PDA gives smartphones a run for their money
ProductFebruary 04, 2011
Alice Moss
Military Embedded Systems
Chris A. Ciufo
General Micro Systems, Inc.
While smartphones are all the rage in the consumer arena, mobile PDAs are extremely popular on the battlefield. Handheld US is stepping into the picture with its Nautiz X3 ruggedized PDA, which measures 150 x 67 x 23 mm and tips the scale at less than 260 grams.
While smartphones are all the rage in the consumer arena, mobile PDAs are extremely popular on the battlefield. Handheld US is stepping into the picture with its Nautiz X3 ruggedized PDA, which measures 150 x 67 x 23 mm and tips the scale at less than 260 grams. Complying with MIL-STD-810G and rated to IP65, the PDA withstands temps of -20 °C to +60 °C and survives drops from 1.8 meters. Its compass, altimeter, built-in GPS, and G-sensor make it ideal for field ops, as does its 2.8" outdoor-viewing-optimized touchscreen. The PDA also runs from a 3300 mAh Li-Ion battery capable of rendering a full workday’s worth of viewing without needing recharging.
But what’s inside counts, too. Powered by an X-Scale processor at 806 MHz, Nautiz X3 comes with 512 MB flash memory and 256 MB RAM. And the PDA offers several handy features: a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash/autofocus, Bluetooth, WLAN, and 3G cellular. For imagery, a 1D laser scanner is provided as standard, and a 2D imager option is also available. These features are enabled via the Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional operating system. All in all, the PDA is designed to go “beyond a smartphone,” the company says.
