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Motion Computing on June 22 rolled out its latest Tablet PC, the J3500, a unit geared toward the health care industry as well as other verticals such as construction that require rugged mobile devices for field service applications.
The rugged design of the J3500 makes it suitable for harsher environments, such as a hospital where it may be moved around, bumped and dropped, Motion Computing spokesperson Mary Anne Gunn told eWEEK. The J3500 Tablet PC meets MIL-STD-810G and IP-52 ratings to guard against bumps, drops and rain. It can also withstand a spritz or two from sanitizing cleansers.
The J3500, which sells for a starting price of $2,299, features Corning’s scratch-resistant Gorilla glass, which provides up to four times the breakage resistance of standard displays, and new antismear coating for enhanced visibility.
“Corning’s Gorilla glass was designed specifically for products like the Motion tablets, which are focused on durability, mobility and industry-leading displays that offer a bright viewing experience in a highly portable and durable design,” James E. Hollis, commercial director for Corning Specialty Materials, said in a statement. “Additionally, since Gorilla glass is strong and also damage and scratch resistant, it further protects pen-input devices that are often exposed to elements such as water and dust.”
Doctors can write out e-prescriptions on the tablet using the digitizer and touch capabilities as if they were using a clipboard,. They can also access electronic medical records (EMRs), Gunn noted. In addition, the device includes technology that enables the unit to distinguish between intentional and false touch.
With the usual concerns of privacy that come along with EMRs, the remote management and security provided by Intel’s Core vPro processor will be useful in the medical field and in the enterprise, Gunn explained. The unit’s hard drive comes with fully manageable encryption, and Intel’s Anti-Theft and Computrace security technology protect the unit if it’s lost or stolen.
A 3.5mm documentation camera on the back of the unit can snap pictures of patients and drop them into the record. The J3500 runs on either Windows 7 or XP.
Tablet PCs such as the Apple iPad and the Motion models could have a big future in the health care industry, delivering convenient, real-time access to patient’s information in the doctor’s hand – and with a screen larger than those of smartphones.
In a survey conducted shortly after the Jan. 27 introduction of the Apple iPad, Epocrates, a provider of mobile and Web-based medical tools, reported that nearly 20 percent of clinicians surveyed planned to buy an iPad. Motion Computing is seeking to answer that demand with devices designed specifically to serve the needs of health care professionals.
Motion Computing also offers the Motion C5v tablet featuring the Intel Mobile Clinical Assistant architecture. The C5v has an optional barcode scanner and RFID reader for patient identification. The unit also features Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities to support access to patient EMRs at the point of care.