feel components that are clearly not rugged by design.  We judge a lot by how our demo/loan stock here fairs as it’s a very fair test of a device and we’ve already seen the chrome suffering on our Intermec CS40 and 2 of the buttons on our H21 came back broke after 3 months of use.  The rubber on some devices USB ports also come off easier than others effectively rendering the devices IP-less without them.

To feel them, they also don’t feel any tougher than a smartphone.  Ruggedness in this class is all about the drop, IP ratings come second in 80% of cases and this is the reason a semi-rugged PDA is doing so well at the moment.  I’m not so sure if any devices we sell other than the GX8010 feel properly rugged.

Price

A lot of people go small thinking they’ll save money and I think with some devices we do see that trend.  However whilst the GX8010 or GX8900 will cost you £500 to £650, we feel that it’s not the size that is affecting the price here and sure enough the H21 will cost you the best part of £800, with the CS40 being more than that so cost savings are not the order of the day here with many larger devices coming in less expensive than this.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a rugged PDA that’s small and the compromise is that you need something rugged but smaller, then there are now 4 or 5 very good devices in this class that will work for you.  If you want small and are willing to pay for it then you;re sorted.  However if you want small because you feel it’s a compromise then there are 2 devices here but to be honest you’re going to be disappointed and should look to the semi-rugged class.

It’ll be interesting to see how this class fairs as the competition hots up and we’ll be sure to feedback what we see happening as the trends grow.  tomorrow we look at the most popular class of Rugged PDA…lightweight Rugged PDA’s.

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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Categories : Opinion, Top Tips

Getac MH132 Announced – Rugged advice from a rugged reseller

24 03 2011
Getac MH1322 Rugged Smartphone

Getac MH1322 Rugged Smartphone

We try and announce as much as we can both good or bad that comes into the markets we serve and the Small Rugged PDA market is a market thats going to be a bit of a bloodbath in the next year or so as we see lots of manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon.  The problem in this market is that many manufacturers are trying to provide a small or semi rugged PDA that simplyenters them into what is seen as the “market to be in” and the trouble with this is that it’s risking turning a much needed market into one that is almost going to be as confusing and risky as the smartphone market has become, especially when looked at from a Line of Business point of view.  When I refer to bloodbath, its not the manufacturers blood that i’m wiping off my shirt, its the customers as its them that we’re trying to steer awat from making the same old mistakes of buying the wrong device, simply because of how its positioned.

Indeed the MH132 is in fact referred to as a Rugged “Smartphone” which is the first interesting point to make about this little rugged PDA.  Smartphone it is not.  It’s not going to be bought by people looking for a more rugged mobile phone, where the hunting ground of the Motorola ES400 is.  It’s certainly not going to be taking sales away from iphones and HTC’s so it is squarly in our Small Rugged PDA category here at Rugged and Mobile.

The Getac MH132 Rugged Smartphone slipped on to the market very quietly but was officially launched last week.  We haven’t had much to go on here so we turn to what we can find and use our own experience and contacts to give our customers the knowledge they need to make an informed decision.  A quick glance at the specs seems to bring up some interesting, some rather odd and some downright poor features so we’ll be looking at the device in a little more depth tomorrow and uncovering everything you need to know if you’re in the market for something like this.

Getac are a Rugged Tablet and Laptop manufacturers first and foremost, in fact they’re our go to guys for good, decent kit in this area.  Rugged PDA’s however are a different kettle of fish and we do see this as a bit of a “curveball” device entering Getac into a new market.

We probably have only 2 or 3 devices in this market so far that provide into these categories honestly and competently for the customers so it will be interesting to see how Getac fairs against the devices that are doing well in a market that is a tough one to get in to in our view.

For now there’s still no price, still no solid availability for supply so you’ll have to forgive us if we don’t seem particularly excited about what’s on offer here at first glance!  More to come…

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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Categories : New products and First Looks

Top 5 Small Rugged PDA picks

14 03 2011

This week we’re looking at different classes of Rugged PDA and we’re starting all the way at the bottom with the Best Small Rugged PDA class.

To qualify for this group, you need to be small and I mean noticeably smaller than the classic Rugged Handheld, so some just scrape in, some offer almost smartphone size.  You also have to be fully rugged, IP rating and drop spec, no semi rugged here.  Service options are a must too and you must have a barcode scanner.  In essence these are proper rugged PDA’s but just scaled down.

We’ll look at our current top picks, we’ll tell you what to look out for and hopefully do all the hard work for you here.

Small Rugged PDA

Small Rugged PDA

5.  Ganedata GX8010

This device is just about to undergo a general spec refresh which will bring it up to date in this class and a probable rise in our rankings with it.  However the GX8010 in current guise is still a great start in entering the small rugged PDA.  Used by 1000′s of totally remote farmers in China, its spec is basic but tough.  It has no GPS but it does have an optional 2D Adaptus barcode scanner, RFID options, Smart card reader and is a full rugged spec.  It’s the least expensive device here at around £550 to the customer.

4. Intermec CS40

Not quite released officially yet the Intermec CS40 device has done very well to be in our top 5 let alone come 3rd.  Its the other end of the spectrum to the GX8010 is a very much anticipated .  I cannot say enough about Intermec’s ruggedness and their service is also second to none which is why we have such confidence placing the CS40 here.  The CS40 has  a spec to shame any Rugged PDA, it has a built-in EVA12 barcode scanner and has the option of numeric or qwerty keyboards.  Its small, tough and opitimises what we want to see in the small rugged PDA class.  Only downside is that this is at the £800 level, £660-700  on larger projects at a real push, but you really do get what you pay for.

3. Gen2Wave RP-1000

Also a brand new device the RP-1000 is slightly larger than the above 2 small rugged PDA’s but it’s still just small enough to squeeze in to this category.  It brings a very decent feature set, tested very well in our in-house benchmarks tests.  If you feel you want something slightly larger and more tough in the hand then this is what people are telling us about the RP-1000.  You can spec out the barcode scanner and it has a ready made list if accessories, including snap-on’s!  Pricing is around the £600 mark.

2. Juniper Archer

Juniper are a niche rugged PDA manufacturer based in the states who have a lot of expertise, bring a lot of quality to the market and they are in many ways even better in terms of quality than Intermec.  The Archer is a device that is built to be rugged and whilst the spec is now aging but trusted in my view the Juniper Archer PDA is how you do fully rugged in a small package.  Tonnes of snap-ons, fantastic battery life, aimed squarely at fully rugged solutions and with a growing service network in the UK it’s always worth a look if you’re in this market.

1. Ganedata GSmart

Like the RP-1000 GaneData’s GSmart is a slightly larger Small Rugged PDA, scraping in a little more comfortably on size but it is also a very competent and configurable Small Rugged PDA.  Our customers often refer to it as a “little Psion IKON” which describes it perfectly. It tops our list right now because it has everything; large Li-Pol battery, great CPU and RAM, GPS and the asymmetric keyboard is very nice to use too.  At around the £670 price point it’s well priced, with great service products and this device, whilst a new kid on the block, is not going to let you down.

So there we have it.  Remember this class of device has to be fully rugged so no Motorola ES400′s or Pidion BM170′s here as these are in our semi-rugged class.  However if you need something that doesn’t look or feel like a brick but still has all the features of a fully RUgged PDA then the above list is what you;re looking for.

Come talk to us if you need any more help

www.ruggedandmobile.com

So if you


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Categories : Device Tests and Reviews, Opinion

Gen2Wave RP-1000 – RAMCert Submission

24 02 2011
Introducing the Gen2Wave RP-1000

Introducing the Gen2Wave RP-1000

The rugged and mobile test centre is where we do all our device testing and selection and it’s where our new certification system fits in to our new website.

This is the first one!  We have to start somewhere and today we’re taking a first look at the RP-1000 from Gen2Wave.  See a video overview on the previous post.

Why are we looking at the Gen2Wave RP-1000?

Uniqueness, Niche-ness and innovation:

This is firmly in the “Small Rugged PDA” class Its fully rugged but small with a PDA form factor and 3.5″ screen.  Its very close in size to the semi-rugged PDA’s we sell like the Pidion BM-170 or Motorola ES400, unyet the RP-1000 has a barcode scanner option (options are non, 1D, 2D oir RFID) and it’s

Spec:

The spec has to catch our eye and WM6.5.3, XScale PXA320 806MHz CPU, 256MB RAM as std, certainly does.  THe 3MP camera, barcode scanner, HSDPA, BT, WLan and 3.5″ VGA screen only help with this, it’s up there with the best specced devices we sell.

Ruggedness

IP64, 1.5m drop spec to concrete, rubber edging strip and protected LCD make for a promising level of ruggedness.

Apparent quality and first impressions:

It has the same feel as the BIP-6000 which is highly rugged but with a very pleasing to touch case.  It feels heavy and sturdy, the keys are all very clicky and solid, it has 3 scan buttons for left handed users and 1 hand operation and it has a protected LCD and rubber bounce strip.

It has a good accessory list

There are at least as many accessories for this as there are for many other rugged PDA’s but it also has the essentials like cradles, extended batteries and vehicle / cup accessories.  It seems to be very extendable.

Manufacturer, distribution Service:

All of these are sound with good service products, good open and honest UK distribution and decent manufacturer all make for a device we can committ to and work hard on for customers.  Feedback has already taken place with the manufacturer which is a good sign.

Value for Money:

Good in the box contents, low price for the spec and reseller project pricing back up what is a very good proposition.

Gen2Wave RP-1000 In the box (iphone not included!!)

Gen2Wave RP-1000 In the box (iphone not included!!)

Remember this is the first impression, we have t to test the device first but all in all the RP-1000 has onloy got it to lose right now!

We provide the test results tomorrow with our conlusions and RAMCERT rating.

Rugged and Mobile ltd


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Categories : Test Centre

Small Rugged Handhelds

18 01 2011

So we continue “niche” week by looking at Small Rugged Handhelds which are a growing breed in our opinion here as we see a demand for small but tough Rugged Handhelds steadily climb.

Small Rugged Handhelds

Small Rugged Handhelds

Size indeed does matter in the Rugged PDA market, more so as new and different types of customer demand more and more innovative mobile solutions and we’re definitley seeing size becoming an eroding factor ino the general Rugged Handheld market.

The main reasons for wanting a small Rugged Handheld are simply that users don’t need a large screen but they are looking for something that can be realistically marketed in to their users as an “Almost” smartphone sized alternative to their current and probably beloved shiny smartphone.

What is a small Rugged Handheld?

There’s a few big differences between a small Rugged PDA and a semi-rugged PDA.  Firstly small Rugged Handhelds have a proper built in barcode scanner, or at least have the option of one.  GaneData’s GX8010 and GSmart devices come with full 2D scanners that can be optioned out or replaced with RFID scanners.  Secondly the device has to be fully rugged with drop specs and IP ratings and Intermecs CS40 demonstrates perfectly how a small rugged handheld can still be one tough little critter.  The PDA needs to be Field capable, aimed at field users, with decent GSM and GPRS/3G capability with Opticon’s H21 showing just how feature packed a small rugged PDA can be.  Lastly we’re also looking for a device that has decent battery power and is capable of powering itself for a full day, where perhaps a semi-rugged device might struggle a little bit. 

The compromise tends to come from the screen size alone where everything talked about here has a 2.8″ screen although the Skeye Dart is the exception to the rule managing to be quite small with a 3.5″ just getting into this class if you opt for the PDA format keyboard.  However we do like to see a numeric keyboard option if possible which is perfect for phone usage and barcode mis-reads and with a small screen they are often essential.

Why

Well there are a lot of people out there who are sold on the Rugged Handheld concept but simply want something that their users will find lighter and easier to live with.  They also tend to want to use the devices as full phone and PDA replacements so a smaller form factor is often needed to save the users the embarrassment of using a brick to make calls with!!

Price

In the rugged market, small tends to bring a price advantage with it.  The CS40 tends to hanker around the £700 mark, the GX8010 and GSmart around the £500-£650 mark and the Dart also about the £700 mark, the Opticon is the exception, in fact they always are, still being around the £800-900 mark.

So if you have specific need for a smaller rugged Handheld then their are options out there.  Come talk to us here if you need any more help at all.

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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