3M aims to bring more color to LCDs
3M announced it is in the final stages of scale-up for its new 3M Quantum Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF). The new film allows up to 50% more color than current levels in LCDs. 3M says that current LCDs typically are limited to displaying 35% or less of the visible color spectrum, and that the new film will represent a drop-in solution that delivers clearly noticeable more saturated colors. [See 3M press release] -- Posted Tuesday, May 21, 2013 by chb

Motorola introduces freezer-rated Psion Omnii XT15f
Motorola Solutions introduced the Omnii XT15f, a special "freezer and condensation-rated" version of the Psion Omnii XT15 rugged handheld. Since the temperature extremes and condensation issues when working in and around freezers can affect displays, touch screens, keypads, battery life and longevity, the XT15f includes a variety of frost-free and heating technologies that address those issues. [See description, analysis and specs of the Motorola Solutions Psion Omnii XT15f] -- Posted Wednesday, May 15, 2013 by chb

Windows 8.1 preview to become available June 26
At the JP Morgan Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in Boston, a Microsoft representative told the audience that the update previously referred to as "Windows Blue" will be called Windows 8.1 and become available as a free update to Windows 8 for consumers through the Windows Store. In a blog post, Microsoft said a public preview of Windows 8.1 will be available starting June 26, timed with the Build developer conference in San Francisco. The preview will be available for Windows 8 and Windows RT. -- Posted Tuesday, May 14, 2013 by chb

6,500 Datalogic Elf mobile computers improve store replenishment efficiency at The Co-operative Food
Datalogic announced that The Co-operative Food, one of the largest food retailers in the United Kingdom, deployed 6,500 Datalogic's Elf Mobile Computer (see our analysis of the Elf) for speeding up daily operations, thereby increasing productivity of its SMART (Store Merchandising and Replenishment Transformation) system in more than 2,800 stores in the UK. [See Datalogic press release] -- Posted Wednesday, May 8, 2013 by chb

Price premium for touchscreens in notebooks to drop to below $50
DigiTimes reports that both Acer and Asustek aggressively promote touchscreen notebooks, which currently still only have about a 10% marketshare in global notebook shipments, with the percentage somewhat higher in Asia. Channel retailers expect the price gap between touchscreen and non-touchscreen notebooks to drop to below $50 later in 2013, down from $50-100. Our take: Maybe consumers don't want to pay extra for touch in notebooks that were never designed for touch, and where touching means lifting your arm and leaving unsightly smudges on the screen. -- Posted Tuesday, May 7, 2013 by chb

Added: Lenovo ThinkPad X230t
Yes, Virginia, it used to be IBM that made the ThinkPads before they sold the business to Lenovo, and the first ThinkPads some 20 years ago were just that, pads, and not notebooks. It was only when pen computing failed to catch on that ThinkPads became laptops. But IBM and then Lenovo never really gave up on tablets, and the current Lenovo ThinkPad X230t is the latest in a long line of convertible laptops. It looks big and heavy now compared to Lenovo's sleek IdeaPads, but it has plenty of power, is very reasonably priced, and exudes a timeless elegance. [See description, analysis and specs of the Lenovo ThinkPad X230t] -- Posted Monday, May 6, 2013 by chb

Added: Fujitsu Stylistic Q572
Fujitsu has been a pen computing and tablet pioneer for over 20 years, and that know-how shows in their Stylistic Q572 business-class tablet. The 10.1-inch WXGA (1366 x 768 pixel) IPS anti-glare display is bright (400 nits) and uses the N-trig DuoSense capacitive multi-touch and active pen combo. There are dual cameras (720p front, 1080p and 5mp stills rear), SD and Smart Card slots, and solid state storage up to 256GB. The Q572 is powered by an AMD Z-60 APU that includes AMD RADEON HD 6350 graphics, and runs either Windows 7 or Windows 8. [See description, analysis and specs of the Fujitsu Stylistic Q572] -- Posted Monday, May 6, 2013 by chb

Wacom introduces pen/multi-touch 21.5-inch display
Wacom announced the Cintiq 22HD touch, an addition to its expanding interactive pen display portfolio, now featuring multi-touch. Combining multi-touch with Wacom's pressure-sensitive pen technology, the new Cintiq 22HD touch offers an immersive on-screen experience and a more intuitive and natural way to work. Additional features including a 1920 x 1080 pixel 21.5 full HD display, an ergonomic rotating stand and 16 customizable ExpressKeys, make the Cintiq 22HD touch, which lists for US$2,499, an ideal creative platform for graphic designers, animators and game developers. [See Wacom Cintiq 22HD page] -- Posted Tuesday, April 30, 2013 by chb

Socket Mobile reports profitable 1Q2013
Socket Mobile, a longtime provider of mobile productivity solutions, announced 1Q2013 revenues of US$4.3 million, up 8% from 1Q2012. 1Q2013 net income was US75k, versus a net loss of US$872k 1Q2012. CEO Kevin Mills said that their SoMo 655 family of handheld computers and accessories grew 28% sequentially over the 4Q2012, and that the SoMo 655 (see our analysis of the SoMo 655) extends the availability of their classic PDA for at least five years (Microsoft announced continued support until 2020 for the Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 OS running on the SoMo 655). [See Socket Mobile press release] -- Posted Friday, April 26, 2013 by chb

1Q13: 1st time majority of all mobile phones sold were smartphones
According to IDC, the worldwide mobile phone market grew 4% year over year in Q1 of 2013. Vendors shipped 418.6 million mobile phones in 1Q13 compared to 402.4 million units in 1Q12 and 483.2 million in 4Q12. In the worldwide smartphone market, vendors shipped 216.2 million units in 1Q13, which marked the first time more than half (51.6%) the total phone shipments in a quarter were smartphones. The smartphone market grew 41.6% compared to the 152.7 million units shipped in 1Q12, but 5.1% lower than the 227.8 million units shipped in 4Q12. Samsung held the smartphone top spot with 32.7%, before Apple with 17.3%, with Samsung greatly extending its smartphone lead. -- Posted Friday, April 26, 2013 by chb

Apple reports fiscal 2Q13 results
Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2013 second quarter ended March 30, 2013. The company posted quarterly revenues of US$43.6 billion and quarterly net profits of US$9.5 billion, or US$10.09 per diluted share. These results compare to revenues of US$39.2 billion and net profits of US$11.6 billion, or US$12.3 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 37.5% compared to 47.4% in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 66% of the quarter's revenues. -- Posted Wednesday, April 24, 2013 by chb

GammaTech Durabook SA14: affordable semi-rugged high-performance laptop with numerous customization options
Where do you go if you want a notebook with the performance and technology of the latest consumer laptops, but one that's also tough and rugged while still being affordable? The new Durabook SA14 from Gammatech is such a machine. There are compromises in ruggedness (it's only semi-rugged), but you do get your choice of Intel 3rd-gen Core processors, lots of connectivity, a wide-format 14-inch 1366 x 768 pixel display with high-bright and touch options, and even an optional Blu-ray optical drive. [See description, analysis and specs of the Durabook SA14] -- Posted Wednesday, April 24, 2013 by chb

Added: QSI QTERM-G58 rugged HMI terminal
Also added: the QTERM-G58 human-machine interface terminal from QSI, which is the Salt Lake City-based US subsidiary of Swedish Beijer Electronics. The G58 is an ultra-rugged, highly customizable handheld terminal with such rare features as a sealed 12-pin multi-potocol connector to support EIA232/422/485 and USB, DC or battery operation, and either Windows Embedded CE 6.0 or QSI's own Qlarity object-based graphic programming language and environment. [See description, specs and analysis of the QSI QTERM-G58] -- Posted Monday, April 22, 2013 by chb

Added: Catchwell CW31 industrial PDA
Catchwell is a Korean manufacturer of rugged handheld computers and a top supplier of the Korean postal service. They make a number of very compact Windows CE/Windows Mobile devices such as the CW31 in the popular class of 3.5-inch keyboard PDAs. Powered by the 806MHz Marvell PXA320, the CW31 is available with your choice of 38- or 53-key keypad, 1D laser or 2D imager, and QVGA or full VGA display. It carries IP65 sealing and can handle 6-foot drops, yet weighs just 12.8 ounces. [See description, specs and analysis of the Catchwell CW31] -- Posted Monday, April 22, 2013 by chb

Added: Datalogic Skorpio X3
The Skorpio X3 is Datalogic's follow-up to its original Skorpio handheld. Like its predecessor, the X3 model is a compact, handheld computer designed to make data collection and assisted sale procedures in retail in-store environments as easy and comfortable as possible. There's now a faster processor, a slightly larger screen, and you get to choose from three different keypads. [See description, analysis and specs of the Datalogic Skorpio X3] -- Posted Thursday, April 18, 2013 by chb

Added: Janam XT85
Janam's XT85 is a compact, rugged keyboard PDA that merges legacy (design, display, IR, OS) and state-of-the-art (dual-band WiFi, 3G/4G WWAN, microSD, scanners) technology to appeal to enterprise deployments with higher operational and performance demands than older industrial handhelds can deliver, and where ruggedness requirements rule out consumer smartphones. [See description, specs and analysis of the Janam XT85] -- Posted Tuesday, April 16, 2013 by chb

Getac Z710 rugged tablet now with Android 4.1
Getac announced its Z710 Android-powered rugged tablet will now incorporate the Android 4.1 operating system. Specifically designed to work with dual-core processors such as the Z710's TI OMAP 4430, the rugged Getac tablet will now provide improved speed and responsiveness for field personnel. "The response to our Z710 rugged tablet has been amazing," says Jim Rimay, president of Getac. "Adding Android 4.1 OS allows us to unlock the second processor core -- improving the performance in addition to enhancing security and the user interface, and adding access to Google Play for our mobile customers." [See Getac press release, our full review of the Z710, and Getac's Z710 page] -- Posted Tuesday, April 16, 2013 by chb

Added: Rugged Handheld Comparison Tool
RuggedPCReview.com has added a comprehensive rugged handheld computer comparison tool. The new utility allows site visitor to select via pull-down menus from about 100 leading rugged handhelds and compare complete technical specs of up to three devices side-by-side. Each tech spec includes an image of the device and a link to RuggedPCReview's description and analysis, as well as links to vendor pages. We're busy adding more rugged handhelds to the new comparison tool, and will also launch comparison tools for rugged tables, panels, and notebooks. [See the RuggedPCReview.com Handheld Comparison Tool] -- Posted Monday, April 15, 2013 by chb

Xplore adds Common Access Card reader-equipped rugged tablet for military and government
Xplore Technologies introduced a new version of their ultra-rugged tablet computer, the iX104C5-M2. In essence, this is a specialized model for military and government personnel that require additional hardware security on top of the various security hardware, software and firmware measures already inherent in modern computing technology. What the new M2 model adds is an integrated common access card (CAC) reader. With the reader, in order to get access to critical data, a U.S. government issued ISO 7816 smart card must be inserted. [read more]
-- Posted Wednesday, March 27, 2013 by chb

Genius releases EasyPen F610E tablet
Genius released the EasyPen F610E graphics-design tablet with a 6.25 x 10 inch working area, 4,000 line per inch resolution, and a 200 report rate per second. The tablet's cordless pen is pressure-sensitive with 2048 levels, and the package comes with Corel Painter Essentials 4 on both Windows and Mac, and also Genius Power Presenter RE II, Free Note and Office Ink for Windows. MSRP is US$119.99. [See product page] -- Posted Wednesday, March 20, 2013 by chb

Added: AMREL DT6 rugged tablet with integrated keyboard
AMREL recently released the ROCKY DT6, an Intel Atom Z530-powered rugged Windows 7 (or Linux) tablet with an 8.9-inch 1024 x 600 pixel resistive touch screen. The 4.4 pound DT6 differentiates itself with an integrated keyboard and extensive I/O, wireless and expansion options. [See description, analysis and specs of the AMREL DT6 rugged tablet] -- Posted Thursday, March 7, 2013 by chb

TabletKiosk Sahara a510 tablet certified by Konami for gaming
TabletKiosk announced that Konami Gaming Inc., a leading provider of slot machines and casino management systems has selected the Sahara NetSlate a510 Tablet PC as a recommended hardware platform upon which to run the table management module of SYNKROS, its casino management system. "After testing and comparing various tablet and touch screen PCs to provide access to the SYNKROS Table Management module, we selected the Sahara NetSlate a510 as a recommended hardware solution due to its durable construction, large 12-inch resistive touch screen and ability to run Windows 7 Professional," said Michael Ratner, director of product management for systems at Konami. [See press release] -- Posted Wednesday, March 6, 2013 by chb

Smartphones outselling regular cellphones in 2013
More smartphones are forecast to be shipped globally than feature phones in 2013, the first such occurrence in the mobile phone market on an annual basis. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors will ship 918.6 million smartphones this year, or 50.1% of the total mobile phone shipments worldwide. -- Posted Wednesday, March 6, 2013 by chb

Full review: Getac Z710 7-inch rugged Android tablet
The Getac Z710 rugged tablet can do everything Android-based consumer media tablets can do and it can also be used as a phone, but this nicely designed and very solid tablet also offers industrial-grade scanning, RFID and contactless smart card reading. And its internal cameras are good enough not only for video conferencing, but also for documentation quality still images and HD video. Overall, the Getac Z710 is an attractive, well conceived and executed product that should be on the short list of anyone seeking an enterprise-grade Android tablet device. [See full review of the Getac Z710] -- Posted Wednesday, March 6, 2013 by chb

Handheld Group upgrades Nautiz X1 rugged smartphone and Algiz 10X rugged tablet
The Handheld Group has upgraded its interesting new Nautiz X1 ultra-rugged Android smartphone to 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB of Flash, and the optional extended Li-Ion battery now packs 3060 mAh Li-Ion (twice that of the standard battery). The rugged Algiz 10X tablet also receives an upgrade: it now comes standard with a 128 SSD. -- Posted Saturday, March 2, 2013 by chb

N-trig launches DuoSense Pen2, swipes at Wacom
N-trig announced the release of its second generation DuoSense Pen family. Available in models of 9.5mm, 8.0mm and 5.5mm diameter, the active pen solution employs high pressure sensitivity, hover and function buttons with advanced palm rejection, pursuing a natural writing experience for screen ink input in both rechargeable and battery-operated pen models. The N-trig press release quotes David Daoud, IDC's Research Director for Personal Computing as saying, "Up to now, the use of digital pens in personal computing has been irrelevant. The quality of such input devices and lack of applications made the digital pen experience rather painful." -- Posted Wednesday, February 27, 2013 by chb

Fujitsu announces enterprise-class, waterproof 10.1-inch Windows tablet
Fujitsu announced its new Arrows Tab Q852/F tablet for enterprise customers. The device is based on Intel's new "Clover Trail" Atom Z2760 processor, measures 10.4 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches, weighs 1.3 pounds, has a 10.1-inch 1366 x 768 pixel screen, integrated LTE mobile broadband, runs Windows 8, runs 10 hours on a charge, and comes with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of SSD. Most interestingly for enterprise customers who seek something more durable than your standard media tablet, the Arrows Tab tablets will carry IP58 sealing, meaning they're totally dust and waterproof. [See Fujitsu press release] -- Posted Tuesday, February 26, 2013 by chb

HP announces US$169 Android-based HP Slate7
HP announced the HP Slate7, an Android 4.1-based 1024 x 600 pixel 7-inch multi-touch tablet powered by a 1.6GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor. Despite its low price (starting at US$169), the 197 x 116 x 11 mm, 13-ounce Slate7 comes with dual cameras (3mp back, VGA front), uses HFFS screen technology, and has a micro-USB slot to complement the 8GB standard storage. Like HP's other tablet offerings, the upcoming (April 2013) Slate7 is handled by HP's newly formed Mobility Global Business Unit. [See HP Slate7 webpage, press release, and HP blog entry] -- Posted Tuesday, February 26, 2013 by chb

4K video soon available in smartphones and tablets
Aptina announced new 12- and 13-megapixel mobile image sensors for high end smartphones. The new sensors deliver superior low light performance and still and high speed video high dynamic range (HDR) allowing exceptional pictures and video with incredibly fine detail regardless of lighting conditions. The new AR1230 can capture 4K video at 30fps as well as 1080P video up to 96fps. The AR1330 adds enhanced image stabilization. Both sensors support super slow motion video, computational array imaging and 3D image capture and come in standard 8.5 x 8.5mm modules with low Z-heights to leading OEMs and camera module integrators. -- Posted Monday, February 25, 2013 by chb

Mobile pioneers: where are they now? BSQUARE
Bsquare was one of the first software companies when mobile computing emerged from predominantly proprietary platforms in the mid 1990s. Initially specializing on Windows CE, Bsquare expanded its operations into all sorts of embedded and mobile solutions. Where does Bsquare stand today? The company just reported fiscal year 2012 revenues of US$71.1 million, with a small profit of about a million. That's up from US$62.7 million for 2011, with a half million loss. What does Bsquare do these days? They are selling Windows Embedded and Windows Mobile as a Microsoft Value-Added Provider, board support packages for various mobile processor platforms, and various testing and certification tools. Bsquare's engineering services also include Linux, Android and QNX, and the company has launched a Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 porting service for Android, iOS and legacy Windows applications. -- Posted Friday, February 22, 2013 by chb

LG unveils 5.5-inch smartphone
Until not so long ago, every new cellphone was smaller and smaller. Now they're getting larger and larger. LG is now pushing the envelope with the Optimus G Pro which has a 5.5-inch display, stretching the definition of a mobile phone. -- Posted Tuesday, February 19, 2013 by chb

Toshiba to launch Audio Codec IC for mobile devices
In the past, we reported on Toshiba PDAs, Pocket PCs and tablets (for a blast from Toshiba's past, see our review of the Toshiba Genio e570). These days, Toshiba seems to concentrate on all sorts of innovation that goes unto such devices. The latest example: Toshiba's combining the audio codec, amplifier and echo/noise cancellation into one chip (see Toshiba Audio Codec IC). -- Posted Wednesday, February 13, 2013 by chb

Added: GammaTech Durabook TA10
The GammaTech Durabook TA10 is an ultra-rugged tablet computer with a 10.4-inch XGA display with resistive multi-touch and optional active pen. Geared towards high-performance applications with available Intel 3rd generation Core processors, the highly customizable 5-pound TA10 can handle 5-foot drops, extreme temperatures and it carries IP65 sealing. There's plenty of onboard connectivity and the starting price is around US$2,300. [See description, analysis and specs of the GammaTech Durabook TA10] -- Posted Monday, February 4, 2013 by chb

Intel to showcase Android, Atom Z2420 in Barcelona
Intel said at Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona it will showcase its latest smartphone technologies and devices running Android, including a new dual core, dual graphics platform, as well as OEM- and service provider-supported devices based on the company’s new Intel Atom Z2420 platform targeted at emerging markets. -- Posted Friday, February 1, 2013 by chb

Ambarella to present on its compression technology
Ambarella, a leading developer of low-power HD video compression and image processing semiconductors, announced that it will be presenting at the Stifel Nicolaus 2013 Technology Conference at the San Francisco Ritz Carlton on Wednesday, February 6th at 2:40 pm, Pacific time. Why is that important? Because Ambarella's compression technology lies at the very heart of the high definition video revolution that's making products like the GoPro cameras (see our analysis of the Hero3], mobile computing HD video, and the move to 4k video possible -- Posted Thursday, January 31, 2013 by chb

Kyocera Torque to be Sprint's first ultra-rugged 4G LTE Android smartphone
Sprint and Kyocera announced the upcoming availability of the ultra-rugged 4G LTE Android Kyocera Torque smartphone. The Torque can handle extreme operating temperatures (-4 to 140F), carries IP67 sealing, has a 4-foot drop spec, and passes a number of additional MIL-STD-810G style tests. The MSM8960 Snapdragon-powered Torque has a 800 x 480 pixel 4-inch capacitive IPS screen, can use Sprint's Direct Connect push-to-talk service, and is also the first U.S. device to use Kyocera's proprietary Smart Sonic Receiver technology that replaces a traditional speaker with vibrations that transmit sounds directly to the eardrum. [See Sprint/Kyocera Torque] -- Posted Tuesday, January 29, 2013 by chb

Added: TabletKiosk Sahara Slate PC i500
We added a product page with description, analysis and specs for the Intel Core i7-powered TabletKiosk Sahara Slate PC i500. It's an enterprise-oriented Windows tablet light and handy enough to be carried around, but with a large (and excellent) 12.1-inch dual mode (procap multi-touch and Wacom pen) 1280 x 800 pixel screen. There's very good onboard connectivity and a wealth of options and peripherals modular through TabletKiosk's product line. [See TabletKiosk Sahara Slate PC i500] -- Posted Tuesday, January 22, 2013 by chb

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