April/May 2008

Getac, the rugged mobile computer specialist, is among the latest in its field to launch a compact, PDA-like handheld terminal for mobile workers.

The company actually refers to the PS535E as a fully-rugged PDA rather than a handheld. Certainly it lives up to the name, measuring under 145mm by 82mm and 29.3mm deep, and coming in at a weight of only 300g.

As standard the unit comes with a Samsung 400MHz processor, 64MB of flash memory and 2GB of embedded memory storage, upgradeable to 6GB for memory-hungry GIS applications.

It also comes equipped with built-in GPS, as well as integrated Bluetooth and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi wireless networking capability.

Something you won't find on all rugged PDAs is Getac's Sunlight Readable Technology, which has been used to make the 3.5in quarter-VGA touch-screen display easier to read in bright daylight conditions.

From the point of view of durability, the unit meets the MIL-STD-810F standard for robustness and IP54 requirements for dust and water resistance.