Symbol shows its rugged side

Symbol last week unveiled a wireless handheld specifically designed for enterprise users and that the company says is more rugged than the typical device for such customers.

The MC70 Enterprise Digital Assistant combines a cell phone, wireless handheld computer and bar-code scanner in a device roughly the size of Palm's just-released Treo 700w.

The MC70 handheld is 3 inches wide by 6 inches long by 1.5 inches high, and weighs between 11 and 12 ounces, depending on how many wireless options are included. The product features Windows Mobile 5.0, on a 624-MHz Intel XScale CPU, with 64MB of RAM and 128MB of ROM. It has one RS-232 port, a USB 1.1 port and a Secure Digital card slot.

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Symbol last week unveiled a wireless handheld specifically designed for enterprise users and that the company says is more rugged than the typical device for such customers.

The MC70 Enterprise Digital Assistant combines a cell phone, wireless handheld computer and bar-code scanner in a device roughly the size of Palm's just-released Treo 700w.

The MC70 handheld is 3 inches wide by 6 inches long by 1.5 inches high, and weighs between 11 and 12 ounces, depending on how many wireless options are included. The product features Windows Mobile 5.0, on a 624-MHz Intel XScale CPU, with 64MB of RAM and 128MB of ROM. It has one RS-232 port, a USB 1.1 port and a Secure Digital card slot.

Users can add as many as three wireless interfaces: a GPRS/GSM cellular radio, 802.11a/b/g wireless LAN radio and Bluetooth for short-range connectivity. The color quarter-VGA screen is designed both for tough use and to be easily visible in any light. The keyboard options are a 26-key cell phone-like keypad or a full 44-key qwerty keypad.

The devices are set to ship by the end of next month and are priced from $2,195 to $2,845, depending on the options.

Despite the high cost, plenty of enterprise customers will pay for them, says Jeff Lem, president of Q.Data, a mobile systems integrator and Symbol value-added reseller. "It's all about uptime: if you have a device that is available 99% of the time compared to, say, 90%, that difference can be easily quantified and justified in terms of additional revenue and customer service," Lem says.

Other rugged device vendors include Psion Teklogix, Intermec, Hand Held Products and PSC.

Read more about wireless & mobile in Network World's Wireless & Mobile section.