Honeywell's Dolphin 99EX (right) is the latest in a long line of Windows handheld computers that has included the Dolphin 6500, Dolphin 7600 with GPS, and Dolphin 6100, among others. Like these earlier devices, it incorporates the company's proprietary Adaptus imaging technology, allowing its onboard camera to read 1D barcodes, 2D symbologies, OCR codes, and a variety of postal codes.

Honeywell says the Adaptus 6.0 release found here for the first time provides faster decoding, enhanced motion tolerance, and longer reading distances, as well as the flexibility to work in various settings ranging from direct sunlight to total darkness. This is backed up on the Dolphin 99EX by a 3.1 megapixel camera, the company adds.

As to durability, the Dolphin 99EX meets the IP67 standard for resistance to liquids and dust, can withstand multiple six-foot drops, and endures at least 2,000 one-meter tumbles, according to Honeywell. The handheld works up to nine hours with its standard 3060mAh battery, and 15.5 hours with an optional 5000mAh battery, says the company.

According to Honeywell, the 99EX employs a TI OMAP3715 processor, which we believe is actually a reference to the Sitara AM3715 announced last June. (It was touted by TI as being the first broadly available 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor.) The device also includes 256MB of RAM, 1GB of flash storage, and a microSD slot.

The Dolphin 99EX has a 3.7-inch resistive touchscreen with VGA (640 x 480 pixel) resolution and a 333-nit brightness rating. Three different keyboards are available, according to Honeywell: either a 55-key alphanumeric model, a 43-key alpha shifted numeric model, or a 34-key shifted alpha version with either a phone or calculator-style layout.

The 99EX employs Qualcomm's increasingly popular Gobi 3000 chipset, which provides both a GPS receiver and a cellular modem that can work with both GSM and CDMA networks via simple software-based switching. As Honeywell notes, this allows the handheld to be redeployed easily, including changing between two different GSM carriers or two different CDMA carriers.

According to Honeywell, the handheld additionally includes 802.11a/b/g/n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1. The voice-ready device has a microphone, speaker, a USB 2.0 port, an RS232 port, and an IrDA port, the company adds.

Features and specifications listed by Honeywell for the 99EX include:

• Processor -- TI OMAP3715 clocked at 1GHz
• Memory -- 256MB of RAM and 1GB of flash storage
• Display -- 3.7-inch resistive touchscreen with VGA resolution
• Camera -- 3.1 megapixel, integrated with barcode scanning capabiliities
• Expansion -- microSD slot
• Networking:
  • WWAN -- GSM/CDMA cellular, plus GPS receiver
  • WLAN -- 802.11a/b/g/n
  • PAN -- Bluetooth 2.1
• Other I/O:
  • USB 2.0
  • RS232
  • IrDA
  • audio output
• Battery life:
  • standard 3060mAh battery lasts up to 9 hours
  • extended 5000mAh battery lasts up to 15.5 hours
• Dimensions:
  • 8.5 x 2.7 x 1.5 inches with standard battery
  • 8.5 x 2.7 x 1.8 inches with extended battery
• Weight:
  • 18.3 ounces with standard battery
  • 20.1 ounces with extended battery

Further information

According to Honeywell, the 99EX will be available worldwide in April 2011, though pricing was not specified. More information may be found on the 99EX product page.

Jonathan Angel can be followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense.

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