May/June 2004

A new, slimline wireless handheld terminal called the Milan 8500 series has been added to the Belgravium range. Its features include "triple radio" connectivity (Wi-Fi, tri-band GSM/GPRS phone and Bluetooth) and an integrated image scanner capable of taking digital photographs.

The 8500 is built round a 400MHz Intel X-Scale processor, and comes with 64MB of RAM and 32MB non-volatile Flash RAM. The standard operating system is Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 Professional Edition.

It is available with a quarter VGA colour TFT display or monochrome display with industrial-grade touch screen, and an integrated pistol-grip handle is provided as standard. There are three backlit keyboard options - 35-key numeric-shifted alpha, 43-key alpha-shifted numeric, and 56-key full alphanumeric. Lithium-ion battery technology is said to give extended battery between charges.

Belgravium is pitching the 8500 at a wide range of operations including barcode scanning, signature capture, taking photos, and wireless communication with vendors and despatchers. It says the range is ideal for applications such as field service, package delivery, van sales, warehousing, retail, industrial, and manufacturing.