Xplore Technologies Corp has unveiled the XSLATE B10, a full-featured 10in rugged tablet designed for the toughest environments. The tablet comes with eight ports, an IP65 rating and C1D2/ATEX certification.
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Sep 18, 2015 • Hardware • News • Xplore Technologies • rugged tablet
Xplore Technologies Corp has unveiled the XSLATE B10, a full-featured 10in rugged tablet designed for the toughest environments. The tablet comes with eight ports, an IP65 rating and C1D2/ATEX certification.
"After spending a day on the job with the XSLATE B10, you’ll understand why this fully featured tablet PC sets a new standard in ruggedness and connectivity," said Mark Holleran, Xplore Technologies President and COO.
The B10 is designed to meet and exceed the needs of customers across a wide range of vertical industries, and the harshest workplaces, from frozen tarmacs to sweltering oil rigs. Across telecommunications, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, construction or field service, businesses now have access to a fully rugged, lightweight tablet with all the ports and battery life necessary to stay active in the field.
Key features include: eight built-in ports, four of them sealed even with port covers open; two True Serial port connections for access to legacy equipment; an Intel Core i5 processor, upgradeable to i7 vPro ; ultra-fast 4G LTE broadband, 802.11ac W and Bluetooth 4.0 and USB 3.0 connections; and RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet cable connection.
The B10 has a WXGA rugged IPS LCD backlit display and a projective 10-point touch capacitive touchscreen input with glove and wet modes plus a Wacom pen digitizer and active pen. There’s a 8 megapixel rear and 2 megapixel front camera, with xCature Pro camera application.
Optional productivity-boosting accessories include a removable companion keyboard, office or vehicle docking stations, kickstand, a second hot swappable battery to extend system runtime to 20 hours and an integrated barcode scanner.
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Sep 07, 2015 • Features • Hardware • PDA • EDA • hardware • rugged • Rugged computers • Rugged devices • rugged smartphones • rugged tablets
Our new Hands On regular feature focuses on the hardware choices available for field service organisations, from smartphones to tablets. To set the scene, Sharon Clancy runs through some of the key specification points to consider.
Our new Hands On regular feature focuses on the hardware choices available for field service organisations, from smartphones to tablets. To set the scene, Sharon Clancy runs through some of the key specification points to consider.
As more field service companies automate their business processes, so is the market for the devices required to capture all that useful data. Consumer devices are proliferating thanks to their low initial cost and this has given new impetus to the rugged v. consumer device discussion but has also raised questions about what type of mobile device best suits the task in hand.
Rugged tablets, for example, have given excellent service in sectors such as utilities and emergency services, where processing power, outdoor screen visibility and high levels of reliability are required. Rugged handheld computers might lack user-appeal but they are reliable, versatile and easily configurable. Their relatively small 3.5in screens are not seen as a particular deterrent because the data capture tasks they are used for are simple.
At the other end of the spectrum are consumer devices - cheaper, with user-appeal shine and intuitive apps, but also with components not designed to last the rough-and-tumble of an intensive eight-hour daily use. In the middle are a new breed of hybrid devices with shiny smartphone-style skins underpinned with rugged features to enhance reliability.
The up-front cost of a device is just a fraction of its total life costs
Device names can be confusing - one manufacturer's rugged smartphone is another's Personal or Enterprise Digital Assistant (PDA and EDA). The straightforward approach is to focus on what functionality you need the device to have and also on dimensions and weight. For example, does it need to fit in a pocket; does the data task require a keyboard; a scan engine; or a camera. What connectivity does your operation need?
We've put together this short guide for buyers to guide to help ensure the devices you choose are fit-for-purpose.
FSN Buyer's checklist
- Ruggedness
The rugged specification of a device is more critical for some field service operations than others. Compromises on IP (ingress protection against dust and water) and drop-spec ratings are possible in some environments, but push that too far and the result will be more downtime and repair costs.A typical rugged spec for devices used mainly indoors, for example, might be IP54 for dust and water ingress and a 1.2 metre or 1.5 metre drop rating. some models are rated as high as IP67 and some survive 1.8 metre drops. Check if the drop test is to a soft surface or to concrete (which mimics a fall on to a car park floor). - Functionality
This is a key differentiator when choosing between consumer devices and rugged ones. Rugged devices tend to be built on a modular platform that allows varying degrees of customisation: you get a device precisely tailored to your data capture needs. Specifications for consumer devices are less, if at all, configurable. One area where this manifests itself is in whether the device has a dedicated scan engine for barcode scanning or relies on device camera with a scanning app. A camera might be fine for occasional scanning, but if your service worker has to scan frequently, using a camera is a much slower and fiddly process, affecting productivity and, possibly, data accuracy. - Form factor
With form factors ranging from 2.8in screens on smartphones to 10in or more on tablets, service organisations are spoilt for choice. Small devices are portable, but the small screen may hamper productivity; tablets allow more information to be displayed and usually have more configurability, making it easier to get the exact fit for your processes.Some rugged devices incorporate a hard keyboard matched to a small screen, but user experience with consumer smartphones is helping to create demand for similar larger screens in the business world.
[quote float="right"]There is intense competition in the 5in and 7in tablet sector
- an area also populated by rugged smartphones. (The main difference is that while smartphones automatically include voice functionality, tablets may not.) Some fully-rugged tablets incorporate a mini-hard-key navigation keyboard to one side, whereas smaller tablets and smartphones rely on touch screens.The use of larger tablets for enterprise is a fast-expanding sector. Rugged tablets may not be as slim as Apple’s iPad, but they are still ultra-portable, with some incorporating a carry handle. - Screens
Screens can be glass or polycarbonate: glass is more fragile and scratch resistant, while polycarbonate is flexible so less likely to crack, but over time can dull with scratches. Toughened glass such as Corning's Gorilla glass is popular in tablets and in some of the rugged smartphones now appearing on the market, while other manufacturers are using bonded screens that are as scratch-resistant as glass but more flexible.Not all mobile devices have the capacitive touch screen technology found on smartphones and tablets for touch data entry and screen. Some rugged devices have resistive screens which are said to be more responsive to touch when the user's finger is wet or gloved, but less responsive than capacitive to bare fingers. However, the latest generation of resistive screens can handle finger-touch input as well as stylus input. Everyone's had the experience of a slow-responding touch screen when navigating: one technical factor can be the number of wires incorporated in the screen, so do ask.For field service, there are two other important factors to take into account when it comes to screen specifications: how easy are they to read in bright sunlight and how wide is the viewing angles. NITS is the measure by which visibility in strong sunlight is described and there are various technologies that improve visibility in strong light, usually involving a combination of reducing loss through reflection off the screen and colour management.
- Operating systems
When selecting devices, it's important to think about the Operating System as it could impact on whether or how your apps run on it. For Apple fans, iOS is standard; for other devices there is a choice of various Android OS or Microsoft Windows OS in their various guises.[quote float="left"]Device OS is particularly important when you have legacy applications
OS is particularly important when you have legacy applications: they may have been developed with earlier software development tools that are incompatible when it comes to upgrades. Bearing in mind, for example, that Apple iOS is incompatible with a lot of enterprise legacy software systems unless deployed with some sort of mobility management system, for example.Device manufacturers can also tweak the OS, so the more frequently a device is refreshed, the higher the risk that an app which ran happily on an older model won’t on the new one. This is more of a concern with consumer devices which have more frequent model updates than rugged devices.Android is popular with software developers who like the open-nature of Android. Android was once labelled as not-fit-for-enterprise: earlier versions (2.0 or Gingerbread) are more vulnerable from security-wise and may lack enterprise-friendly features such as mobile device management functionality - they can still be found on some older rugged models. Expert advice is to opt for Android 4.0 or later.Tablet manufacturers and their enterprise customers have remained loyal to Microsoft Windows, partly because of its easy integration with desktop software. Some tablet makers now offering licence-free Android as an alternative OS, especially on small form-factor devices where cost is a factor.Microsoft's tardiness in releasing a roadmap for 6.5 embedded (popular with rugged device manufacturers) and less-than-stunning Windows 8 has seen customers desert it for Android. However, the newly launched Windows 10 may help it regain some of that lost traction in enterprise.
- Processing power
Having sufficient processing power is key if you intend to run multiple applications on any device. Many, but not all, devices now incorporate dual or quad processors with advanced power management that help preserve battery power when running multi-applications. Some low-cost devices may have older generation, slower, processors. Tablets, especially those 10in and above have impressive RAM and storage facilities, with solid-state memory now widely available. Intel’s Atom or i-series processors and Texas Instruments’ OMAP family are the most widely used. - Connectivity
While smartphones tend to come as standard with all the connectivity you could wish for, on rugged devices, there's greater variation in what is standard and optional. GPS or A-GPS is usually standard on devices aimed at field operations, as are network radios from 3.5G upwards. WiFi and Bluetooth may be operational rather than standard. - Batteries
Some features considered essential for field service management (GPS location fixes and 3G or 4G communication, for example) are notoriously power-hungry, so do compare battery life claims. Smart battery management is now a feature on many devices. Some of the latest generation of rugged devices claim impressive battery life of up to 20 hours, thanks to a new generation of higher-capacity batteries coombined with smart battery-life management and power-saving multi-processor architecture. Light and proximity sensors, for example, power the device or applications on-and-off and battery-condition monitoring and reporting are often included.If the app or operation will be particularly demanding of battery life, it's worth checking how the claimed life was calculated: some manufacturers now quote different hours between recharges for different types of use.It's easy to forget that battery replacement needs factoring into total-cost-of-ownership calculations: the more discharges, the shorter the battery life and the sooner they will need replacing. Don't forget either, think about how devices will be recharged and check the comparative costs of types of in-vehicle chargers.Rugged tablets designed for field service often have hot-swappable batteries which allows users to change batteries without losing data.[/ordered_list]
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Aug 21, 2015 • Features • Hardware • motion computing • Xplore Technologies • hardware • Interview • Rugged computers • rugged tablets
Texas is home to two of the biggest names in rugged computing and earlier this year they came together when Xplore Technologies acquired Motion Computing. It's good news for field service companies, says Ian Davies, Country Manager, Northern Europe,...
Texas is home to two of the biggest names in rugged computing and earlier this year they came together when Xplore Technologies acquired Motion Computing. It's good news for field service companies, says Ian Davies, Country Manager, Northern Europe, for Motion, in this interview with Field Service News Editor, Sharon Clancy.
SC: Where do the two product ranges sit in the rugged PC sector?
ID: Both companies sit at the top of the rugged PC sector. Xplore is the number one vendor in the ultra-rugged PC sector, while Motion claims second place in the rugged tablet space. Motion has a more mature and stronger presence outside the USA, with 50% of sales to European customers. The majority of Xplore's customers (80%) are in North America.
This give us plenty of opportunity to grow our customer base. The Motion brand will be retained, with the product being called Motion by Xplore. Xplore has said it sees the acquisition of Motion as consistent with its goal to establish the best and broadest line of rugged tablets for the enterprise market and a one-stop shop for rugged devices.
As part of Xplore Technologies, Motion is in a stronger, more secure position financially.
Customers are naturally nervous about how long availability and support for existing products will continue.
SC: Will there be any rationalisation of the product ranges?
ID: In the long-term there might be some, but for the immediate future, no. In my working life, I've experienced several acquisitions and appreciate customers are naturally nervous about how long availability and support for existing products will continue. They have invested in devices that have a lifespan of at least five years, sometimes seven or even longer, and they're being used for mission-critical tasks. They want reassurance.
There's actually very little overlap in the product range because of the different sectors the two brands are focused on. Xplore is very active in large-scale deployments in sensitive sectors where security is a paramount: energy, public safety, telecoms and cables and the military. Motion has a broader customer base, active in utilities, healthcare, retail, construction and the emergency services.
There is some overlap is on the technology front, but we make no apologies for that: customers benefit from our using best-in-class components. Earlier this year, our processor supplier Intel, named Xplore as its Mobile Platform Partner of 2015.
SC: Both Xplore and Motion have adopted the indirect channel sales route. Will that continue?
ID: Yes. There should be no integration issues as far as channel partners are concerned.
Our partners have different strengths: some are hardware specialist, others are independent software vendors. What they have in common is a commitment to the customer. At this end of the market, buyers are interested ensuring tablets have the functionality for their workflows. It's why we work closely with IT departments and our channel partners: you are not just selling a piece of hardware but everything that goes with that. It will need customising for the workflow and configured for integration with back-office systems, for example.
Never underestimate the value of a great partner.
SC: Motion has stayed loyal to Microsoft Windows, even when the clamour for Google's Android OS was at its highest. Why was that?
ID: Continuity is important to us and our customers. We have been advocates of Windows because our enterprise customers prefer a back-office compatible OS and they want their mobile workers to be able to switch smoothly from the office and into the vehicle and field via their tablet PC, including for those advanced tasks that are proving a challenge on other mobile devices.
Android OS is the technology roadmap for the Motion range.
However, there is now a big market for Android OS and it is on the technology roadmap for the Motion range.There is customer demand in some vertical industries with unique application and workflow needs, and we acknowledge that. Android OS gives them with greater flexibility and a wider access to more apps. Xplore's Ranger X tablet already ships with Android OS.
SC: Finally, will the trend for consumer tablets in field service impact on future sales for the group?
ID: I believe that field service companies recognise the value in enterprise-grade rugged tablets and understand Total-cost-of-ownership. There's little demand from enterprises or their workers for consumer devices. Companies understand the risks on mission-critical operations of breaking the tablet and losing data and the affect device reliability and that field workers who don't trust the device, won't use it as intended, will leave it in the vehicle, adding or retrieving data when they return, all of which has a direct affect on productivity.
One often overlooked aspect of the consumer v rugged debate is the critical role supporting peripherals accessories and additional modules play smoothing workflows.
Both Motion and Xplore understand that the ease of charging, mounting, carrying and storing tablets is key for user acceptance and that enterprises may need a variety of data capture and communications modules to maximise productivity - none of which is usually available on a consumer tablet.
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Aug 04, 2015 • Hardware • News • Bullitt Mobile • Caterpillar Inc • Rugged smartphone
The new Cat S40 rugged smartphone is designed to address the unreliability of consumer devices in outdoor environments.
The new Cat S40 rugged smartphone is designed to address the unreliability of consumer devices in outdoor environments.
Smartphones may be a popular low-cost choice for many companies migrating from paper to digital to manage their mobile workers, but they can prove unreliable in service - life can be tough for a smartphone in an outdoor environment. The Cat S40 rugged smartphone from Caterpillar Inc. has been designed to address these problems by combing superior rugged and smartphone performance while retaining the looks of a stylish handset.
The S40 will compete in a fast-growing sector: the rugged smartphone market grew to 10m units in 2014, according to UK company Bullitt Mobile, which has held the global licence to design, manufacture and distribute rugged phones and accessories for Caterpillar Inc. under the Cat phones brand since 2012.
Too many people are being let down and left out-of-pocket by damaged smartphones due to them being used in work environments they were not built for.
The S40 is typical smartphone size at 145mm x 74mm x 12.5mm and weighs 185g - small and slim enough to slip into a pocket. The 470mm qHD IPS display is readable in direct sunlight and the Corning Gorilla Glass 4 screen ensures it is resistant to scratches, knocks and drops.
Of particular interest to service organisations whose employees are working in outdoor environments will be the S40's innovative "wet finger tracking" technology. This optimises the capacitive touchscreen to respond effectively to input made even when the user’s fingers are wet: water (or, indeed, gloves), explains Bullit, creates a barrier that hampers the phones normal ability to understand and react to the input.
The S40 also sports the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system, teamed with a Qualcomm MSM8909 1.1Ghz Quadcore processor. There is 16GB ROM Flash memory and 1GB RAM, with extended storage via a 64GB Micro SD.
The 3000 MAh non-removable battery is said to be good for 18 hours talk-time, 39 days in stand-by. There is an 8 megapixel autofocus front camera and a 2 megapixel rear camera, with video capture capability. The communications options include 2,3 and 4G.
"Too many people are being let down and left out-of-pocket by damaged smartphones due to them being used in work environments they were not built for,” says Oliver Schulte, CEO of Bullitt Mobile. “We recognised the need to use our expertise to launch a stylish, rugged smartphone that offers protection alongside style and performance. With the refined rugged design of the S40 we’re offering a device that looks great, runs the latest version of Android and offers the levels of protection our customers need."
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Jul 29, 2015 • Hardware • News • Panasonic Toughbook • Panasonic Toughpad • Rugged devices
Got a Toughbook or Toughpad? Panasonic wants to hear from all those people who use these devices for very difficult tasks - jobs that would make the average worker's knees tremble.
Got a Toughbook or Toughpad? Panasonic wants to hear from all those people who use these devices for very difficult tasks - jobs that would make the average worker's knees tremble.
In celebration of tough job heroes and recognition that while the Toughbook and Toughpad rugged devices are tough, their users are often even tougher, Panasonic is running a Toughest Job competition. The jobs show rugged devices in action in the UK's National Health Service, by Royal Air Force helicopter crews and by crane inspectors for Zurich Insurance.
To enter, you view three videos showing the devices in action and cast their vote as to watch three videos and cast your vote as to which of the three jobs is toughest: you click on "tough as Old Boots" if you agree the job is tough or on "My Nana's Tougher" is you think there are tougher jobs out there. The winner receives a rugged Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1.
You don't think those jobs are as tough as yours? Panasonic wants to hear from you, too. In a second competition those people view the videos and think their job is tougher can upload a photo or video of themselves or their colleagues in action and enter a prize draw to win a Panasonic rugged Lumix camera as well.
The competition runs until 31 August 2015.
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Jul 20, 2015 • Hardware • News • motion computing • Xplore Technologies • hardware • rugged tablet • ultra-rugged tablet pcs
Xplore Technologies Corporation, the rugged tablet computer manufacturer, has expanded its presence in the UK with the acquisition of Motion Computing Inc. and its subsidiaries. The acquisition broadens Xplore's product portfolio to encompass rugged...
Xplore Technologies Corporation, the rugged tablet computer manufacturer, has expanded its presence in the UK with the acquisition of Motion Computing Inc. and its subsidiaries. The acquisition broadens Xplore's product portfolio to encompass rugged as well as ultra-rugged tablet computers.
By bringing together two industry leaders, organisations in the United Kingdom now have access to the most robust product portfolio of rugged tablets in the industry that are purpose-built for the unique workflow demands of critical industries. Both Xpore and Motion by Xplore products will continue to be available through local channel partners in UK
The collective companies will provide a one-stop shop for rugged tablets.
The portfolio of Xplore and Motion by Xplore tablet computers use powerful and modern processors and components and are tested more vigorously for shock, thermal, vibration, impact, ingress and emissions than any other in the industry. In May, Xplore won the prestigious Mobile Platform Partner of the Year award at the 2015 Intel Solutions Summit in North America.
Xplore’s products enable the extension of traditional computing systems to a range of field and on-site personnel, regardless of location or environment, providing an ecosystem that turns the tablet PC into a solution for their specific workflow.The company’s industrial grade rugged tablets meet the demands of customers in the energy, healthcare, utilities, manufacturing and distribution, public safety, field services, transportation, and military sectors.
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Jul 03, 2015 • Hardware • News • Lone worker • field service management • telematics
A device to protect lone workers against the daily risks of their job has been launched by telematics provider Matrix Telematics. The pocket-sized LoneWorker device incorporates the latest in GPS and sensor technology to help employees working on...
A device to protect lone workers against the daily risks of their job has been launched by telematics provider Matrix Telematics. The pocket-sized LoneWorker device incorporates the latest in GPS and sensor technology to help employees working on their own stay safe while carrying out their day-to-day work. It delivers end-to-end real-time tracking, giving organisations the ability to monitor the movements of their staff who are out in the field and provide both parties with vital security protection.
The product can be configured in hundreds of ways so can be customised to match business and employee needs.
Geoff Ball, MD of Matrix Telematics said: “The definition of a lone worker has changed dramatically. From social workers to delivery drivers, postmen to pest control; lone workers make up almost a quarter of the UK’s working population, but the nature of their job leaves them open to a unique set of risks that employers need to be aware of.
“While most lone workers will hopefully never experience any problems, to have the peace of mind that there’s someone just at the other end of the line should they need it is a big reassurance for employees and a sensible precaution for employers to take.”
LoneWorker also helps organisations to report on employee activity and productivity enabling staff to record where and when jobs take place , automating timekeeping and billing processes.
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Jul 01, 2015 • Features • Hardware • 3D printing • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service • Near Field Communications • NFC • hardware
As we continue our series of features looking at the emerging technologies that could appear in the not so distant future we turn our attention to NFC and, perhaps the most futuristic of all, 3D printing.
As we continue our series of features looking at the emerging technologies that could appear in the not so distant future we turn our attention to NFC and, perhaps the most futuristic of all, 3D printing.
If you missed the earlier features in this series you can read part one here where we looked at smart watches and part two here where we looked at smart glasses and drones.
Near Field Communications
If the falling price of drones makes for a compelling argument for their inclusion in the future field engineer's tool kit, then the next item on this list is pretty much a no-brainer for a large number of Field service organisations.
That is NFC or near field communication tags.
NFC tags can be bought for as little as 30p per tag and with most modern Android and Windows smartphones and tablets supporting NFC communication they can be a very cheap means of making the field engineers workflow that much smoother.
Basically an NFC tag can be written to trigger an action on a device by simply tapping it against the tag.[quote float="left"]In theory, pretty much any action your engineer needs to take on an app can be incorporated into the script for a NFC tag.
A couple of quick examples…
A tag in the engineer's van could be written so that when the engineer places his smartphone against it, it opens up a dedicated mobile workforce app and logs his journey start time, plus also opens up a routing app such as Google Maps or TomTom.
The tag can also be written to include a toggle feature so when the engineer completes his journey he can again tap the tag with his device and this could log his journey end time, close his routing software, and open up the job details in his dedicated mobile workforce app.
Finally an NFC tag could be placed on the device which contains the notes of any previous engineer visits. This quick overview could be very useful in giving the engineer quick and easy access to the devices history and again similarly when the engineer updates his notes on the maintenance work he has carried our it is possible for him to include this information on the tag ready for the next engineer all with a simple tap.
And these are just three very simple ideas: in theory, pretty much any action your engineer needs to take on an app can be incorporated into the script for a NFC tag. There are also a number of apps that make the process of writing actions into a tag very simple for the lay person to do.
As I mentioned earlier the hallmark of a good technology is the ability to simplify our workflow and again NFC certainly ticks these boxes and given its low cost is another technology I think is worth considering when we look at how we can further empower our engineers.
3D Printing
The next item on my brief list is for me the most exciting and certainly the one that has the most futuristic feel about it. That is 3D printing.
Whilst we haven’t quite yet got to the point where we can instantly conjure up an earl grey tea hot like Jean Luc Picard might, the printers are still able to create physical 3D products from seemingly out of nothing just like the replicator devices seen in Star Trek.
Instead of an engineer having to delay a repair until the right part is sent to the site he could simply head out to the back of the van and print the part on site. First time fix rates would be dramatically improved.
However, 3D printing isn’t a particularly new concept, it actually dates back to the early eighties. So the devices we are seeing today are the product of over 30 years' worth of refinement.
This has resulted in 3D printed parts becoming robust enough and reliable enough to be used by companies such as Ford, General Electric and Boeing. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, for example, has over 30 3D printed parts; there are Leap jets and RAF Tornadoes flying around with 3D printed parts; and recently Ford printed their 500,000th 3D printed part – an engine cover for a Ford Mustang.
The fact is, 3D printed parts are out there being used more than we might think.
At the same time consumer 3D printers, much smaller and more mobile devices are becoming more readily available and at much more accessible costs.
Companies such as MakerBot and Stratysys are straddling both sides of this growing market. Is it that big a leap to envisage a meeting of these two approaches - that is, a device with the smaller more mobile size of a consumer device capable of delivering industrial grade 3D printed parts?
When we consider the potential widespread use of the devices surely not.
Imagine it… instead of an engineer diagnosing the issue but having to delay a repair until the right part is sent to the site he could simply head out to the back of the van and print the part on site. First time fix rates would be dramatically improved.
Then there is also the benefit of not having to have stock parts kept in an engineer's van.
By removing this need a company would be able to instantly improve their cash position on their P&L as well as avoid the danger of potential loss of stock through theft.
Whilst 3D printing hasn’t quite reached this standard as yet, given the competitive nature of this growing industry and the potential gains it is hugely feasible that such developments may be made within the next five years. So I’d firmly put this into the technology-to-watch-closely category.
Look out for the final part in this series where we look at perhaps the biggest potential game changer field service companies must embrace…
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Jun 29, 2015 • Features • Hardware • motion computing • hardware • rugged tablets
The debate around which devices are best suited to a field service engineer is a long, complex and ever changing one...
The debate around which devices are best suited to a field service engineer is a long, complex and ever changing one...
Arguments can be made for rugged devices or for consumer devices. Equally arguments can be made the various different form factors that are on offer. Is a tablet, smart phone or a laptop best suited to your aiding your engineers workflow? Then there is the growing trends of convertibles (part laptop, part tablet) to consider or even the next evolution of this idea: the detachable.
Of course there is no hard and fast rule here: each case is different and different devices are suited to different companies and applications. However, in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market it is important to understand the strengths of both various form factors and also of individual manufacturers and devices.
To help you navigate your way to finding the device that is right for your field workers, Field Service News is launching a news series that will give you a closer look at some of the options available to you as we see just how the devices stand up to the manufacturers' claims.
In the first instalment of this we take a look at the Motion F5m rugged tablet.
What the manufacturer says:
Motion describe the F5m as being “built for demanding environments that require robust enterprise software compatibility” and claim the tablet offers “the durability and functionality you need to seamlessly go from the office, to the vehicle, to the field – all while staying connected and secure.”
Motion has also given the F5m series a significant upgrade on its predecessors that delivers high-end, lasting processing power.
The addition of the 5th Gen Intel Core processors, including the highest performing Intel i7 vPro processor, provides the power to quickly move through computation-intensive applications, while increasing overall power efficiency.The tablet also comes with options for ultra-fast 4G XLTE mobile broadband connectivity that should make light work of sharing large files and images easy. Also with the promise of over eight hours of battery life and a hot-swap battery feature, the F5m should be able to last throughout your field engineers shift with ease.
First impressions
The first thing that strikes you when viewing the F5m is that this is very much a tablet designed for industry. With it’s handle built-in and moulded into the actual design of the casing, Motion demonstrates it is not shying away from this device's intended market nor its heritage - it's evolved from its cousin the C5 which was aimed exclusively at the medical sector.[quote float="left"]The practicality of the handle soon becomes apparent and a much welcome additional feature.
With other rugged manufacturers such as Panasonic and Getac and and even other offerings from Motion such as the R12 moving towards a more consumerised appearance for rugged tablets, the handle does give the F5m a slightly dated look, but lets be honest: when it comes to selecting a device for field engineers a modern aesthetic look should be quite low down on the list of desirables.
And actually whilst it might seem a touch ungainly , even cumbersome at first, in reality within a very short time of carrying the tablet around the practicality of the handle soon becomes apparent and a much welcome additional feature. It's one which would certainly be appreciated by many an engineer using the device.
In particular, the placement of buttons just to the side of the handle that act as triggers for either the optional Barcode scanner or RFID reader means the inclusion of the handle adds to functionality by making the use of these features far more accessible than the more traditional tablet form factor.
Also the handle doesn’t actual add to much weight to the tablet. Weighing in at 3.3 lbs the Motion device comes in just a shade lighter than Getac’s 10.1 inch rugged tablet the E110 which is 3.5lbs although it is some way off the 2.2 lbs of either Panasonic’s Toughpad FZ-G1 or Xplore’s Ranger X both of which offer similar screen real estate despite their slimmer physique.
Processing power
Where the F5m is truly impressive though is the processing power it has under the bonnet.
The highly configurable device has three options when it comes to processors all of which involve the fifth generation of Intel Core processors with options for the I3, I5 or I7 available.
The review unit we tested had an I5 processor with 2.2 GHz 5200U plus a Turbo Boost to 2.7 GHz (3MB of L3 cache, 2 Cores/4 Threads) and alongside the base configuration of 4GB the tablet ran the Microsoft 8.1 operating system plus a number of commonly used programs without any significant issues at all.
However, if your engineers are using software which is particularly demanding then the top spec available of an Intel Core i7 vPro processor which boasts 2.6 GHz 5600U with Turbo Boost to 3.2 GHz (4MB of L3 cache, 2 Cores/4 Threads) alongside 16GB DDR3L 1600MHz SDRAM memory should be able to handle most things you throw at it with ease and compares favourably to other rugged devices such as those mentioned above.
For the operating system the tablet comes with an option of the 64 Bit Professional version of either Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.
Given Motion’s intent for the tablet to be moved seamlessly from office to vehicle to field, on the surface this seems to be a sensible choice and, given the meaty processing power the F5m has, it sits much more comfortably in the category of laptop replacement than many other tablets are capable of.[quote float="right"]If you take the time to learn some of its tips and tricks, Windows 8.1 can actually be a very effective and useable interface indeed.
However, whilst improvements between Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 have improved the interface there are still plenty of critics of the Microsoft OS. In their desire to meet the demands of both the PC and tablet market Microsoft many believe they have not quite mastered either
The regular need to move from the mobile- oriented tile interface to the more traditional desktop format is one issue often sited as being a particular frustration of the user experience, and the simplicity and fluidity of Android and IoS, the other leading tablet operating systems, appears to be somewhat lacking.
However, I use the phrase ‘appears to be’ carefully there because in fact if you take the time to learn some of its tips and tricks, Windows 8.1 can actually be a very effective and useable interface indeed.
That said perhaps the one of the most effective tricks of Windows 8.1, especially for business users, seems to be missing from the help files. That is a function called Snap which provides the option to split screens a la Windows 7 (perhaps why it’s not included in the help files?). Although with the touchscreen interface it’s not obvious unless you know it’s there.
For those Windows 8.1 users who aren’t aware of this feature you need to keep your finger on the screen when dragging an app in and then hold the app and hover either slightly to the left or right of the screen until a black line appears in the centre and the second app will then ‘snap’ into place.
The ability to have two separate apps accessible without having to swap between them could significantly improve productivity.
The fact this feature is hidden away perhaps sums up Windows 8.1 as a whole.
On first glance it may not be the most intuitive of operating systems, particularly in the tablet sector, however if you spend a little time learning learning it’s secrets, it has a lot of features that can massively enrich the user experience.
The pen is mightier than a digital keyboard
Of course one of the key benefits of having a Windows operating system is the ability to work with familiar applications. However, for those applications that require anything more than light data input, the lack of a dedicated companion keyboard for the F5m can make life that much harder.
Unlike sister devices the R12 or the CL920, Motion offer no companion keyboard for the F5m. This leaves the user with two options, either using the on-screen keyboard or the included digital pen.
As with almost all on screen keyboards text input can often be inaccurate and when entering a mix of words and texts it can be frustrating switching between the various input modes of the keyboard, so this isn’t really a great option for anything other than brief input and form completion.[quote float="right"]The user has two input options: the on-screen keyboard or s digital pen.
As for the pen, the handwriting-recognition algorithm was able to make sense even of my spindly handwriting and would certainly be a better option than the on-screen keyboard. However, the requirement to hit the insert button after every few words can soon become a tiresome task and, again, I would see writing a maintenance report of any length a frustrating experience.
That’s not to dismiss the benefits of the pen itself which is a comfortable in hand and feels very much like a real pen, especially when compared to something like Samsung’s S-Pen which accompanies their consumer-focused Note series of tablets and smart phones. One complaint would be that the pen’s sensitivity isn’t as good as others such as the aforementioned S-Pen or Wacom products - but that is not going to have much impact on the average field engineer's working day.
Where the pen could really be of use is when combined with the F5m’s camera powered by Motion’s own photography software Snapworks (which is designed to be optimised for annotation with the pen or touch) and has a very simple yet effective sharing mechanism. Such a tool can make a big difference when it comes to encouraging a collaborative nature amongst field engineers as well as improving an engineers efficiency when it comes to reporting.
A picture is worth a thousand words…
The primary camera on the tablet is a rear facing 8 megapixel camera which is at the higher end of the spectrum when compared to the specifications of other rugged tablets and is more than capable of taking images clear enough for reporting purposes.
There is also a second front facing camera which is 2 megapixels which provides a good quality image for making Internet calls – again aiding collaboration between workers. When we made a test Skype call both the picture quality and audio were of good quality.
However, the test call was in a quiet location and the lack of a headphone jack could cause potential problems for making such a call in a louder environment.
A minimalist approach to I/O options
This leads us to one of the potential drawbacks of the F5m: the lack of input and output ports.With one solitary USB port (albeit a USB3 port for faster data transfer) you can’t help but think there could have been additional I/O options included.
The lack of input and output ports is one of the potential drawbacks of the F5m.
An extra USB port could come in very handy, as could an external storage option such as a SD card reader or even a HDMI port should our engineer be required to give a presentation.In their defence, Motion do offer a number of accessories including an Ethernet connector with a USB 2.0 port, a long range RFID reader and a magnetic stripe reader which all connect via the device’s docking connector, so the functionality is available. However, you can’t help but feel that some of these solutions could have been worked into the actual device itself without adding further to the tablet's footprint.
The longest day
Of course one of the most important factors of a device to be used in the field is the reliability of the battery life and here we found the F5m to be excellent. The device was fully charged within just an hour and a half and comfortably lasted an eight hour day when we tested it with a reasonable amount of use (i.e. the same we would use a laptop for in a full working day away from the office).
On top of this the tablet also boasts hot swappable batteries, so should your field workers face extra long days they are able to extend the performance time without hassle.
School of hard knocks
The F5m certainly passes the criteria for a rugged tablet. It looks robust enough and has been independently certified as meeting MIL-STD 801G, it is capable of surviving a fair few bumps. In fact the drop test for meeting this standard requires the device survives no less than 26 separate drops at differering angles from a height of 4ft (1.2 metres).
This durability is largely due to three factors: the tablet is rubberised for shock dampening, features a magnesium-alloy internal frame and a durable Gorilla Glass screen which comes either with a standard screen or the option of upgrading to Motion’s proprietary ViewAnywhere display technology, which is designed for working in the sort of brightly-lit and outdoor environments that can play havoc with readability of standard screens.
The MIL-STD 801G certification also means the device is also capable of operating in temperatures ranging from -10°C to 55°C and storage temperatures from -51°C to 71°C which should cover most working scenarios!
The other certification that the F5m boasts is IP54. The IP rating is defined by two separate criteria each identified by the two numbers. The first number denotes solid particle protection and in this instance the rating five (the second highest rating) means that the F5m is protected to a level where whilst the ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, dust must not enter in satisfactory operation of the device, i.e. the tablet is dust proof.
The second number refers to the liquid ingress protection. In this instance the rating of four denotes that the device is resistant to water splashing against the enclosure from any direction so it will have no harmful effect. In effect this means that the device should be able to function in the rain, for example, but is not suitable for an environment where it could be fully immersed in water.
The conclusion?
In real life terms these certifications mean that the F5m is capable of dealing with all but the most extreme of environments.[quote float="right"]The F5m is a tablet that is designed for the field
However, the lack of a dedicated companion keyboard and only one USB port as standard does limit the device's capability to be used in an office enviroment for tasks such as writing more detailed reports or giving presentations etc. If we go back to Motion’s claim of the F5m offering the ability to go seamlessly go from the office, to the vehicle, to the field then this is a touch disappointing.
However whilst the F5m may not be the perfect device for the office, it does excel in other environments. The device is rugged, bring powerful computing into almost any environment and when it comes to vehicles Motion also offer a very comprehensive range of in-vehicle docking solutions including dedicated vehicle mounting kits for a range of vehicles.
Essentially the F5m is a tablet that is designed for the field and, when we consider the type of workflows it will generally be used in, it is most certainly a good bit of kit for your field workers.
The barcode and RFID options make it a perfect rugged device for cataloguing and inventory tasks in a warehouse environment for example. Also the high quality camera, the Snapworks software and digital pen could also make life easier for field engineers who are required to include photographic evidence.
All in all the F5m is a robust and powerful tablet device. Whilst it is not the most elegant looking rugged tablet on the market, the integrated handle does actually add a lot of practicality and the F5m is both an easy device to carry around and far less likely to suffer accidental drops because of it.
The F5m is light enough to highly portable, durable enough to be put to task in challenging environments, has the computing power to be able to handle most programs expected to be run on it and a battery life that should keep engineers working through even the longest of days.
If your engineers need a reliable device, with good processing power, out of the office enviroment the F5m is definitely worth a closer look.
Field Service News is published by 1927 Media Ltd, an independent publisher whose sole focus is on the field service sector. As such our entire resources are focused on helping drive the field service sector forwards and aiming to best serve our industry through honest, incisive and innovative media coverage of the global field service sector.
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