April/May 2002

OUR IMPRESSION

This is the first product review in the first issue of a new magazine, so the last thing we want you to think is that we're a soft touch ­ easily seduced by the latest upgrade, gizmo or whatever. We're not, of course, but maybe we should have picked a different product, because there's no getting round the fact that the Itronix GoBookMAX is an impressive piece of kit.

Itronix describes the GoBookMAX as an ultra-rugged notebook, designed for remote field service workers, telecoms companies, utilities. Time was when to get that sort of toughness, you'd have to sacrifice good looks. Not any more, thanks to the die-cast magnesium construction. The GoBookMAX almost demands the car analogy loved by some IT pundits. At just 2in thick it is slim, has a sleek, silver coloured chassis (casing to you and me), a surprisingly fast turn of speed and enough communication ports to keep even Jeremy Clarkson busy. The integral carrying handle adds to its good looks. You don't have to treat it with loving care ­ even picking it up at one end won't damage the metal hinges, which have been designed for 30,000 plus openings.

Indeed, Itronix says the GoBookMAX sets new standards in ruggedness, going beyond the military specification test (MIL-SPEC in the US) to which many equipment makers subject their notebooks in order to demonstrate their toughness. One of the key military tests is the drop test. Notebooks have to survive 26 one-metre drops on to concrete, but makers are allowed to use up to five notebooks to achieve that result. Only one GoBookMAX was used, and it was dropped 54 times, on all sides, open and closed, even with the computer on. It can resist direct exposure to 4 inches of blowing rain per hour ­ apparently equivalent to a typhoon. The waterproofing features are so robust, says Itronix, the notebook can be decontaminated and washed down after being used around flammable or hazardous materials.

 

No wonder it challenges buyers to "Drop it, pound it, drench it."

The bright 800x600 screen is very readable even in full sunlight, thanks to Itronix's ColorVue anti-glare screen. You can input data via the full-sized NiteVue QWERTY keyboard. The keys are made from phosphorescent white plastic, so the black letters stand out at night. Alternatively, enter commands with one of the two styli integrated in the keyboard or use the two touchpads.

In the past, users of ruggedised computers have often had to compromise on wired and wireless communications links, or carry around a plethora of ancillary devices. With GoBookMAX you are almost spoilt for choice. The notebook accepts GSM/GPRS, wireless LAN 802.11b and Bluetooth. It has a built-in, full-feature radio bay equipped with a 56k V.90 fax/modem as standard with a combined modem and 10/100Mb Ethernet LAN card optional.

Itronix's Common Radio Module Architecture, or CRMA (pronounced "karma", which is perhaps what it should induce) enables users to swap wireless modems or switch networks in the field, and is designed to make upgrading to later wireless technology simple.

The Pentium III 700 MHz CPU may seem slow by desktop PC standards, but is more than sufficient for most notebook applications.

The battery life is over four hours and you can hot-swap it. Hot-swapping is a useful feature because you don't have to interrupt whatever you are doing and close the notebook down to change batteries.

OUR VERDICT

Good looks combined with more ruggedness than your average field service engineer. Truly an object of desire.

Product Evaluation: Mobile Inspector digital forms avantgo

OUR IMPRESSION

Making a reality of a paperless office for field workers is one of the claims made for the latest generation of wireless devices. The need to capture, record and transmit data has not gone away, however: digital forms simply replace paper ones.

m.logistics has had a demonstration of an application designed to make creation and deployment of such digital forms as easy as possible. As its name suggests, Avantgo's Mobile Inspection application was originally developed for field inspectors, but the company says it can easily be adapted to any field service sector. It's an application for PDAs, and runs under both Pocket PC and Palm OS operating systems.

So how easy is it to use?

Well, for a start, no IT skills are required. You can design and deploy forms for your field workers on an office PC, using the supplied Inspection Management Console desktop software. There's no need to call in the IT people to create the database that will capture the information on the form ­ Mobile Inspector does that automatically as you design the form.

Avantgo is particularly proud of this function, which it says is unique and is a crucial element in enabling managers to customise forms and change them when circumstances demand. It also means you can gradually introduce the concept of the paperless office to your field staff as they become more familiar with the technology.

Once you start trying to create a form in Mobile Inspector, it becomes clear that Avantgo has thought long and hard about the myriad tasks an inspector might have to complete and possible responses and outcomes. It has then provided the means to capture the data digitally and display any relevant information.

You can make your own determination of the order in which tasks are to be done, and you can include drop-down menus, digital check boxes, text fields, a scribble pad for notes and freeform drawings. You can display corporate data in the background ­ giving access to site and customer history, procedure guidelines, safety codes and regulations. Advanced inputs include barcode scanning, signature and image capture. Safeguards can be included to prevent the inspector transmitting the form unless key fields have been filled.

The software is very user-friendly. You can start completely from scratch, or use one of the model forms and edit it by adding or subtracting fields. Editing the forms is so easy, we'd advise using a template to start with because it helps you identify those fields which are actual musts and those which have no relevance. Any form changes are automatically downloaded to the handheld devices whenever the engineer logs in to the system.

OUR VERDICT

A user-friendly application that could be a valuable time-saver in the transition from paper to digital working.