Taiwan-based Samwell Group is a global technology solutions provider concentrating on the convergence of Internet, computing, and telecom technologies and software applications. "RUGGEDBOOK" is Samwell's brand name for their complete line of semi-rugged and fully rugged mobile computing products that include rugged convertible notebooks, ultra-mobile PCs, and Tablet PCs such as the RUGGEDBOOK Rugged Tablet PC 750 shown here.
Samwell showed the Rugged Tablet PC 750 at the 2012 Computex in Taipei (June 5 to 9, 2012) as a tablet-based computing solution for field service, health care, hospitality, logistics, transportation an utilities.
What is the RUGGEDBOOK 750, and what makes it special? At a time where everyone is struggling to create a sleek and slender iPad competitor, the Ruggedbook 750 is simply a rugged Tablet PC, nothing more and nothing less. It's over an inch thick (and more with its protective bumpers), and weighs almost three pounds. This is not a gleaming media tablet to stick in a briefcase. It is a rugged tablet tool for jobs out there in the field.
Now let's take a closer look at the 750. The device measures 10.8 x 7.8 x 1.1 inches and has a 10.4-inch TFT display with LED backlight. Display resolution is 1024 x 768 pixels, which means it uses the same standard 4:3 aspect ratio, and not a wide format display. It is interesting how the narrower display format, which seemed headed for extinction, has come back and now looks "right" again (after all, tens of millions of iPads use that same format). And standard XGA resolution means the 750 display works great with tons of software designed for this format.
Unlike media tablets and smartphones, the 750 uses a conventional resistive touch screen that can be operated with a stylus or finger. That means no effortless panning and zooming as you can do on procap touch screens, but it also means the 750 display can be used in the rain and with gloves on. And the device has no fewer than eight programmable hardware function buttons that can be used to call up and operate frequently used applications.
For operation and storage, the RUGGEDBOOK 750 tablet comes with four GB of DDR3 RAM memory and 32GB of solid state storage. There is also a SDHC card slot if more is needed.
Samwell's choice of the Intel Atom N2600 processor for the Ruggedbook 750 is a wise one. This processor is a successor to the N270 chip that powered millions of netbooks, and its N450 sucessor that had integrated graphics. The new "Cedar Trail" N2600 is a dual-core design with twice the L2 cache of the N450, twice the graphics clock speed, and faster DDR3 memory. Thanks to the 32nm process technology and additional power conservation measures, the N2600 has a maximum thermal design power of just 3.5 watts, considerably less than the 5.5 watts of the N450. The NM10 Express chipset is miserly as well, with a TDP of just 2.1 watts, making for a combined CPU/chipset maximum draw of just 5.6 watts. As a result, Intel's promo materials predicted "up to 10 hours of battery life on portable devices." While we haven't had a chance to test the Ruggedbook 750 yet, we benchmarked the Atom N2600 in another device and came away impressed.
In terms of connectivity, the 750 comes with four USB 2.0 ports, an RS232 serial port, VGA, RJ45 LAN and, of course, audio and microphone jacks. The device has two 2-megapixel cameras, one rear-facing for documentation, one front-facing for webcam duty. 5-megapixel cameras are optional.
For communication, the 750 includes Bluetooth Class II, Version 3.0 with EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) and 802.11b/g/n WiFi. Optionally available are GPS, WWAN, a Smart Card and RFID combo module, PCI-e, and also a USB 3.0 host controller.
This being a RUGGEDBOOK, the 750 is substantially tougher than any consumer media tablet. We don't have all the specs yet, but Samwell lists IP54 sealing (protection against dust and water spray from all sides, albeit with limited ingress permitted), a wide operating temperature range of -4 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 to +50 Celsius), and a three foot drop spec in accordance with MIL-STD-810G. While that is quite respectable and the fanless unit certainly looks tough and rugged with its protected ports and rubber bumpers, Samwell actually calls it "semi-rugged."
If pricing is competitive, and if the ambitious specs all make it into final production units, Samwell will have a very interesting offering indeed.
