Tough tablets to tempt mobile workers

Motion Computing and Mitac subsidiary Getac have both unveiled new
ruggedised Tablet PCs designed for staff working in the field.

The Motion F5 is aimed at "walking workers" such as service engineers,
construction workers or delivery van drivers, and is designed to stand up
to these tasks without carrying the costly price tag often associated with
fully ruggedised equipment. It is available immediately.

"It’s not military-grade rugged, but it does meet IP 54 environmental
specifications and the MIL 810F standard for drops," said Motion EMEA vice
president Nigel Owens. It also features a magnesium alloy internal frame
for strength.

The F5 is based on a 1.2GHz Intel Core Solo processor and has a 10.4in
display with Motion's high-contrast View Anywhere technology, which makes
the screen easier to read outdoors. It supports either XP or Vista with up
to 2GB memory and either a shock-mounted hard drive or a Flash solid-state
disk (SDD) for extra resilience. The system has a built-in carrying handle
and weighs 1.5kg.

Motion said it has integrated key devices into the F5 that workers would
otherwise have to carry separately, such as a camera and RFID reader, while
a barcode scanner is optional. The system has built-in 802.11a/b/g and
Bluetooth, while a 3G modem for always-on connectivity is an option.

Prices for the Motion Computing F5 start from £1,350, while the SSD option
bumps this up by about £200, according to Motion.

Elsewhere, Getac unveiled its E100, which also complies with IP 54 and MIL
810F standards and has a magnesium alloy chassis and shock-mounted hard
drive. It has an 8.4in display with a numeric keypad mounted alongside. The
unit is based on an Intel A110 800MHz processor with up 1GB of memory, and
can have an optional 3G modem in addition to 802.11b/g Wi-Fi.

The E100 will be available later this month with prices starting at £1,900.