Sept/Oct 2005

The latest 'fusion' handheld terminal/PDA to hit British shores is also said to be one of the most compact of its kind in the world. It's the M3 from Korean manufacturer Mobile Compia, and it's being distributed here exclusively by Spirit Data Capture.

It follows the now established form-factor for compact handhelds, having a large 240 by 320 pixel 3.5in colour LCD touch screen surmounting a set of numeric keys and scroll keys. Under the skin is a 400MHz Intel XScale processor, with 64MB of SDRAM and 64 MB of flash ROM. The operating system is Windows CE 4.2 .NET.

According to Spirit, one of its real selling points is its small size. It is just 24mm thick, and is said to weigh only 250kg, making it the lightest unit of its kind available. Yet it meets the IP 54 rating for environmental sealing, and is said to have withstood a 1.5 metre drop test. Operating temperature ranges from minus 10 deg C to plus 50 degC.

The other big selling point is the unit's price, which starts at just £700. For a device with its capability and range of features, this seems bound to appeal to a market hungry for rugged but affordable portable computers.

 

A wide range of connectivity options is offered, including one- and two-dimensional barcode reader, colour camera, GSM/GPRS telephony, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking.

A docking cradle and a range of other accessories are available from Spirit.