The Sonim XP1 is a rugged, IP54 rated, MIL-810F drop tested mobile phone that is pretty close to unbreakable… That is until this BBC reporter got hold of it (Click on the screenshot to watch the video):

As you can see, the weak point of this phone is its glass screen. We find that the glass screen is the weak point on many of the Tablet PCs on the market too – even the rugged ones. Even though standard screens are made from chemically hardened glass, they are still prone to break when a little force is applied.

Corning turned this problem on its head when they released Gorilla Glass last year – Gorilla Glass is strengthened with a process that achieves a much deeper level of strengthening. You can see a demonstration of Gorilla Glass by Andrew Moore-Crispin of butterscotch.com here at CES in Las Vegas last week.

Motion Computing were the first Tablet PC manufacturer with Corning Gorilla Glass on the rugged F5 and C5 tablets last year. Gorilla Glass is up to four times stronger than other glass used in Tablet PCs and as yet, Motion are still the only Tablet manufacturer using the technology.

Having used Tablet PCs for nearly 10 years (and broken at least 4 screens), I can attest to the value of this glass. It should be an essential component on all Tablet PCs along with a low power Hydis AFFS+ outdoor viewable display – another Motion Computing first.

Sonim should plan a visit to Corning to make their rugged phone even tougher (so that this doesn’t happen in future)!

The Motion F5 and C5 can be equipped with an RFID reader. For want of a better analogy, RFID is a smarter barcode system. It is often used for inventory tracking and identification.

Unlike a barcode which is read only, information can be written to RFID tags on the fly with a device like the Motion F5. Software applications that run on the Windows based F5 will allow you to read and manipulate the tags.

Motion Computing have published the following demonstration video showing how to use the RFID reader.

The F5 and C5 are also tagged with a passive RFID tag so that you can track them too. The video shows the location of the passive RFID tag (We knew it was in there, but now we know where!).

For more information about using RFID give us a call on 03 9012 6602 or contact us via our website. We can assist you to source RFID tags and equipment to use with the F5 and C5 through some local suppliers here in Australia.

We take an up close look at the new Motion Computing C5 MkII MCA (Mobile Clinical Assistant) Tablet PC. We take the C5 outside to show of the capabilities of the new Hydis AFFS+ display with Gorilla Glass.

The Motion C5 includes a powerful Intel Core 2 Duo processor and huge array of options like:

• RFID
• Smart Card Reader
• Bar Code Reader
• Solid State or Traditional Hard Drives
• Telstra Next G certified mobile broadband
• GPS.

Of course it also carries the best screen technology currently available (Hydis AFFS+) making the C5 the most comfortable Tablet PC to read indoor and outdoors without sacrificing battery life.

This is an exceptional Tablet PC and thanks to the strong Aussie dollar, it is currently very well priced.

We have a demonstration unit available for you to get your hands on anywhere within Australia. Contact us for demonstration today on 03 9012 6602 or via our website today.

I got caught out in one of Melbourne’s four seasons (the rainy one) with one of our Motion F5 tablet PCs recently. As you can see from the video below, the Motion F5 has an IP 54 rating, so it takes it all in stride…

The Motion F5 has an IP54 rating for water and dust resistance. IP is an industrial rating scale for Intrusion Protection. The first number, in this case a 5 relates to the dust rating, and the second number relates to the water rating.

To achieve these ratings, the Motion F5 – and for that matter the Motion C5 – must run through a series of physical endurance tests. The machines must operate through the testing without failure. To see the tests in action, watch below:

Motion F5 Water Test

Water is sprayed constantly onto the Motion F5 from all sides for 1 hour. It must continue to operate throughout the test.

Motion Dust Protection Test

Whilst this video shows the Motion J3400, the Motion F5 and C5 pass the same test. The Tablet PCs are subjected to a fine dust cloud for 8 hours and must continue to operate.

Motion F5 Drop Test

The Motion F5 unit is dropped from 3 feet onto all sides, corners and faces. It must continue to operate throughout this test to pass.

Motion F5 Gorilla Glass Test

This demonstration shows a 1kg ball bearing dropped onto the screen. As you can see, the screen flexes but does not break thanks to the Corning Gorilla Glass technology.

Tablet PCs like these go into places that regular computers don’t go. It is important that you choose a Tablet PC that is designed to go where you want it to go!

I started working in the office this morning at 9:00 AM on the Motion J3400, but I forgot to bring in my power cable after the ABITE expo on the weekend.

So here I am at 1:30PM and there is 30% battery charge remaining. So that is 60% of one of the 2 batteries on board.

At this rate, I’ll be going flat at close the 3:00 PM mark at 6 hours.

I have not optimised my use to make battery life claims. I haven’t stopped yet for lunch and the screen is at full brightness. I’ve been docked with an external monitor and a wireless keyboard all day. WiFi is on and has been in use constantly. I haven’t been in standby or hibernate at all.

So this is why the Motion J3400 is a brilliant choice for field users. If you need a lightweight Tablet PC that can go all day without charging, then you should look at the J3400.

Of course with the hot swap dual battery setup on the J3400 you needn’t let a battery going flat stop you anyway… Just have a spare – they only take an hour and a half to charge!

Thanks to the stronger Australian dollar prices on Motion Computing products have fallen significantly.

If you have spoken to us about motion products in the past, please contact us for a new quote.

Motion Product Detail links:

• J3400 Tablet PC
• Motion C5 MCA
• Motion F5 Field Tablet PC
• LE1700 Tablet PC

For more information, contact us on 03 9012 6602 or 0400 687 887.

Motion Computing claim that their new J3400 has the best outdoor display on the market. That’s a big claim to make, so we had to check it out for ourselves.

Verdict: J3400 has the best outdoor display on the market.

How? Motion have adopted a technology called Hydis AFFS+ for the J3400. According to Motion, that creates a reflective and a transflective area in the display. So when you’re outside with the J3400, the sun is actually working for you, and not against!

Of course, the colour on the display do wash out when you’re in direct sun, but while other displays struggle, the J3400’s Ultraview Anywhere display is still extremely viewable.

What we found is that you do not have to have the display at full brightness to see the screen outside, and that allows you to significantly extend your operational battery life.

Example 1: J3400 compared to Toshiba M700 with anti-glare coating in direct sunlight.

Example 2: Compared to a gateway notebook PC:

These photos come from the comprehensive Rugged PC Review article. Here’s what they had to say about the J3400’s display:

“The J3400 display’s outdoor performance is simply superb. The perfect viewing angle from all directions means you never have to tilt and angle the tablet to see what’s on the screen. The display itself absolutely excels in eliminating unwanted reflection or diffusion. Where other displays appear matte or milky or are overcome with reflections, the J3400’s stays perfectly readable. In head-on, direct sunlight the display is still readable, here thanks to the inner reflectance of the Hydis LCD."

Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, Editor-in-Chief
RuggedPCReview – www.ruggedpcreview.com

Out tip: This is the biggest development in field computing since the Tablet PC came to market.

Motion J3400 is a really awesome step forward in field rugged Tablet PCs from Motion computing. We love it for 3 main reasons:

1. Amazing outdoor display – best available right now
2. Dual battery setup
3. 3G/Next G with GPS.

Cheek out our outdoor video review here:

Now whatever you do folks, don’t try this with your Tablet PC at home!

But… here’s what happens when you drop the Semi-Rugged Motion F5.

Most Tablet PC models are designed with shock absorbent bumpers to withstand a simple bump or a drop. For the average Tablet PC, you’re going to see some superficial damage, but the contents (the expensive bits) will remain intact.

In this case, as you can see, the F5 withstands a corner impact from over 1 metre. With it’s semi rugged design, the F5 will take more of a knocking than the average Tablet PC before it breaks.

As noted in the video though, there is no warranty that is going to cover you against dropping your Tablet PC, even with the Motion F5. So seriously, don’t try this at home.

The HP TC1100 was the carrot that got us into Tablet PCs. In fact, the first Tablet PC that we had was the woeful HP TC1000. It was terribly underpowered with a Transmeta Crusoe Processor. It left a bad taste for many.

Fortunately, HP quickly got their act together and fixed the TC1000 by putting a decent Intel Centrino processor in it. The result was the TC1100, which is still today a very capable and sought after Tablet PC.

What was so good about the HP TC 1100 you might wonder? Well, it was the only Tablet PC to come in a Hybrid form factor. It could be both a convertible tablet (With a keyboard attached) and a slate.

In slate mode, you had a powerful and lightweight portable device weighing just over 1 kg. With the keyboard attached, you had a Tablet PC that also functioned like a laptop. 

Unfortunately HP decided that the TC1100 wasn’t important enough in the scheme of things. They continue to develop Tablet PCs, but have taken the safe road of laptop style convertibles like the HP 2710P.

Enter Motion Computing. To be honest, Motion have been around in Tablet PCs since the very early days. So we may be a little slow in reporting this, but we think that Motion have had an alternative to the TC1100 form factor for quite a while. It’s the LE1700 with convertible keyboard.

We put together the following video to demonstrate the similarities.

To see the Motion LE1700 Tablet PC in more detail, visit the LE1700 page on our online shop.