July/Aug 2005

If you still run DOS-based handheld computers - notably FS/2 and FS3 models made by the old Husky firm - you may feel time is running out for you in a world characterised by the graphical user interface. However, mobile computer manufacturer Radix is now offering you a way forward: an affordable trade-in for a similarly-specified but more modern alternative.

The company has launched a special version of its FW300 DOS-based handheld computer that is said to offer a high degree of compatibility with the old Husky models. So if you want to upgrade your hardware but maintain your existing software and operating environment, this could be the solution.

Radix says the FW300 offers pretty much the same kind of environmental specification as the FS series, as well as the same ingress protection ratings, drop testing and temperature range. Yet it is lighter, has a larger screen, offers configurable keyboard options and comes with a range of extra peripherals.

The keyboard is potentially the most contentious area, since the FW300's has only 40 membrane keys compared with the FS series' 56. However, Radix has worked out a combination of keyboard layout and shift functions that is believed to answer most FS application requirements.

 

You don't actually leap forward in terms of core specification, though you do jump from MS-DOS 3.3 to IBM DOS 7, and you get a 16MHz Intel processor, compared with the original NEC 8MHz unit. And you also get backup, migration support and a full 12-month warranty.

Husky, a UK supplier, was one of the early pioneers of mobile computing, and was later acquired by Itronix, which operates in similar markets. Many of its products are still in use worldwide. Itronix has continued to use Husky branding on some of its own models.