Archive for the ‘Tablet PCs’ Category

There is a new player in the rugged Tablet PC market and it is the Duros from Roper Mobile Technology. This 8-inch rugged Tablet comes with a sunlight viewable screen and an AMD Geode LX 800 or Intel Celeron M 1.0 GHz processor. The Duros also supports a maximum of 1GB of RAM (seems low to me) and up to 128 GB of storage (limited to 64 GB with the solid drive option.) The company claims that the Duros is designed for use in harsh environmental conditions including extreme heat and cold. The device is environmentally sealed to prevent dust and water from damaging the electronics; I wish my cell phone had the same feature to avoid getting water damaged as it actually happened recently. Despite its rugged construction, the Duros is designed to be easily carried around and used on the road because, after all, this is a Tablet PC. As you would expect the Duros supports Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system and at the same time (surprisingly, I would say) it also supports Linux (although the distribution best used with the Duros is not specified on the product site.)

If you are looking for a ragged Tablet PC for your field work, then look no further than Xplore Technologies’ AllVue iX104C2DV tablet. With an easy to read screen along with pen and touch input, this rugged Tablet PC is easy to use under challenging field conditions. This portable miracle comes with an Intel Pentium(R) M processor 733 (Ultra Low Voltage), and Centrino mobile technology, providing customers with a 1.1Ghz processor, a 400MHz system bus, and Intel Pro Wireless 802.11a/b/g wireless networking. It is mostly designed and built for use by professionals but I am certain that anyone who spends lots of time on the road could find a use for this Tablet PC. Expect ththe Dual Mode AllVue Tablet to be a bit more heavier than the average Tablet PC strictly due to its design for ruggedness.

Toshiba is branching out with the five new compact hard drives. Unfortuantely we only have a few details on them (some important ones) - but no prices and no clue as to when we can expect to see them. Will keep you posted as the details come in.

Each hard drive will be only 5″ high and will weigh a total of 45g – separating them apart from the normal 1.8 HDD high. The 1.08″ hard drives will be available with 60GB, 80GB, and 120GB. They have been built to support a PATA interface equipped with a 2M buffer and 4200 RPM. It takes 15MS and only 512 bytes for each sector format when seeking – making it perfect for both tablet and mobile computers.