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Captec is pleased to announce the agreement of a new strategic partnership with Getac, one of the world’s leading providers of rugged mobile computing solutions.

The new relationship demonstrates Captec’s commitment to the in-vehicle sector, and will see it gain access to Getac’s fully rugged tablet range to deliver reliable usage in critical working environments.

By combining Getac’s tablets with its end-to-end installation service, Captec will deliver complete solutions for in-vehicle applications, optimised for reliability, safety and performance.

Captec’s service comprises tablet sourcing, customisation, vehicle auditing, installation and comprehensive through-life technical servicing and support.

With in-depth experience of in-vehicle applications, Captec can integrate Getac mobile tablet computers into any service vehicle, regardless of make or model. Captec supports applications in a wide range of industries including emergency services, field services and defence.

Successful Captec and Getac deployments already include a waste management application, saving a customer time, money and inconvenience by reducing unnecessary vehicle recalls.

Peter Molyneux, Director of Sales, Captec, said: “Getac’s fully rugged solutions enhance our ability to satisfy specific mobile user demands in critical working environments, whilst lowering the total cost of ownership over the life of projects.”

This new relationship is the latest in a line of strategic agreements that benefit the in-vehicle market. Chris Bye, President, Getac, said: “Getac’s recent expansion has been built through working with an exceptional group of partners, organisations that genuinely provide value to their customers.

“Captec’s capabilities through engineering heritage epitomises this and its experience in customising solutions specifically to customer requirements, building on our durable, reliable and secure mobile platforms, is exceptional.”

This new relationship is the latest in a line of strategic agreements that benefit the in-vehicle market. Partnerships have already been tied up with industry leaders including Gamber-Johnson and Havis, as Captec grows and enhances its capabilities in this specialised sector.

Find out more about Captec’s end-to-end vehicle installation service here.

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In part one of this exclusive interview with rugged specialist manufacturer Getac's UK president Peter Molyneux we looked at how long we can expect a rugged device to last as well as whether Microsoft could return to power in the mobile arena. Now in the concluding part we look at how the rise of tablets has changed the landscape for rugged devices, whether there is still a future for rugged laptops and why Molyneux thinks that BYOD just won't work...

One of the major changes in mobile computing across the last decade has been the rise of tablets themselves. This has led to a number of Getac’s competitors, perhaps most notably Panasonic appearing to shift focus away from their traditional fare of rugged notebooks and laptops. However, this isn’t the case for Getac.

When pushed on whether there is still a market for the rugged laptops Molyneux reacted with a clear belief that there is still plenty of space in the market for laptops, tablets and of course their lovechild the convertible.

“We are very committed to continue to develop our fully rugged notebook range” he states effusively “The B110, B100 and the X500 all fully rugged and we are continuing to push them”

“We have just won a couple of large projects (with rugged laptops) in Europe but we’re finding that our main competitor are not doing the same. Now that may mean they are focussing on tablets as their primary offering from here on but we are continuing to develop our Android platforms, we will continue to develop our windows 7 and 8 platforms and we will continue to develop our Laptop platforms so we can keep that broadness open.”

“The question may be will we continue to support Win Mobile and ther I’d say probably. But certainly rugged notebooks and rugged tablets of all form factors and both OS’s we will continue to develop” Molyneux added

In fact Field Service News ran a feature earlier this year asking if we were seeing the Death of the Rugged Laptop and our conclusion was that whilst rugged tablets may well become the form of choice, there is still very much a need for rugged laptops especially when large amounts of data input is required. Molyneux echoed these sentiments alos.

“Although you are right to say there is still very much a market for rugged notebooks, tablets have certainly taken some of the fully rugged notebook market. However, the main impact will be on the 3.5” win mobile market. Even in transport logistics they’re thinking of tablets now. Frankly the performance and cost of tablets is much better compared to the older 3.5 inch mobile computer.”

Having touched earlier on the consumerisation of mobile workforce and now discussing perhaps the end of line of the handheld computer the conversation began to lead inevitably to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) which has been a topic of conversation for a number of years but has failed to materialise into the major trend it was anticipated to be.

 

“Openly speaking I have seen the subject around for the last three years.” opens Molyneux  “Maybe it’s because I’m slightly separate from that community but I have yet to come across an actual BYOD project. I do think it is an opportunity but in my mind the reliability, the replacement cycle, the insurance, the security risk I still think there is a lot of unanswered questions.”

He stops for a moment as if confirming his thought process before continuing “When you are looking at mainstream IT in the field, I think there could be a need for something in perhaps the lower demand area, something running on a  HTML5 basis where someone just needs to see something…” he says as he ponders the concept a moment before reaffirming his initial thoughts “…but in a critical working environment like delivering gas, water, electricity or delivering facilities management in a nuclear production plant I can’t see how BYOD can fit.”

“I’m open to be told I’m wrong,” he continues  “But I’ve seen this approach being presented and reviewed and a full BYOD deployment is a very tough call for an IT infrastructure.” He adds.

However, whilst BYOD might not be something Molyneux sees happening on a major scale anytime school there is a related trend that he does think we may see.

“Coming from the other side, we are hearing from a customer perspective, especially from local government that they are looking to roll out devices to their workforce that can be used for both business and pleasure.”

“There are many benefits to this…” he continues  “To cite an old statistic I heard when Blackberry first released launched, you would see an increase in 25% in productivity per user beause they takes the device home and work. It’s true and we all fell for that one! Have a Blackberry and work more and now it’s common practice to be at home working tapping away whether it’s on your iPhone or a rugged computer. Look at the way Microsoft are marketing their devices now – we all do it these days we all take our work home”

“Also of course another additional soft benefit is that is that the device is yours so you look after it more. Which is another major positive for businesses and one which I don’t think would be particularly hard to map in terms of seeing a tangible return on investment.”

So whilst Molyeux doesn’t see a future for BYOD he does see an exciting prospect in a similar concept but in reverse.

“Absolutely – reverse BYOD is definitely on the cards” he agrees “we just need to put our heads together to think of a decent new acronym now"

Following on from the launch of a 7inch Android tablet last year, Getac have now launched a fully rugged 8 inch tablet that runs Windows 8.1. Field Service News spoke exclusively with Peter Molyneux about the new launch and Getac’s approach to creating the new device. 

“Up until now Windows fully rugged tablets have been larger in size 10 inches plus” comments Peter Molyneux, President of Getac UK.

However, his company have just set a new precedent with the launch of their new tablet. The Getac T800 is slim, lightweight and a nicely compact 8.1 inches, making it small enough to fit into a pocket.  However, it is also fully ruggedized to military standards meeting both MIL-STD 810G and IP65 standards.

With tablet devices now very much in the mainstream thanks in large to the rise in popularity of firstly Apple’s iPad and then more recently a raft of Android based devices from numerous manufacturers, the consumerisation of technology is now a major factor for the field service industry. This is not lost on Getac.

“There is a strong influence to our design on the consumerisation of the markets…” says Molyneux “…the demand from the market is that they want a tablet computer that has really got the performance and interface they have gotten used to in the consumer market place.” He adds.

In fact the speed at which we as consumers have embraced tablet computing is often forgotten, so quickly have tablets become a staple part of life. Similarly the speed at which devices are developed can also seem breathtakingly fast.

“If you start from the beginning and move to mass production taking a rugged tablet to market will take about 15 to 18 months – you can do it faster, but that is a sensible timeframe” Molyneux states.

Keeping pace with the latest technology trends

Of course, such rapid development of technology does mean that yesterday’s cutting edge is looking outdated today. Something that Molyneux and his colleagues at Getac fully understand.

“We could put our V100 magnesium alloy tablet on the table and the customers would say that’s old tech, the perception is ‘we want something new’”

In fact the switch away from magnesium alloy to a plastic compound is one of the big factors in the T800’s more consumeresque feel. This in itself presents a challenge to manufacturers of rugged devices.

“When we brought our new products to market we had to change the material, magnesium alloy is very good for thermal management and is a very rugged material but we have had to change to a plastic compound. This means all the manufacturing processes have to change, the machines have to change, the tooling is different etc” Molyneux explains

Getac's competitive advantage

However, this is in fact where Getac have a particular advantage over their competitors.

“We are very fortunate as a company that within the Getac Corporation we have companies that specialise in designing and manufacturing enclosures of all material types, magnesium alloys, plastics etc. So because we have companies within our group that are experts in each field, we are able to design and bring the latest technologies and trends to our computer design” he continues.

Yet it doesn’t matter how robust a device is, if its performance levels are not sufficient, then there is little point in having the device at all.  Again the mass consumerisation of technology leads to greater expectations, and again this is something Getac factor highly into their thinking when developing a new product.

Molyneux points to the fact that perhaps five years ago rugged technology was generally behind consumer in terms of processing power by a couple of years at least. However, today, lower powered processors (Molyneux cites Intel in particular) have meant that rugged tablets and netbooks have been able to move forward to equal most systems, whilst also allowing for more slimline designs for fully rugged devices such as the T800

Indeed such advances in chip-ware have allowed Getac to build rugged devices that operate at the very top of the technology scale. Align this to the fact that the company manufactures all components itself, from motherboard to chassis (a holistic approach which enables them to factor ruggedity at each stage of the design) and you have a company capable of producing something as sophisticated, sleek and durable as the T800.

In fact it is part of Getac’s ethos to constantly deliver their customers with devices that are cutting edge technology.

“We are staying very much with the latest tech.” Molyneux enthuses “For the longest life and the best performance.  We have the opportunity to take new technology to the customers and we are quite unique in what we do in that we offer the very latest spec without compromising on offering full military standard ruggedity”

If you want to know more about the Getac's latest fully rugged tablet you can read our overview of the device here 

Getac will also be appearing at this year’s Service Management Expo and will be giving a presentation in the Field Service Solutions Theatre at the event which is hosted by Field Service News.

To get your free of charge, three day pass to this years Service Management Expo held in Excel London, simply click this link and enter the promotion code 'Field Service News'

 

 

Global designer and manufacturer of rugged computing technology, Getac, is launching a new tablet designed specifically to boost productivity for mobile workers, the 8.1" Windows 8 Getac T800.

The thin and light Windows OS device has been designed based on demands from mobile workers from Utilities, Field Services and Public Safety sectors. Getac has responded to those demands by developing a device that offers all the power, performance and usability of a high-quality consumer device, without compromising on the tablet’s full ruggedisation.

With its 8.1" screen, the optimal screen size for Windows 8, a thickness of 24mm and weighing just 0.88kg, the innovative T800 is small enough to fit in a pocket or your hand, but still offers all the power and performance a remote worker needs.

Getac’s unique SnapBack expansion system allows users to add expansions to the T800 such as an extra battery, increasing the operation use to greater than 16 hours. An additional SnapBack expansion is a 2-in-1 RFID and Smart Card Reader. Mobile workers will also benefit from the fully rugged design which has MIL-STD 810G and IP65 ratings, meaning the device can handle shock, drops and vibration to military grades while also being sealed against dust and water.

The 8.1" screen is built with LumibondTM, Getac’s proprietary screen technology that offers excellent touch control and sunlight readability, without compromising battery performance.

Peter Molyneux, Getac UK President says: “The T800 gives the best performance of any fully rugged Windows 8 tablet in the market today. Our customers have given us tremendous feedback on the T800’s thin and light design, while offering high levels of integration and field performance. We always target to give our customers the latest in fully rugged computer technology with no compromise on performance, and again we feel confident we have achieved this in the T800.”

Powered by the latest quad-core Intel N3530 2.16 GHz processor, the T800 also provides unparalleled connectivity and can be configured with 4G LTE cellular data with an auto tunable 8-band antenna capable of quickly switching between bands. It also includes the latest 802.11ac WiFi for data transfer speeds up to 3 times faster than 802.11n products. The T800’s optional SiRFstarIV GPS offers double search capacity, faster location positioning and improved accuracy.

Key features:

• 16 GHz processor,
• Windows 7, Windows 8.1 OS
• Tablet size: 227 x 151 x 24mm; 8.1" screen
• Weight: 880g
• Multi-touch display
• 64 GB / 128 GB SSD
• SiRFstarIV™ GPS
• Fully Rugged
• MIL-STD 810G, IP65
• Ultrafast Wifi Connection: 802.11 ac
• Strong Connectivity
• in-house patented 3D antenna design
• SnapBack expandability: 2-in-1 Smart Card Reader & RFID, or second Battery
• Battery life: 8 hours / 16 hours with SnapBack Battery
• Tri RF pass-through (WWAN & WLAN & GPS)

Look out for our exclusive interview with Getac's Peter Molyneux discussing this exciting new launch and rugged technology as a whole coming very soon...