eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
Motion Computing has introduced its CL900 ultralight, rugged tablet PC for the health care, construction, retail and other service industries.
Announced on Jan. 5 from the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, the CL900 will be available in the second quarter of 2011 for under $1,000.
The tablet features Intel’s Oak Trail Atom processor, which provides the mix of productivity and battery life as well as security and manageability suitable for business users, according to Motion.
“Motion’s latest tablet is a perfect example of the power and productivity available in enterprise-based mobility solutions,” Ren??« Torres, director of marketing for Intel’s netbook and tablet group, said in a statement. “With the power and performance of our upcoming ‘Oak Trail’ Intel Atom processor, along with the mobility and durability of the CL900, Motion is delivering an ideal productivity tool for workers on the move.”
Intel’s Oak Trail CPU will also power tablets such as new Fujitsu Windows 7 and Android tablets, also announced this week at CES, Engadget reports.
With its light weight of 2.1 pounds and 8 hours of battery life, the CL900 is suitable for doctors as they move around all day from room to room. In addition, the IP-52 rated exterior surface makes the CL900 ideal for a rugged environment such as a hospital and protects the device from dust and liquids.
Corning Gorilla Glass makes the 10-inch screen scratch resistant, and DuPont’s Vertak bonding technology boosts visibility for varying amounts of light. Vertak also allows the screen to withstand impact, extreme temperatures and vibration, according to DuPont, a developer of science products and services.
The CL900 conforms to the MIL-STD-810G military specification for durability and passed a 4-foot drop test, according to Motion. In addition to hospital environments, the rugged CL900 could withstand drops from a hospital bed, workbench or back of a truck, the company reports.
And with no moving parts, the unit’s 30GB or 62GB SSD (solid-state drive) will suit the mobile worker well.
In addition, physicians can input EHRs (electronic health records) using either touch or stylus and view X-rays, MRIs and other medical images on the tablet’s large screen.
“The new CL900 is a perfect complement to Motion’s existing tablets that have proven to increase clinician productivity and documentation processes through reliable, integrated access to patient data at the point of care,” Mike Stinson, Motion’s vice president of marketing, wrote in an e-mail to eWEEK.
In June 2010, Motion unveiled a larger rugged tablet, the 12.1-inch J3500, that can function as a notebook replacement. The J3500 model features an Intel Core vPro CPU, which provides remote management and security features.
With companies able to run existing applications on the CL900, they’re able to lower their costs of deployment, Motion reports.
The unit comes with up to 2GB of RAM and measures less than 16mm thick. A peripheral module supports add-ons such as a magnetic stripe reader or fingerprint reader for security.
Wireless connectivity includes Bluetooth, wireless LAN and Gobi 3000 3G mobile broadband.
Patients who can’t get to a medical facility can use the tablet’s front and rear cameras to hold telehealth videoconferences with doctors.
With their big touch screens, tablets such as the Apple iPad and upcoming RIM BlackBerry PlayBook could become ubiquitous in hospitals and field services.
Approximately 1 in 4 doctors and dentists plan to purchase a tablet PC within the next year, according to a report by CompTIA, a nonprofit IT trade association.