Tablet PCs get rugged

When Microsoft launched the Tablet PC operating system last November, the focus was on the horizontal market. Microsoft coined the term "corridor warrior" to describe the intended user, the office worker who is in meetings all day and could catch up on e-mail or access the network from any location at any given moment.

I argue that the true market for Tablets is not necessarily found in the hallways of office buildings, but rather in the warehouse, on the manufacturing floor, in hospital rooms or even outdoors.

Workers in those types of situations are usually mobile all day and need to access information on the go. Microsoft pitched its operating system toward a specific horizontal usage, but now vendors that cater to vertical-industry markets are taking up the Tablet PC mantra.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

When Microsoft launched the Tablet PC operating system last November, the focus was on the horizontal market. Microsoft coined the term "corridor warrior" to describe the intended user, the office worker who is in meetings all day and could catch up on e-mail or access the network from any location at any given moment.

I argue that the true market for Tablets is not necessarily found in the hallways of office buildings, but rather in the warehouse, on the manufacturing floor, in hospital rooms or even outdoors.

Workers in those types of situations are usually mobile all day and need to access information on the go. Microsoft pitched its operating system toward a specific horizontal usage, but now vendors that cater to vertical-industry markets are taking up the Tablet PC mantra.

Companies are moving toward providing tablets to their field service workers because the Tablet PC operating system lets them do more than previous operating systems, including Windows CE, says Matt Gerber, vice president of marketing and business development at Itronix, a computer manufacturer.

Before, field service workers with mobile devices tended to have only one application on their device. With the Tablet PC operating system, they can connect to more applications.

JLT Mobile Computers makes ruggedized mobile PCs for government, industrial and business customers. The company has entered the Tablet market with its G-Force 850, a 2.87-pound device.

The G-Force 850 Tablet includes an 8.4-inch poly-silicon transflective display, which automatically brightens for viewing in direct sunlight, and backlights to 120 nits (for night use), the company says. Despite the extra brightness, the G-Force 850 provides five hours of full operation, and up to eight hours with power-saving features enabled. It uses the low-power Transmeta Crusoe TM5400 processor, at 600 MHz.

Other rugged features include a fold-back protective cover, which features an X-shaped hand support that secures the unit to the user's free hand, JLT Mobile says. The tablet is designed with recessed buttons on the front of the unit, to help prevent accidental activation. The G-Force 850 is designed to withstand temperatures from 23 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit (data storage ranges from 14 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit). Finally, the device is sealed to protect it from water and dust.

The device has up to 512M bytes of RAM, and expansion options include two Compact Flash type II slots and a Type II PC Card slot (PCMCIA) for adding wireless connectivity (supporting CDMA, CDPD, GSM, GPRS or Bluetooth). The device will list for about $4,000, with prices differing from branding vendors. JLT Mobile says it will be shipping the tablets by the end of this month.

Itronix also recently announced its GoBook Tablet. The GoBook Tablet weighs 3.7 pounds and runs on an Intel ultralow-voltage 866-MHz mobile Pentium III processor. It will be available in August for about $3,000, Itronix says.

The GoBook Tablet includes a die-cast magnesium casing and sealed I/O ports, and can operate at temperatures from 4 below zero to 140 Farenheit. To improve ease of use for mobile workers, the Itronix Tablet includes a hand strap, shoulder strap and carrying case.