News

  • Home > News

        Rugged tablet PC targets field service apps

        Jonathan Angel | Date: Jan 23, 2008 | Comments: 1


        Getac has announced a rugged tablet computer designed for field service applications. The "E100" is one of the lightest such devices, yet just as tough as others, the company claims.



        (Click here for a larger view of the Getac E100)

        The E100 has a 8.4-inch touchscreen display with 800 x 600 resolution, and a numeric keypad-equipped magnesium housing measuring 11.1 x 7.2 x 1.2 inches. Featuring rubber bumpers, it meets MIL-STD-810F standards and carries an IP54 ingress protection rating. This makes it dust-proof and able to handle water spray from all directions, according to Getac.

        The device's CPU is an Intel A110 processor, based on a Pentium M core. Clocked at 800MHz, it has a 400MHz FSB (front-side bus) speeds, and 512KB of L2 cache. This low-power processor, originally targeted at UMPCs by Intel, reportedly gives the E100 a battery life of up to five hours.

        Intel's 945GU northbridge, also employed here, endows the E100 with its support for up to 1GB of single-channel DDR2 memory (512MB is standard). It provides a "Gen 3.5" Intel IGP (integrated graphics processor) clocked at 133MHz.

        Storage for the E100 is via shock-mounted 60GB, 80GB, or 100GB hard drives, plus a Type II PC Card/ExpressCard slot. The device optionally offers a Smart Card slot.

        Connectivity includes a 10/100/1000 Ethernet port and 802.11b/g wireless networking. Bluetooth 2.0 is also standard, while EVDO and GPRS/EDGE wide area network radios are available. Integrated GPS can also be obtained, according to Getac.

        Finally, other options include a sunlight-readable display, and a display featuring an unusually strong 800-nit backlight. An array of expandable "mission boxes" add RFID, barcode and magnetic strip readers, or digital cameras.

        Features and specifications listed by Getac for the E100 include the following:
        • Processor -- Intel A110 clocked at 800MHz
        • Memory -- 512MB of DDR2 RAM, expandable to 1GB
        • Display -- 8.4-inch touchscreen display with 800 x 600 resolution
        • Networking:
          • LAN -- 10/100/1000 Ethernet port
          • WLAN -- 802.11b/g wireless
          • WAN -- EVDO and GPRS/EDGE cellular (optional)
          • PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
        • Other I/O:
          • 2 x USB
          • docking connector
          • WAN antenna pass-through connector (optional)
        • Expansion:
          • PC Card/Express card slot
          • Smart Card reader (optional, occupies PC Card slot)
        • Battery type/life -- 5100 mAH lithium-ion battery, up to five hours of operation
        • Dimensions -- 11.1 x 7.2 x 1.2 inches
        • Operating temperature -- 20 to 60 deg. C
        Availability

        Getac did not provide pricing for the E100, but said it will be available in March. Standard operating systems include Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.


        Related stories: