| it's an industrial work site or against the forces of | | | | should happen to become lost. The GPS will show |
| nature, the rugged tablet PC can boldly go where | | | | you right where you are and where you need to |
| no other computer can. How can it do this and | | | | be. Some of them have 'turn-by-turn' directions |
| why? | | | | and will get you back to your work area or to |
| What do we mean by rugged when it comes to | | | | safety. Depending on the type of software |
| electrical goods such as computers, tablets or | | | | purchase with the internal GPS will determine the |
| laptops? In essence, rugged means robust, hardy | | | | functionality of the GPS. Most external GPS |
| and will withstand heavy usage, weather | | | | devices feature more options and more user |
| conditions and therefore great for those working | | | | friendly. |
| outdoors. | | | | Rugged tablets are great for warehouse use as |
| You will generally need a rugged tablet PC in the | | | | well as outdoor usage because they are good |
| following conditions: | | | | around dirt and heavy equipment. You can even |
| *Exposure to extremes of heat or cold | | | | mount them to the equipment so they are |
| *Exposure to liquids (anything from light rain or | | | | always handy when you need to find stock or |
| humidity right up the scale) | | | | other information. Mounted rugged tablets will |
| *Exposure to any kind of dust or other particles | | | | allow you to look through pages of documents in |
| *Proximity to any hazardous materials | | | | an instant rather than several minutes or hours |
| *Any kind of shock, for example by dropping, | | | | with regular paper files. Inventory will take less |
| bumping against other equipment or shaking | | | | time and productivity will increase due to the |
| A rugged Tablet PC will come with a touch screen | | | | accessibility of a ruggedized tablet. |
| meaning you simply touch the screen with either | | | | Visually, rugged tablet PCs are most likely to |
| your finger or a stylus pen to retrieve information | | | | stand out from the crowd because of their outer |
| and switch from page to page. Keyboards are | | | | casing, which is larger and more solid than usual |
| connected via IR or Bluetooth. An on screen | | | | and is capable of withstanding harder knocks. |
| keyboard is also a feature within Windows. | | | | They are built to withstand heat, cold, dust and a |
| Rugged tablets can be carried with one hand, so | | | | whole raft of other ?nasties?. Needless to say |
| that you have a hand free for more mobility and | | | | there?s a barrage of standards which |
| allowing you to use stylus to active the screen. | | | | manufacturers test against and then quote to |
| Depending on what brand of rugged tablet you | | | | testify to the properties of their machines. There |
| have purchased, there is a hard drive heater | | | | are only a handful of websites out there catering |
| available on some models that will help in cold | | | | for rugged peripherals including Spirit Data Capture |
| conditions allowing you to the depth of -20C. This | | | | and Terralogic. |
| is an added expense, but if you work in colder | | | | Most rugged tablets PCs are made of magnesium |
| environments with your rugged tablet a heater | | | | alloy allowing the bumps and drops of every day |
| would be a great addition. | | | | use. Internal components are protected and the |
| At the opposite end of the spectrum is heat | | | | LCD is reinforced. Intel Core 2 Duo processor and |
| from the intense sun proving issues for | | | | 2GB-4GB of RAM are optional and very nice |
| conventional electrical goods. The added sunlight | | | | features to have. Itronix is the maker of the Duo |
| readable LCD would be a great addition to your | | | | Touch II, a newly released rugged tablet made to |
| rugged tablet allowing you to see the entire LCD | | | | survive nearly everything a human would |
| with the sun shining directly in the screen. | | | | encounter which are widely used by the military. |
| Another good investment for your rugged tablet | | | | Therefore, public safety assures these machines |
| would be a GPS - Global Positioning System which | | | | are very dependable. |
| will help you find your way in the fields if you | | | | |