The 2011 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 31 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
Group Mobile has always liked the DynaVue® display technology introduced by General Dynamics Itronix for the sunlight readability. Now, GD Itronix has introduced the GD8200 fully rugged laptop with DynaVue II technology with an even better outdoor contrast ratio. Panasonic also upped the NITs (a measure of brightness) in their Toughbook 31, so it continues to be our number one choice, with the GD Itronix GD8200 a very close second.
But to be totally fair, the Getac B300 laptop and the Getac V100 and V200 fully rugged convertible models with the upgrade to Getac's QuadraClear display technology 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 GD Itronix GD8200
Link to Panasonic Toughbook 31
Link to Getac B300
Link to Getac V100
Link to Getac V200
BEST Wireless Fully Rugged Laptop
It’s a tie between the Panasonic Toughbook 31 and the GD Itronix GD8200. 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 GD8200 from Itronix wins this battle hands-down. The GPS is the high-accuracy to 1 meter (3 feet) variety and they have implemented a quadrifilar helix antenna 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
Both the Toughbook 53 and the Getac S400 are less than $2,000 (OK, we had a two-way tie on this one).
BEST Lightweight Ultra-Slim Business-Rugged Laptop
The Toughbook S10 is one of the smallest and lightest ruggedized laptop ever made, yet is powerful and feature-rich. It weighs less than 3lbs. Another great alternative is the slim and light Toughbook F9. The Toughbook F9 has enhanced features such as a sleek black outer casing, 2GB of RAM, a long battery life, and an integrated carrying handle for convenient transport. It is one of the world's lightest full-size laptops and weighs only 3.7 pounds.
Link to Panasonic Toughbook S10
Link to Panasonic Toughbook F9
BEST Outdoor Display in a Semi-Rugged Laptop
This category is a little more difficult to pick a winner. The Getac S400 has 14-inch (1366 x 768) TFT display that works well in all lighting conditions. It can be upgraded to a 700 NIT sunlight readable LED touchscreen display with multi-touch technology for even greater outdoor visibility and versatility. The 14-inch (1366 x 768) LED sunlight-viewable display with optional touchscreen on the Toughbook 53 is also very impressive for outdoor use. The GD-Itronix GD6000, 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 new GD4000 with a 14-inch high definition, sunlight-readable display promises to be another winner in this category in the coming year.
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. For primary outdoor use, the Getac S400 or the Toughbook 53 are winners.
Link to Getac S400
Link to Panasonic Toughbook 53
Link to GD-Itronix GD6000
Link to GD4000
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 PCs. One group was commercial tablet PCs made for primarily for hallway warriors, cube dwellers, and meeting monsters. The second category was fully or even ultra rugged tablet PCs, made for those field folks who work in the worst environmental conditions and require almost a nuclear-weapon-proof computer. Then, companies like Motion Computing started manufacturing semi-rugged tablet PCs. This classification of 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 F5v and J3500 represent a terrific solution.
Most Rugged Tablet PC
The rugged tablet PCs 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 iX104C5 and iX104C5 Lite are "ingress protection rated" at IP65. 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.
Best Bargain in a Rugged Tablet PC
In 2011, Group Mobile extended its product offerings to include the WebDT line of economical, rugged tablet computers from DT Research, Inc. These tablets rugged tablets provide a strong and flexible mobile computing platform at a very affordable price. They offer vibrant touch displays and high performance, yet energy-efficient Intel® Atom™ processors within slim, light, and durable housings. These tablets perform in a variety of working conditions — on the sales floor, in the warehouse, in the classroom, and in the field. With DT Research’s rugged tablets, users can choose between Microsoft® Windows® Embedded Standard 7, Windows 7 Professional, Windows XP Embedded, Windows XP Pro for Embedded Systems, or Linux operating systems. DT Research tablets feature options for RFID, smart card, and magnetic stripe readers, barcode scanners, and integrated cameras. These versatile tablets also offer Wi-Fi 802.11 wireless connectivity to enhance work efficiency.
Lightest Fully Rugged Tablet PC
Even though the General Dynamics Itronix GD3080 is lightweight and only weighs 4lbs., the E100 rugged tablet comes in at a full 1lb less… only 3lbs for this rugged tablet from Getac! And it meets the MIL-STD 810G requirements for ruggedness. Another great feature of the E100 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 for a fully rugged tablet PC with all the features one needs.
Most Versatile Fully Rugged Tablet PC
We like the GD3080 from General Dynamics Itronix in this category. There are several reasons why it wins the most versatile award. First, 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 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 GD3080 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 31, the best selling rugged computer on the planet.
Getac also offers the V100 and V200 convertible tablet PCs. They both come standard with the Intel Core i7 processor and a 1200 NIT sunlight-viewable touchscreen display, not to mention Getac's five-year bumper-to-bumper warranty! Customer reviews have been quite positive over the past year on these two convertibles.
All seem to fine machines with the powerful advantage of the functionality of both a laptop and a tablet computer.
Best Bargain in a Fully Rugged UMPC
The Toughbook U1 Ultra 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 a 6000 nit sunlight viewable display that automatically adjusts screen brightness to fit its environment, anti-reflective screen treatment, touchscreen LCD, SD card slot, USB port, and Bluetooth. Some popular upgrade options are integrated mobile broadband, integrated GPS, 2 megapixel camera, barcode readers, and expansion module.
The Toughbook U1 is also very durable. Rated IP65 and MIL-STD-810G 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 PDAs
Group Mobile offers several leading brands of handhelds, including Trimble, Unitech, and Getac. Trimble seems to be the leader in this category with the Nomad 900 Series and the Recon, however all of the computers Group Mobile carries in this category have specific benefits depending on your application and work environment.
Link to Trimble Handhelds
Link to Getac Handhelds
Link to Unitech Handhelds
BEST Place to Buy a Mobile Computer
Why, Group Mobile, of course!
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