The new 6500 (right) is just one of many Dolphin handhelds from Honeywell, whose most recent addition to the line was the October 2009 Dolphin 7600 with GPS. Last year, the company also introduced the Dolphin 6100, aimed at light industry and retail and touted as being one of the most affordable models in the range.

The Dolphin 6500 uses the same 624MHz Marvell PXA300 processor and Windows CE operating system as the 6100, but steps up to a larger, 3.5-inch screen, still with 320 x 240 resolution. The handheld is offered with a choice of two backlit keypads, according to Honeywell: either a 28-key "numeric with shifted alpha" version, or a 52-key full alphanumeric version.

Like a variety of earlier Dolphins, the 6500 includes Honeywell's proprietary Adaptus Imaging Technology 5.0, which allows the unit to read 1D barcodes, 2D symbologies, OCR codes, and a variety of postal codes. The device also includes digital camera functionality, with unspecified resolution. This is apparently optimized for focal lengths from about three to 12 inches, relevant to capturing signatures.

The device also appears to share the durability of earlier models, since it is IP54-rated for its resistance to dust and liquids, withstands four-foot drops to concrete, and withstands more than 500 3.3-foot tumbles, says Honeywell. Operating life, meanwhile, is rated at 12 hours, courtesy of a 3300mAh battery pack.

According to Honeywell, the Dolphin 6500 has 128MB of RAM and 128MB of flash storage, plus a SD expansion slot. Wireless capabilities are said to include both 802.11b/g local area networking and Bluetooth 2.0.

John Waldron, vice president of worldwide marketing for Honeywell Scanning and Mobility, stated, "We saw a need from many of our customers for a device suited for in-premise environments. As the second offering in our 6000 series, the Dolphin 6500 answers this need by providing mobile workers with a feature-rich device that is easy to deploy within the four walls and helps to streamline operations, thus improving productivity."

Features and specifications provided by Honeywell for the Dolphin 6500 include:

• Processor -- Marvell PXA300, clocked at 624MHz
  
• Memory -- 128MB of RAM and 128MB of flash
  
• Storage -- SD slot
  
• Display -- 3.5-inch QVGA (240 x 320) TFT touchscreen display
  
• Keyboard -- 28-key numeric keyboard with shifted alpha, or 52-key full alphanumeric
  
• Wireless interfaces:
  • PAN -- Bluetooth
    
  • WLAN -- 802.11b/g, with WPA2, EAP, CCXv4 (pending), WEP, LEAP, TKIP, MD5, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, WPA-PSK, and PEAP security
• Other I/O:
  • Barcode scanner "decodes all standard 1D, 2D, postal and OCR codes"
    
  • I/O connector supports USB 1.1 and RS232 via cradles
    
  • Internal speaker, microphone, headset jack
• Battery type -- 3300mAh, with 12-hour life
  
• Physical specs:
  • Operating temperature -- -10 to 50 deg. C (14 to 122 deg. F)
    
  • Relative humidity -- 95% humidity (non-condensing)
    
  • Shock -- Survives multiple four-foot drops to concrete and more than 500 three-foot tumbles
    
  • Environmental -- IP 54 rating for blown dust and water intrusion
    
  • Dimensions -- 7.8 x 3.3 x 1.7 inches (200 x 83 x 42mm)
    
  • Weight -- 13.4 ounces (380g)
• Software:
  • Operating system -- Windows CE 5.0
    
  • Development environment -- Honeywell SDK for Windows CE 5.0

Availability

Pricing was not released, but the Dolphin 6500 will begin shipping in March, according to Honeywell. More information may be found on the company's website, here.

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