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]
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
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
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
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
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
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