March/April 2005

Belgravium has joined the ranks of data capture specialists offering ruggedised tablet computers as part of their range.

The company's stylish new Vienna 3000 Series is described as a "web tablet", which makes plain that the company sees its wireless connectivity as a key feature. As potential markets, it cites retail, healthcare, warehousing, home networking, manufacturing, logistics support and field service. Home networking, incidentally, would put it in an interesting new market if there were significant take-up.

First things first - it's a Windows CE product, running under CE .NET via an Intel XScale 400 MHz processor. The screen is a large 10.4in TFT high-brightness 800 by 600 LCD display, with built-in resistive touch panel. There are four direction keys and five customisable keys on the bezel.

Memory is a generous 128MB of SDRAM, supported by 32MB of flash ROM on a removable module.

 

Wireless connectivity is provided by 802.11b on a PC Card. There are also numerous other ports, including a CompactFlash, two USB type A (plus a USB Type B for synching with a PC), RJ-45 Ethernet, two PS/2, IrDA, mini-VGA, and audio in and out.

The Vienna is said to meet industry requirements for ruggedness and resistance to harsh environments including dust and spill damage. The housing is built in magnesium alloy, and internal components have shock-resistant mountings. The vibration/chock rating is IEC 68-2-27.

The battery is said to give eight hours' working time on a single charge.