June 2008

With the CF-01 rugged PDA no longer available, Panasonic introduced a rugged ultra-mobile PC, the Toughbook CF-U1. It's a magnesium-bodied tablet built around Intel's highly energy-efficient Atom Z5200 processor that promises up to nine hours of operation from twin batteries. The U1 has a 5.4-inch 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen, an expanded thumb keyboard, and great connectivity both onboard and via expansion modules that can accommodate a SmardCard or RFID reader. Also available are 1D/2D barcode readers, GPS and a 2 megapixel camera. Pricing starts at US$2,499. [Read description and specs of the Panasonic Toughbook U1]

Using a rugged Tablet PC as a hammer
In its latest video, MobileDemand shows a man using an xTablet Tablet PC as a hammer to drive several large nails into a board. An accelerometer is attached to the computer to record impact data. [See "We could use a hammer..." or view the video on blip.tv] -- Posted Monday, June 23, 2008 by chb

Fujitsu's little U810 wins eWeek Excellence award
Fujitsu announced that its LifeBook U810 convertible mini-notebook won the 8th Annual eWEEK Excellence Awards in the desktops and notebooks category. Fujitsu bested Hewlett-Packard's HP Compaq dc7800 and Lenovo's ThinkPad T61. [see description and specs of the Fujitsu Lifebook U810] -- Posted Monday, June 16, 2008 by chb

Full review: GETAC E100 -- light and handy tablet
Getac introduced the E100 in early 2008 as a light, versatile rugged Ultra Portable Tablet PC for field and customer service applications. It's smaller than a standard sheet of paper and weighs just a bit over three pounds. It has a magnesium housing and an integrated numeric keypad makes rapid data entry easy. The E100 is totally silent as there is no fan. The Intel A110-powered tablet also has a SmartCard reader, an ExpressCard slot, and that it can be equipped with integrated GPS and your choice of 3G wireless network connectivity. The 8.4-inch display is sunlight-readable and the battery is strong enough to last almost four hours. [Read full review of the Getac E100 rugged Tablet PC.] -- Posted Sunday, June 1, 2008 by chb