Every enterprise-focused handheld computer we've covered in the past has come with a resistive touchscreen that, for any sort of precision, must be operated with a stylus. Manufacturers' stated rationale has been that those who use such devices might well be wearing gloves or working in the rain; and our added assumption was that the raised bezels typical of resistive screens were an important ruggedization feature.

Casio, however, has responded to the demand for the multitouch screens that kicked off with Apple's first iPhone, and are now pretty much expected on every consumer device. Its IT-300 has a 3.7-inch, VGA-resolution capacitive screen that lets users "zoom in and out, and scroll or rotate displayed documents, quickly and easily by touching the display with their fingertips."

Casio's IT-300

As a result, the company adds, the IT-300 is particularly useful for displaying extensive PDF documents, Excel tables, PowerPoint presentations. And yet, it still shrugs off five-foot drops onto concrete, meets IP54 standards for resisting liquids and dust, and has a working range between -4 to 122 deg. F.

According to Casio, the IT-300 measures 6.1 x 3.0 x 0.8 inches and weighs a relatively light 7.6 ounces. That makes it not much bigger than a smartphone: However, this device lacks cellular capabilities and also does without other capabilities found on larger handhelds (a GPS receiver or RFID reader, for example).

Still, Casio has included a microphone, speaker, and headset jack, allowing users to make VoIP calls using the IT-300's 802.11b/g wireless networking capabilities. The handheld further offers Bluetooth 2.0 and a CMOS imager that can read 1D and 2D barcodes.

In addition to its touchscreen, the IT-300 has a numeric keypad, a four-way controller, and four function keys. It runs Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 on a 624MHz Marvell PXA320 processor, equipped with 256MB of RAM, 256MB of flash storage, and a microSD expansion card, according to Casio.

Specifications listed by Casio for the IT-300 include:

• Processor -- Marvell PXA320 clocked at 624MHz
  
• Memory -- 256MB of RAM and 256MB of flash storage
  
• Expansion -- microSD slot
• Display -- 3.7-inch VGA (640 x 480) screen with capacitive touch
  
• Keyboard -- numeric keypad; four-way controller; four function keys
• Wireless:
  • LAN -- 802.11b/g
    
  • PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
    
  • 1D/2D CMOS imager; reads UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN8(JAN8), EAN13(JAN13), Codabar(NW7), Code39, Interleaved2of5(ITF), MSI, Industrial2of5, Code93, Code128(EAN128), IATA, RSS-14, RSS Limited, RSS Expanded, RSS-14 Stacked, RSS Expanded Stacked
    
• Other I/O:
  • USB 1.1 host/client
    
  • headset jack
• Battery -- 1850mAh; "around ten hours"
  
• Operating range -- -4 to 122 deg. F
  
• Dimensions -- 6.1 x 3.0 x 0.8 inches
  
• Weight -- 7.6 ounces including battery

Further information

Pricing was not released, but Casio's IT-300 appears to be available now. More information can be found on the IT-300 page and in a Rugged PC Review writeup that tipped us off to the product's release.

Jonathan Angel can be reached at jonathan.angel@ziffdavisenterprise.com and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense.

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