April/May 2002

The dividing line between industrial data terminals and consumer PDAs (personal digital assistants) looks like becoming even less clearly defined if and when a new device from Datalogic hits the market.

Datalogic focuses on industrial data-gathering systems, but is actually calling this new product the Datalogic PDA, making its "crossover" market positioning fairly clear. It's not available yet; was trailed as a "concept device" at the CeBIT show in Hanover this spring. But it could be a taste of things to come.

Targeting mobile solutions specifically, the device will be easily adaptable to a wide range of standard and emerging applications. The company says it will provide state-of-the-art reading technologies, wireless communications, and compatibility with a range of hardware and software platforms. Other features include a large, bright colour display and high-capacity batteries.

 

Altogether closer to the here and now is the company's DL8600, a brand-new industrial palmtop terminal belonging to its mobile@work family. This is a tough, key-based Palm terminal for capturing data or in the warehouse or factory and wirelessly downloading it in real time to a host computer.

• Datalogic has also announced several other new products, including the enhanced Dragon, a pistol-grip laser reader; and the Star System, a comprehensive narrow-band local-area networking system. Details on page 24.