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In the latest review in our Hands-On series, we put the Durabook S14I through a series of testing to assess its potential use in various field service environments...

 

As the Durabook brand hurtles towards its twentieth anniversary having first appeared in 2002 after parent company Twinhead produced its first military-grade rugged laptop in 2000, the Taiwanese technology manufacturer has garnered a well-earned reputation for high-end rugged devices that understand the workflow of their target market. With this semi-rugged laptop have they hit the mark once more?

 

What the Manufacturers Say:

 

First Impressions:

There is a lot to be said for a laptop that comes with an integrated carry handle. Right from the off you know that this is a device that is designed, not to try to mimic the sleek, thin (and increasingly fragile) consumer laptops available but instead for a specific use case. It is designed for work. It is designed to be moved around and to save the rigours of a day in the field. The S14i looks and feels like a laptop that is ready for business. 

On initial boot up the system loads quickly and an initial browse around the WIndows10 operating system hints at a powerful processor as the system responds quickly to every command. The screen is bright enough to cope with outdoor operations in the (unusually) bright London sunshine as we begin to put the device through its paces in an outdoor environment. The 14 inch display which is touch sensitive responds as accurately as any tablet while the full size keyboard feels not only robust but also comfortable to work on. 

The initial impressions are good. Durabook position this laptop as one step above semi-rugged, which feels like a perfect description. It's heritage, coming from a manufacturer that first stepped into the arena of rugged devices with military grade N1400 notebook right back at the turn of the millennium is clear. There is no denying the S14i feels very much like a solid rugged device and a quick glance at the specs would indicate that it is only the IP rating that doesn't push this device firmly into the fully rugged category. 

Yet, it also feels very much like a device that can be used for longer period of time for compiling and writing reports etc without ever becoming uncomfortable to use, which can be the challenge with both rugged tablets or smaller laptops/notebooks. A big part of the Field Service News Hands-On review process is understanding in what field service environment and for what type of field service roles each device may be best suited and even at this early stage an idea is forming of where the S14i may best sit - but more of that later. 

First lets put it through its paces... 

 

Processing Power & Memory:

The Durabook S14I is one of the first rugged tablets to ship with the 11th gen Intel Tiger Lake-U processor options. These are the latest generation of laptop processors from the probably the world's most renowned chip makes. The TigerLake-U processors are developed around an evolved version of the 10-nanometer process node found in the previous-generation Intel Ice Lake chips with Intel promising that Tiger Lake will not only offer a boost in CPU performance but also comes with the company's new XE graphics offering that could be important for any users that are utilisng systems such as CAD or video based work on the move. 

There are multiple options available ranging from a beefy Intel® Core™ i7-1185G7 vPro™ (11th Gen) 3.0GHz processor with Turbo Boost Technology up to 4.8GHz, 12MB cache down for those users that really need top-tier performance down to a more humble Intel® Core™ i3-1115G4 (11th Gen) 3.0GHz processor with Turbo Boost Technology up to 4.1GHz, 6MB cache for those who require less power with a number of options in between. 

In terms of RAM the S14I has two slots that can be configured from 8GB right up to an impressive 64GB - meaning that the top end of its potential spec the device can be an incredibly powerful laptop that should be able to handle almost any CPU intensive application that might be required in the field. Indeed, during our testing the model we used  (which had i7 processors and 16GB RAM) where we ran the device through its paces with a number of CPU heavy usage applications that we use in our day to day usage here at Field Service News such as video production and 3D rendering software that can put a strain on performance the S14I handled all tasks comfortably both in terms of user performance and monitoring CPU usage. Given these tasks are heavily reliant on graphic processing the afformentioned improved efficiency of the new TIger Lake processors with Intel's Iris Xe Graphics could also be a factor in the strong performance with CPU intensive programs.

Certainly given that the unit we reviewed was on the lighter side of RAM spec I have little doubt that a fully spec'd unit wiht 64GB RAM would eat up almost any task a field service engineer could put in front of it and in all honesty, would be overkill for the vast majority of field service applications so the ability to dial RAM up or down to a suitable level (and thus control costs) is a major positive. Of course, it is a standard option to be able to upgrade RAM when selecting devices although the range from 8GB right the way through to 64GB is less common and offers an excellent range of options. 

Similarly, in terms of internal memory, the S14I comes with a 256GB NVME PCIE Solid State Drive (SSD) as Standard although upgrade options are available to 512GB/1TB SSD drives as well as OPAL 2.0 SSD. There is even a further option for a second or even third storage SATA SSD a well. However, again for the majority of field service operations we would anticpate that somewhere between the standard SSD and  a terabyte would almost certainly provide ample storage. 

All in all the S14I offers plenty of options in terms of processing prowess and storage and the upper limit of its specifications would be capable of handling almost any field service operation we could consider, while a more modest specification would be more suitable for the vast majority of use cases within a field service engineers likely workflow. 

 

Operating System:

The S14i runs on WIndows 10 Pro offering the familarity of the world's most popular operating system also offers sophisticated connectivity and privacy tools including Domain Join, Group Policy Management, Bitlocker, Enterprise Mode Internet Explorer (EMIE), Assigned Access 8.1, Remote Desktop, Client Hyper-V, and Direct Access. As it is so widely used this is of course a major bonus when it comes to mobile device management (MDM) and integrating the roll out of new devices in the field into existing MDM strategies and processes an organisation may have in place. 

 

The Ins & Outs:

One of the biggest trade offs that rugged manufacturers have to make when it comes to designing devices for the field is to balance the number of ports available with the levels of water and dust ingress that the device is protected against. The general rule of thumb is that the higher the IP rating generally the fewer number of ports available. Of course form factor also plays a roll in this equation as well with rugged and semi-rugged laptops and notebooks generally having far greater numbers of I/O ports than their cousins in the tablet form factor. 

So given the S14i is sitting in the semi-rugged laptop category with an IP rating of IP53 the theory should see the device having plenty of options in terms of I/O, correct? Well in this case at least the theory certainly holds up. The S14I has 3 third generation USB ports (2 x type A and 1 x type C) as well as an additional USB 2 port. There is also an audio in/out (combo jack), something that at Field Service News we are always pleased to see. All too often, an engineer may need to make video calls in a noisy environment, and bluetooth headphones can be just another weakness (yet one more thing to lose charge), so in this instance, when good communication tools are leveraged in mission-critical situations, the ability for an engineer to plug a pair of headphones in to ensure they can communicate effectively can be a life-saver.

For quick transfer of data an SD card slot is included as is an Ethernet port, while for being able to present to the customer onsite (something that we think will be an increasingly important part of the field service engineers role as we begin to see a hybrid model emerge between in person and remote service delivery) the S14i has both VGA and HDMI ports. HDMI ports incidently being hugely important for field service operations within the Telco and Pay TV worlds. 

Other ports on the S14I as standard are a serial port (RS232/RS422/RS485), a sim card and of course a DC power jock while a smart card reader and 41 pin docking connector are available as additional options. 
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the S14I is the the choice of one of five modular options to add further functionality to the device. 

The available options are:

• Optional DVD super multi
• Optional 2nd battery
• Optional media bay storage SSD²
• Optional ExpressCard 54 x 1 or PCMCIA Type II
• Optional 2nd RJ-45 & 2nd serial port (RS232)

While some of these options may be of use in very specific cases (for example a backward compatability requirement that could make a ExpressCard54 useful) in the majority of situations revolving around field service operations almost certianly the most interesting of these options would be to utilise the slot as an additional second battery to extend the S14I's ability to go through the long working hours of the average field service engineer. 

Perhaps if we were to be greedy the one thing we would have liked to have seen on the S14I would have been a Thunderbolt 3 port to give even greater speed for the transfer of files into or out of the device. In a world of self-monitoring assets a large part of the engineer's triage process on site is increasingly going to involve retrieving data from an asset for anaylysis and Thunderbolt 3 is undoubtedly the fastest means of undertaking such a state transfer currently. However, the truth is most field service companies are still perhaps one or two generations of innovation away in terms of their maturity of connected field service in such a manner currently so this particular use case for Thunderbolt might be more looking to the future than how we can use it now and given the large numbers of ports available on the S14I it is a very minor drawback outweighed by a wealth of other options. 

On final point to note here is that although the device only carries an IP53 rating, in fact access to the majority of ports is still enclosed and protected. This does to a degree make us wonder why not push towards a higher IP rating by sealing these compartments (although our suspicion is that it is largely a trade for being able to offer the modular expansions rather than the ports themselves) but what this does do is add further defence of thee ports so even though they may not officially be completley protected from dust ingress at all times, the reality is that when not in use they are highly unlikely to suffer any dust ingress at all. 

 

Connectivity:

When it comes to connectivity the S14I as we mentioned above the device has an ethernet port that for wired connection which is an integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet. Form a wireless perspective this laptop has Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 chips which means it supports the WIFI6 technology theoretically allowing for it to hit 2.4GB speeds. This also holds the supports of the newer 802.11ac wifi protocol. While being backwards compatible with older wifi networks the newer 'AC' wifi protocol only operates on the 5Ghz bandwidth. This allows for greater speeds with less interference,( the older 2.4Ghz bandwidth is very congested). The reality is that almost all WiFi is now delivered across both bandwidths but this is still a consideration to take into account, particularly if your field service engineers are working in more remote facilities where perhaps the necessity for a 5Ghz network hasn't reached your client base. In our testing we connected the device to a number of routers all working to the same supply of broadband and found that the speeds received were very respectable compared to those when plugged into Ethernet.

While of course a wired connection is always faster and more stable the S14I was able to push upto 395Mb downlaod and 46Mb upload when connected to our fastest router and performed consistently comparatively well across all of the other connections we tested including older legacy connections. 

In terms of Bluetooth connectivity the S14I is Bluetooth 5.2 powered. While on the surface the generation of Bluetooth the device adopts may not seem like the most pressing concern - in fact when we look beyond the highly celebrated benefits of Bluetooth 5 from the world of consumer electronics, when we explore the use case of field service operations Bluetooth 5.2 has a number of distinct advantages over its predecssors.

Firstly, Bluetooth 5.2 is able to connect more devices simulataneously. As wearables are becoming increasingly embedded in our day to day lives we can expect to see their use more within field service operations from smart-watches and glasses right through to health monitoring clothing. We have already seen Field Service Management companies dip their toe into bringing wearables into their ecosystem and it makes sense these devices would be operating across Bluetooth - 5.2 allows for more connectivity which is the direction we naturally progressing towards. 

Additionally, Bluetooth 5.2 uses less power. Again this is critical in field service operations. The devices we provide our engineers are there to empower them to do their best work. These mobile tools that we provided our service engineers have to be as durable and hardworking as our engineers themselves which means that they need to keep power. While we can tackle the challenge from one side of the equation with additional batteries for example, if we can reduce battrery consumption through the use of latest technology protocols then this is an important step in that process as well. Bluetooth 5.2 address this. 

Finally, there is the question of security. Sadly, in today's world we need to be concious of any potential weak entry points into a system or network. While the bluetooth is an exceptional technology that has truly revolutionsied the way we think about mobile computing, it has inherently been a weak point in the fence when it comes to security. However, with the introduction of 5.2 security has been greatly enhanced upon Bluetooth 4.0. 

In our tests we were able to connect multiple devices easily to the S14I's bluetooth as we would expect. 

 

Ruggedity:

We've touched on the ruggedity of the S14I a few times so far. It is something of an odd beat to a degree. As we mentioned in the introduction, it has the feel of a laptop ready to take the rigours of day to day life in the field.

In fact, in that sense it really is a very robust and rugged bit of kit. It is tested and certified to MIL-STD-810H. The important part here is that it is not only developed to or tested to but cetified at this standard. This means that it has survived a number of tests and come oout functioning as intended. These include foot drops onto 26 seperate sides and faces, shock and vibration tests, freeze/thaw, high/low temperature and temperature shock tests as well as coping with differeing humidity ranges.

In our testing we emulated as much of these tests as is possible outside of a laboratory environment (always one of the more enjoyable aspects of reviewing and testing rugged products) and were unable to put a dent in the device from shocks and drops and it performed perfectly after being put in a hot enviroment. 

However when it comes to dust and water ingress the device firmly sits in the semi-rugged category. A rating of IP53 means that from solid materials the device is protected against dust limited ingress, but not harmfull deposits. Form liquid the device is protected against direct sprays of water up to 60 ° from the vertical. Ultimately, this would suggest that the device has enough resiliance for many, but not all field service environments. 

Howerver, when we look at the display the S14I does have an impressive visibility even in bright sunny outdoor conditions. The S14I has optinal availability with displays of 1000 nits DynaVue® sunlight readable display without touch screen or 1000 nits DynaVue® sunlight readable display with capacitive multi-touch screen which would means it can be quite comfortably viewed in the outdoors.

Ultimately, Durabooks own description of the S14I as a step above semi-rugged is perhaps the best summary of the rugged specs of the device (while also offering a neat strapline). For the most demanding environments the S14I may not be suitable but for the rigours of many field service operational situations it should be able to save the knocks and bumps of general usage more than adequately. 

 

Battery Life:

In terms of battery life, the S14I has a main battery which is an Li-Ion, 10.8V, 4700mAh, that the manufacturers claim will last for 10 hours. In our testing we got a little under this at just under seven and half hours but this was very intensive consistent usage that would be unlikely to occur in the field. However, as we mentioned above there is the option for an additional battery to be placed in the modular slot which would certainly give the S14I the power to see through even th elongest of shifts a field service engineer may undertake. 

 

Conclusion:

The S14I is a very interesting device. It has the power under the hood to take on even the most potentially demanding of CPU intensive tasks while being built for purpose in that it is comfortable in hand to be a portable workstation thanks to the integrated carry handle and robust enough to go through the demands of most field service workflows. It isn't going to be suited to every environment - in particular usage in field service environments such as utilities or oil and gas may require better protection for dust and liquid protection but otuside of such envrionments it meets all the requirements of a rugged device. For harsher conditions, the Z14I fully-rugged laptop is the device in the Durabook range that stands up to this type of environments including oil & gas.

We would see the S14I being best suited for those field service roles where an engineer really needs a powerful device for complicated work, or as we alluded to earlier for those situations where the engineer may need to present an overview of how best to optimise the clients assets on site in a professional manner. It is definitely geared towards the higher end of the field service role and meets the demands of such roles impressively. 

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For more information visit Durabook @  https://www.durabook.com/en/products/s14i-laptop/

 

Our Hands-On review series returns as we continue to evaluate the best mobile technology designed with the field service engineer in mind. In the first review of 2021, we’ve got our hands on Getac's ZX70

When it comes to rugged mobile computing, Getac is a brand name that is one of the first that comes to mind. They have a reputation for developing and producing devices that can meet the rigours of day-to-day use in field service environments while also packing the processing power needed to allow field service technicians and engineers to get through the increasing number of digital operations of the average field-based workflow.

In short, Getac devices have a strong reputation in the field service sector and it is one that is well deserved. 

With this in mind we were keen to get our hands on their compact yet powerful Android tablet the ZX70 and put it through its paces...

 

What the manufacturers say:

The ZX70 7” fully rugged Android™ tablet is just the right size with a thin and light, ergonomic design that’s easy to hold in one hand, making it the ideal solution for improved mobile productivity. The ZX70 provides the best battery run time performance in its class for mission-critical field operations. Rugged to the core, the ZX70’s design is optimised for a wide variety of configurable features and no-compromise ruggedness.

 

First impressions:

The days of rugged tablets being cumbersome devices that looked a million miles away from their consumer-focused cousins are long behind us. The modern rugged device while being reassuringly robust in the hand, has become a much more elegant form factor. When it comes to first impressions the ZX70 hits the mark comfortably. It has a sleek profile while instantly coming across as device that can survive the bumps and drops of a life on the road. 

While it is not the lightest of rugged tablets in smaller screen form factor weighing in at 780g, in the hand it doesn't feel too heavy at all and if anything the weight and general feel of the device instantly offers reassurance that this is a device that is fit for purpose and will be perfectly at home in a field service engineers toolkit. Indeed, the bold yellow trim just further adds to the sense that the ZX70 is exactly what it is supposed to be - a tool for use in the field. 

Having charged the device for the full rigours of a day's testing it booted up quickly with the familiar welcome screen any Android user will recognise and we were good to go with our hands on test. So how did it perform? 

 

Processing power & memory:

For a tablet of this size in the rugged world, the ZX70 boasts some seriously impressive power. With a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 660, Octa-core 1.95 GHz, burst up to 2.2 GHz the ZX70 on paper at least offers a bit more bite under the bonnet than Panasonic's Toughbook L1 while sitting in a familiar territory to  Janam's impressive HT-1 - both of which are reasonable devices for comparison in terms of form factor and size. Sitting alongside the octa-core processor is a fairly mid-range but perfectly acceptable Qualcomm Adreno 506 GPU. 

It comes with a 4GB RAM which again is pretty much par for the course for a device in this category and it has a 64GB internal memory that can be expanded by microSD. 

In terms of actual performance, the ZX70 coped absolutely fine with all of our baseline test apps and which are designed to factor into account the most regular tasks a field service engineer is likely to undertake in their day-to-day work-flow. At no point during the testing did CPU usage get anywhere close to maxing out. In fact, we can go as far to say that the ZX70 would almost certainly be able to handle any software requirements that would be asked of a 7" Android tablet being used in the vast majority of field service operations. 

 

Operating system:

The ZX70 runs on Android 9 which offers a good compromise of bringing the benefits of well tested OS that means it is enterprise secure, while being modern enough to bring some of the advances of recent OS upgrades. In fact, there were a number of features in Android 9 that actually made it a very good option for field service operations. Perhaps the most important of these is the adaptive battery feature.

Devices that are fit-for-purpose in the field need to be able to last the often long hours of a field service engineer and Android 9's adaptive battery feature is an excellent introduction to push battery life further. This alongside the adaptive screen brightness also introduced in this version of the Google OS can have a big impact - particularly when we consider that the additional screen brightness of enterprise devices can be a major factor in battery life. 

Another benefit of Android 9 when it comes to a device that is designed for work is the App actions feature. Essentially the device can learn routines and surface apps easier according to what is needed when it is needed, e.g placing that mobile workforce management app to hand just when a field service engineer is starting their day. 

The other advantage of Android is of course it's familiarity. This shouldn't be overlooked when selecting a new device for your field service engineers. Familiarity can bring massive benefit when it comes to ensuring smooth adoption amongst your field technicians and engineers. 

 

The Ins & Outs:

As with many rugged tablets the ZX70 doesn't have a huge array of in/out options but ultimately this is something that is hard to avoid when selecting a tablet of this size that is fully protected against dust and water ingress to the level the ZX70 is.

So what does the ZX70 have? .Well there are two USB ports. There is a full size USB port as well as a micro USB port. These are USB 2.0 so not the fastest available for data transfer although perfectly acceptable for periphery devices such as portable keyboard, which one would imagine would be their primary use. Perhaps the most important inclusion is the POGO connecter at the bottom of the device which allows for vehicle docking and really is an essential requirement when it comes to suitability for the field. 

The ZX70 also comes with an optional barcode reader/and or contactless RFID/NFC reader as well. These options can be massive time savers if your engineer or technicians have a lot of parts moving through their van every day. The ZX70 also has two programmable keys which could be used in conjunction with these inputs to make scanning parts fairly effortless which will of course help with keeping visibility on van inventory. 

Perhaps the biggest omission is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. This could in certain environments be hugely important, especially as remote support or engineer to engineer communication is becoming increasingly common. This has of course, increased since the prevalence of remote assistance in our sector since the challenges of the pandemic.  While there were able to conduct video calls during our tests the speakers would struggle in a noisy environment and while bluetooth headphones are an alternative, this introduces an additional drain on battery life. 

Talking of video calls, the ZX70 has two cameras, front and rear. The front camera is an 8MP webcam which is fantastic for this level of device and images on video calls we ran were crystal clear. The front camera is 12MP which is a bit more in line with industry standard but is still an excellent spec for such a device and this level of definition is particularly useful for both documenting work and also remote-assistance based calls. 

Finally, when it comes to physical input of data the ZX70 has a multi-touch capacitor screen and comes with a capacitor stylus. We found the stylus to be well weighted and it perfectly responsive and would be great for collecting signature on job completion. 

 

Connectivity:

When it comes to connectivity the ZX70 supports the newer 802.11ac wifi protocol. While being backwards compatible with older wifi networks the newer 'AC' wifi protocol only operates on the 5Ghz bandwidth. This allows for greater speeds with less interference,( the older 2.4Ghz bandwidth is very congested). The reality is that almost all WiFi is now delivered across both bandwidths but this is still a consideration to take into account, particularly if your field service engineers are working in more remote facilities where perhaps the necessity for a 5Ghz network hasn't reached your client base. Even in such situations however, the ZX70 supports 4G LTE mobile broadband as an optional specification. Running the device across multiple networks including wifi and LTE we found that it was able to consistently support fast internet relevant to signal strength available.

As mentioned in the above section the I/O on the device are somewhat limited so Bluetooth specification is important. Getac obviously understood this and have included  Bluetooth 5.0 in the ZX60. Bluetooth 5.0 uses less power and has greater range than previous versions and it is important to note that the majority of similar devices in this form factor and at a similar price range are still offering Bluetooth 4.1 so this does give the ZX70 an distinct advantage in this area. 

 

Ruggedity:

As we mentioned in the opening of this review the ZX70 feels reassuringly robust in the hand. It's rubberised casing looks and feels like something designed to meet the rigours of life in an industrial environment. Certainly it's rugged specifications live up to this initial impression as well. 

The ZX70 is certified to the newer MIL-STD 810H standard which is a 2019 revision of the better known MIL-STD810G and is the new gold standard for rugged devices. It is also important to note that the device is certified at this standard, rather than just tested or designed to. While these terms may often appear to be synonymous, they are not and it is only devices certified to this standard that are guaranteed to meet all of the stringent criteria of this military grade testing. The ZX70 sits proudly in that category. 

The device is also IP67 rated. This means that it is in essence impervious to both dust and water ingress. From a dust perspective it is perfectly sealed. From a water perspective, it is capable of being submerged in shallow water (up to a metre) for 30 minutes at a time. This makes the ZX70 suitable for almost every possible field service environment. 

The display is a LumiBond® display with Getac sunlight readable technology which is also an important factor when it comes to use in field service sectors as this makes it useable bright outdoor environments. 

Finally, the ZX70 is tested to six feet drop tests and also is vibration tested and has operational -21°C to 60°C. In our testing which includes heating and cooling the device, as well as multiple angle drop tests in accordance with the manufacturers claims the ZX70 was absolutely fine and continued to perform at optimal levels at all times. 

 

Battery Life:

In terms of battery life, the ZX70 comes with a Li-Ion battery (3.8V, typical 8480mAh; min. 8220mAh)

After an 8 hour day of reasonable to heavy usage the battery was at 19% so the device should be capable of seeing out most field service engineers working days, especially if the device is placed in an in-vehicle charging cradle in between jobs. 

 

Conclusion:

We like this device. It looks and feels like exactly what it is, a durable tool that can empower the field service engineer. It is certainly capable of coping with the tougher pressure of a life in the field and its super bright display could means it would be as comfortable in an outdoor environment as it would be on a factory floor. Performance wise there is very little to complain about either and it coped admirably with all of the tests we put it through. 

The only one drawback is the lack of a headphone jack which could be useful for remote assistance calls in a noisy environment. However this is somewhat mitigated by the introduction of bluetooth 5.0 which offers low-power headphone usage. 

All in all though the ZX70 is an excellent devices that sits comfortably amongst the best options available within rugged devices in this form factor and also this price range. 

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For more information visit Getac  https://www.getac.com/en/products/tablets/zx70/

 

Our Hands-On review series returns as we continue to evaluate the best mobile technology designed with the field service engineer in mind. In the first review of 2018, we’ve got our hands on Janam’s XT100 - the stablemate of the XT2 which we found to be an excellent unit when we reviewed it back in September 2016...

The launch of Janam’s new rugged mobile computer the XT100 looks set to continue on the path that the company began walking along when they launched the XT1, which introduced a more modern form factor to their product line up.

When Field Service News reviewed the XT2 back in September 2016 we concluded that “all in all the XT2 is a fantastic option for any field service technician, it is a lightweight device and the programmable buttons could greatly improve work-flow in some areas. However, the XT2 is especially suited for those field technicians working in an environment where a fully rugged device becomes essential.”

So 18 months on how does the latest iteration of the XT range shape up?

What the manufacturers say:

Power. Performance. Price Advantage.

While smartphones have grown more popular in the enterprise, organizations still struggle with their poor fit and high failure rates when deployed in demanding work environments. Today’s mobile worker requires a rugged, purpose-built device that is capable of reliably and securely running line-of-business applications in the palm of the hand.

Eliminating the pitfalls and hidden costs associated with deploying consumer-grade devices in the enterprise, Janam’s XT100 rugged touch computer delivers the best of both business and personal. With more features and functionality than any other device in its class, the XT100 delivers the latest technological advances to organizations of all sizes at an extremely attractive price point.

First impressions:

As alluded to above when we last reviewed a device from Janam we were indeed highly impressed.

The XT2 had built upon the solid foundation that Janam held in their other rugged mobile computing ranges (notably the XM and XP ranges) by introducing a device with high-end specs both in terms of its ruggedity and its processing power that was housed in a form factor which adopted much of the feel of a consumer device.

Janam were by no means the first rugged manufacturer to follow this route with Getac, Panasonic, and Xplore amongst others, all following the trend of producing devices that blurred the lines between rugged and consumer – certainly from an aesthetic perspective at least. Indeed, there are strong arguments behind the reasoning for this shift, which in the main centre around an uptake in adoption rates amongst engineers when the devices they use in their working lies are similar to those that they use in their day-to-day consumer lives.

That said, with such a trend emerging amongst rugged manufacturers the need for Janam (or any of their peers) to ensure that their new range didn’t just look and feel good, but that they also maintained their credentials both in terms of the rugged value of the device as well as it’s potential use within an enterprise sector that values long battery life, high performance and perhaps most important of all reliability in mobile computing devices, was of huge importance.

This was very much in our thoughts when we reviewed the XT2, and the device passed all of our benchmarks with flying colours and on initial glance the XT100 acts and feels very much in a similar vein.

For a rugged device the XT100 is light. Really light.The XT100 does have a smaller and lighter footprint than its stablemate (which itself was able to boast of being lightest in its class when we reviewed it at launch.)

Janam appear to prefer to avoid comparing their devices with smartphones, referring to the XT range as the rugged touch computers, so they may not thank me for this, but in terms of the device in hand, the difference between the XT2 and the XT100 is most easily described as the difference between a phablet such as the Galaxy Note or iPhone Plus compared to a regular sized smartphone - with the XT100 falling into the latter bracket.

For a rugged device the XT100 is light. Really light.

At just 7.5 ounces (213 grams) the XT100 is lighter than both the Gen2Wave RT1600 and the Ruggex Rhino 3 (despite having a bigger screen than the latter as well). The profile of the phone is certainly chunkier than a regular consumer device of course, which is largely due to the inclusion of a dedicated barcode scanner but also to mention being sturdy enough to survive multiple 1.2m drops – which we will explore a little later.

Having booted up the device for the first time the device was quick to launch and the menus responsive and quick to access as we would have anticipated based on the performance of the XT2 in the previous review.

So how did the device fare during our hands-on review?

Processing power:

In terms of processing power, the XT100 comes with 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 410 quad-core, which is pretty much in the same ballpark as the XT2’s MSM8916 CPU @1.2GHz. In terms of the market for similar devices as to the XT range these offer a fairly standard amount of processing power. It’s certainly true that this is still a wee bit short of devices such as Panasonic’s FZ-N1 (which runs a Qualcomm® MSM8974AB 2.3GHz Quad Core for example) but the XT100 should certainly be powerful enough to cope with the majority of field service related software that might be required for a service engineer’s day-to-day tasks.

The XT100 also comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM as standard, unlike the XT2 where whilst these specs are available they are an upgrade option (from a 1GB/8GB standard option).

Again this sits pretty much in the middle of the pack in terms of similar devices and is definitely suitable for a number of field service applications. Also, as with the XT2 the memory is expandable via a user accessible Micro SD slot with SD and SDHC support – which can become a very useful option for engineers who need to record a lot of data, or even for those who work in offline environments regularly where locally storing asset maintenance information to aid a firsttime fix could be of benefit.

Operating system:

The XT100 is currently running Android 6 (Marshmallow), which is a perfect option for industry, focused devices. Whilst the latest consumer devices are now running Android 8 (Oreo), in a world of enterprise, the need for a robustly road-tested OS is hugely important. Marshmallow is currently the most advanced iteration of the OS that also has the stability required for enterprise-grade computing.

Additionally, there were two important inclusions in the Marshmallow iteration of the Android OS which could provide important benefits for use by field service operatives which were not included within the previous version of Android (Lollipop).

This makes Marshmallow a strong platform for field service organisations where the need for a mobile device to last the duration of a service engineer’s often long working day is essential.The first of these is an improved battery management feature, which utilises two solutions to extend battery life. These are Doze - which automatically puts your phone to sleep when not being used and App Standby which reduces the amount of battery drain form seldom-used apps.

This makes Marshmallow a strong platform for field service organisations where the need for a mobile device to last the duration of a service engineer’s often long working day is essential.

The second development in Marshmallow of interest in the context of the field service engineers is the ability to migrate data and applications to a MicroSD card. As we referenced earlier the XT100 has MicroSD memory expansion options which can be useful for field service engineers working offline or who are required to record a lot of supplementary data, so improving the functionality of file management is another welcome introduction to the Android OS.

In addition to this Marshmallow also remains the most widely used Android OS in the world of consumer devices as well according to the Android developer community website (last updated February 2018) so there is also the added benefit of the interface being likely to be familiar to end users which will also have big benefits on user adoption rates.

The Ins & Outs:

As with the XT2, the XT100 doesn’t have a huge array of physical input options – but this can’t really be avoided in a device of such a size. However, in terms of the physical inputs, the key essentials are all included and there are a number of excellent inclusions in terms of data capture functionality that mark out the XT100 as a well thought out device designed to be fit-for-purpose.

To begin with the basics, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is, of course, is a hugely important inclusion, especially as remote support or engineer to engineer communication, is becoming increasingly common. There is a micro USB 2.0 port, which is there for charging and data syncing although the XT100 is also capable of wireless charging as well.

One of the core USPs and strengths of the whole Janam range is that their devices are designed for the industry and with their end-users workflow in mind.There are also two cameras, which are additionally useful for both data collection and video conferencing. The rear camera is 13MP and the front-facing camera is 4MP – which whilst neither being particularly groundbreaking in terms of resolution, are both absolutely fit for purpose.

However, one of the core USPs and strengths of the whole Janam range is that their devices are designed for the industry and with their end-users workflow in mind.

The XT100 has two additional hard keys (three including the power key), which by default trigger the XT100’s built-in barcode scanner which is the Honeywell N6603 2D Imager – which in our tests responded extremely efficiently and reliably.

Another inclusion which is hugely beneficial specifically for the field service engineer is the inclusion of a NFC/RFID reader (which reads Reads ISO14443 Type A; ISO14443 Type B & ISO15693; MIFARE UltraLight; MIFARE UltraLight C; MIFARE 1k/4k/Plus; MIFARE DESFire;MIFARE DESFire EV1; NFC in the 13.56MHz range). Again, within our tests, we found the XT100 was able to identify and read tags with easily and we had a 100% success rate during our tests of this functionality, finding the reader to have a good sensitivity.

Both of these inclusions are important as amongst other benefits they can allow the field service engineer to easily log spare parts moving in and out of the van – and given that tracking parts inventory remains a considerable challenge for many field service organisations, all solutions that can improve efficiency in this area are of course highly desirable.

Finally, there is a Pogo Connector at the bottom of the device, which can be used for charging within a cradle such as a vehicle dock.

Connectivity:

When it comes to connectivity the XT100 supports the latest 802.11a/b/g/n/d/h/i/k/r/v protocols so accessing strong wi-fi connectivity speeds should be no issue and within our tests, the device was able to reach 50Mbps. The XT100 also supports EDGE/GPRS/GSM, WCDMA and LTE for 4G mobile internet and when tested with a moderate to strong 4G signal the device reached 18Mbps.

As one would expect with a device designed for the enterprise XT100 has robust security protocols (IEEE802.11; WEP; WPA/WPA2; PEAP/MSCHAPv2; EAP-TLS).

The XT100 also features Bluetooth 4.1 so can be paired with additional tools in the field including potentially Android Wear-based smartglasses, a keyboard for data input and of course Bluetooth headphones should the device be utilised for field service engineers receiving remote guidance.

Additionally, the device offers Qualcomm GPS which supports GLONASS so the device offers precise location tracking in the vast majority of locations across the globe, which can be invaluable to the field service organisation with regards to updating asset information as well as the adoption of geo-location functionalities within a field service technician’s workflow.

Ruggedity:

In terms of its ruggedity, the XT100 holds its head high with good rugged credentials albeit slightly less so than its sibling the XT2.

The XT100 is capable of withstanding multiple drops at 1.2m. The device also came with a clear hard plastic case to add additional protection from drops and knocks and survived our own drop testing with no issues.

The XT100’s IP rating is perhaps one area which is ever so slightly disappointing as having delivered the XT2 to an IP67 standard previously, Janam have opted to make the XT100 at the lower rating of IP65.

What this means, in reality, is the XT100 is impervious to dust ingress and largely resistant to water ingress although it is not fully submersible in water as an IP67 device would be. In reality, an IP65 rating should be sufficient for most field service environments although given the XT2’s more robust rating the difference should be noted and taken into account for those companies working in naturally wet environments such as perhaps certain waste management or water-based utilities sectors.

When it comes to operating temperature ranges the XT100 -20 to 60 degrees centigrade – which means that even in the most inhospitable environments the device should function effectively, and in terms of humidity it is non-condensing up to 95%. Finally, the capacitive touchscreen boasts toughened Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to further add to the devices robust credentials.

Battery Life:

In terms of battery life, the XT100 comes with a 3000mAh 3.8v rechargeable Li-ion battery.

After an 8 hour day of reasonable to heavy usage the battery was at 14% so the device should be capable of seeing out most field service engineers working days, especially if the device is placed in an in-vehicle charging cradle in between jobs. However, for those engineers who are required to spend long days in one location, a four-slot battery charger is an optional accessory.

Conclusion:

As with the XT2, the XT100 is, first of all, a fantastic looking device that feels great in hand and is sure to feel instantly familiar for end users.

The fact that it is so lightweight, easily one of the lightest (if not the lightest) rugged devices we’ve reviewed and comfortable in hand means it could easily pass for a consumer device at first glance and the fact that it runs on Android 6 is going to make that familiarity all the more prevalent, which as we’ve discussed above is an important factor in terms of user adoption and potentially a path to quicker return on investment.

For most tasks that a field service engineer would be likely to use on the device, the XT100 should have more than enough power under the hood to be up to the task.Whilst the XT100 doesn’t have quite the same protection against water ingress as the XT2 it should certainly be a rugged and robust enough device for most field service environments, with the possible exception of those engineers who will be working in potentially wet situations where the likelihood is that the device could be dropped and submersed into water.

In terms of processing power, the device is at a reasonable mid-range and performed well within our own tests, responding quickly with multiple apps open and offering strong connectivity to both Wi-Fi and 4G signals.

Whilst it is not at the very highest range of computational power within its category if your engineers are required to use an intensive CPU hungry app then one might question whether such a small form factor would be correct for your engineers anyway. However, for most tasks that a field service engineer would be likely to use on the device, the XT100 should have more than enough power under the hood to be up to the task.

As with other Janam products the XT100 is clearly designed with the end users workflow in mind and the rapid performance and ease of access of both the NFC/RFID readers and the barcode scanner make this a great option for those engineers who are moving a lot of parts stock in and out of the van each day.

By introducing the XT100, Janam have taken the blueprint of excellence that they have established with the XT range as a whole and created one of the smallest rugged devices suited for field service to date.

The XT100 is an excellent addition to the range and certainly worthy of consideration for any field service organisation looking to update the mobile computing options with a sleek, lightweight yet robust device – this holds especially true for organisations that are currently running an older Android solution as the transition should be fairly seamless.

As we’ve alluded to across the article the similarities with the XT2 are as one might expect wide-ranging and the XT2’s slightly better-rugged credentials might still make it the pick for those organisations hose engineers are working in the most testing of environments, but what Janam have done with the introduction of the XT100 is deliver a device of similar standard to the impressive XT2 with an even lighter footprint giving field service companies another excellent additional option to choose from.

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