The 2008 Group Mobile Best Sellers Guide
Welcome to the BEST OF page. Here we make recommendations based on our opinions and feedback from our customers. Please check back often as these recommendations change with the introduction of new products, new pricing, and as a result of the on-going communication between Group Mobile, our customers and our suppliers.
BEST All-Around Fully Rugged Laptop
It is hard to beat the Toughbook 30 when all things are considered; price, processor, battery life, wireless options, media bay options, display, ability to withstand tough environments, etc.
Most Versatile Fully Rugged Laptop
The Getac A790 has incredible versatility. The customer can choose from a 12”, or 14” display screen. The customer can pick either the touchscreen or non-touchscreen; and between a regular or daylight-readable display. The customer can select additional RS232, RS422, RS485, or SCSI-II ports. One can even add 2 more ISA slots or 2 more PCI slots. And there are other options for this computer as well. This is without question the most “configurable” rugged laptop in the world.
BEST Outdoor Display in a Fully Rugged Laptop
We have always liked the screen that Itronix introduced for the GoBook XR-1. It is a significant improvement over the original display that came with the GoBook III and the customer feedback has been positive. But Panasonic recently upped the NITs (a measure of brightness) in their Toughbook 30 so it has become our number one choice.
But to be totally fair, the GoBook XR-1 and also the Getac M230N and B300 models with the upgrade to hi-bright will also do the trick. The minor differences in outdoor viewability often are not the most important factor in the customer's selection criteria. Size, weight, availability of key features and cost normally outweigh which screen is absolutely the best.
Link to Itronix GoBook XR-1
Link to Panasonic Toughbook 30
Link to Getac M230N
Link to Getac B300
BEST Wireless Fully Rugged Laptop
It’s a tie between the Panasonic Toughbook 30 and the Itronix GoBook XR-1. Both can have Wireless LAN, Wireless WAN (cell phone network), GPS and Bluetooth wireless all at once.
BEST Integrated GPS in a Fully Rugged Laptop
The integrated GPS in the GoBook XR-1 from Itronix wins this battle hands-down. The GPS is the high-accuracy to 1 meter (3 feet) variety and they have implemented a helical antenna into the edges surrounding the display screen that can actually capture signals from 6-10 satellites at once! You basically never lose your signal or your way with this GPS receiver and excellent antenna.
BEST Bargain in a Semi Rugged Laptop
Go for the Toughbook 52 or the Panther 5000 WS as both are less than $2,000 (OK, we had a tie on this one).
BEST Lightweight Ultra-Slim Semi Rugged Laptop
The Toughbook W8 is the smallest and lightest ruggedized laptop ever made, yet is powerful and feature-rich. It weighs in at 3.0lbs. Nuff said.
BEST Outdoor Display in a Semi Rugged Laptop
This category is a little more difficult to pick a winner. The Toughbook 74 has an Indoor/Outdoor display that works well in all lighting conditions, though it is not as bright and easy to read as the new display in the fully-rugged big brother of the Toughbook 74, the Toughbook 30. This is particularly true in direct sunlight. The new GoBook GD6000 from Itronix with its 13.3" outdoor viewable touchscreen display featuring DynaVue™ technology is well-suited for vehicular use as well as outdoor use. And finally, the Panther 5000 WS with the transflective sunlight-readable screen upgrade is the absolute best in full sunlight since the transflective display get brighter as the amount of ambient light increases.
In summary, choosing the ‘best’ outdoor display is a function of intended usage. For pure vehicle use and for mixed vehicle and outdoor use, our choice is the GD6000 or the Toughbook 74, and for primary outdoor use, the Panther 5000 WS is the winner.
Link to Panasonic Toughbook 74
Link to GD-Itronix GD6000
Link to Panther 5000 WS
BEST Multi Media Semi Rugged Laptop
This would be the Toughbook 52 (with bundle upgrade) from Panasonic. It has a large 15.4” display with WUXGA resolution. It comes with 512MB of Video RAM, a Firewire connection for fast uploads/download of photos and other digital files, as well as main memory (RAM) expandable to 4.0GB.
Best Bargain in a Vehicle-Rated Ruggedized Laptop
Check out the General Dynamics-Itronix GD6000. This computer is classified as semi-rugged, since it cannot handle use in a pouring rain, but it has all the features required for use inside a vehicle. Police departments love this unit, for example, for use in their cruisers. And the GD6000 is priced less than a comparable fully-rugged laptop.
Best Semi Rugged Tablet PC
For many years, there only existed two classifications of Tablet PC’s. One group was commercial Tablet PC’s made for primarily for hallway warriors, cube dwellers, and meeting monsters. The second category was fully or even ultra rugged tablet pc’s, made for those field folks who work in the worst environmental conditions and require almost a nuclear-weapon-proof computer. Then Motion Computing announced two semi-rugged tablet pc’s. These tablets can sustain drops and rough handling, offer sunlight-viewable displays, but are not totally sealed and waterproofed. So for those who are in between needing a commercial tablet and a fully-rugged tablet, the Motion F5 and LE1700 represent the ideal solution.
Most Rugged Tablet PC
The rugged tablet pc’s from Xplore Technologies are able to hold up in even the most demanding conditions. Our customers have used these tablets in coal mines, on heavy construction sites, on forklifts, at the north pole…you name it, and they can take a beating and keep on ticking (with apologies to Timex). The rubber bumpers that surround the units are icing on the cake when combined with the tough magnesium casing of the unit itself. The iX104C3 PLUS and iX104C4 are “ingress protection rated” at IP-65. This basically means that nothing from the outside is getting inside the computer to cause problems. The only point of weakness, as is the case with most rugged computers, is the display screen itself. We have had a few come back for screen replacement after the computer was dropped and the display screen came in direct contact with a hard and sharp object. But even this calamity is somewhat mitigated by the hardened glass that Xplore uses in their rugged tablets.
Lightest Fully Rugged Tablet PC
Even though the GD-Itronix Duo-Touch II is lightweight and only weighs 4 lbs., the E-100 rugged tablet comes in at a full 1 lb less…3 lbs only for this new offering from Getac! And it still meets the MIL-STD 810F requirements for ruggedness. Another great feature of the E-100 is the 10-key keypad on the front of the unit. Since field tablet computing often requires collecting data and entering in numbers, this is a great added feature. The price for this unit is not bad either…only $3,195 for a fully rugged tablet pc with all the features one needs.
Most Versatile Fully Rugged Tablet PC
We like the Duo-Touch II from General Dynamics-Itronix in this category. There are several reasons why it wins the most versatile award. First, it isn’t called the Duo-Touch just for fun. Duo-Touch means that the user can toggle back and forth between a finger-touch activated touchscreen and a stylus-touch activated (digitizer-style) touchscreen. This can come in real handy as some applications lend themselves to finger touch, while in a vehicle for example, and other applications work better with the stylus touch, such as filling in a form or collecting a signature.
Secondly, it is small and lightweight. This makes it easy to carry with one hand and also up ladders, down into manholes, into attics, etc. Reason number three: the Dynavue sunlight-readable display means that the computer can be used in all lighting conditions, even in direct sunlight. No more needing to hunt down a source of shade when you need to use your computer. And finally, the Duo-Touch II can support 2 batteries with the clip-on expansion battery supplementing the main battery. You can work all day long without stopping to find an outlet to charge the unit.
BEST Fully Rugged Convertible Tablet-to-Laptop
The Toughbook 19 from Panasonic is the winner here. If you are looking for a rugged Tablet but also need a keyboard for those times when pecking on the screen just won’t suffice, then look at the Toughbook 19. The Toughbook 19 comes in two versions. One version has a traditional ‘finger-touch-activated’ passive touch screen while the Tablet PC version has a ‘stylus-pen-only’ active digitizer touch screen with the ability to hand-write on the screen.
The Toughbook 19 is one of Group Mobile’s best selling products. Our Toughbook 19 unit sales have even approached those of the Toughbook 30, the best selling rugged computer on the planet.
Footnote: Getac recently introduced the V-100 convertible tablet pc. It is very similar to the Panasonic Toughbook 19 in size, weight, price and features. The early reviews are in and they have been quite positive from our customers. We predict the Getac V-100 will give the Toughbook 19 a good run for its money. Both seem to fine machines with the powerful advantage of the functionality of both a laptop and a tablet pc.
Best Bargain in a Fully Rugged UMPC
The new Toughbook U1 from Panasonic is an incredible UMPC (Ultra Mobile Personal Computer) at an incredible price. The U1 is quite versatile for such a small computer. It comes standard with sunlight viewable display, anti-reflective screen treatment, LED backlighting, touchscreen LCD, SD card slot, USB port and Bluetooth. Some popular upgrade options are integrated mobile broadband wireless for use with Sprint, Verizon or AT&T, integrated GPS, 2 megapixel camera, barcode scanner and expansion module.
The Toughbook U1 is also the most rugged computer that Panasonic makes. Rated IP 54 and MIL-STD-810F the Toughbook U1 can take a 4-foot drop, has a magnesium alloy cage chassis, a removable solid state hard drive and a sealed all-weather design that protects the UMPC from rain, spills, dust and vibration.
Best Handheld Computers and Rugged PDA’s
This category of rugged computers is a fairly new one for Group Mobile. We now offer several leading brands of handhelds, including Motorola-Symbol, TDS-Trimble, Roper Mobile, and a new offering from Getac. But it is too early for us to confidently pick any winners. Our initial sales have been brisk in this category, but we have talked to enough users about their real-life experiences using these computers for several months or several years out in the field.
Please check back with us and as we gather more feedback, we will be able to pick the “Best of Group Mobile” in this important category.
BEST Place to Buy a Mobile Computer
Why, Group Mobile, of course!
