Do you live in California? If so, please join us at the World Ag Expo this coming week for the world’s largest agricultural exhibition. February 12 – 14, we’ll be in booth 6418 in the Dairy Center with our rugged handheld computers. It’ll be a toss up as to whether you come see the Nomad or attend the Truck and Tractor Pull, right? Even if that’s a “no-brainer” for you, be sure to stop by our booth!…

Every year backpacking and outdoor publications and websites come out with their top ten products. It’s a great way to learn about a new cutting edge products, old tried-and-true favorites or find an idea for that perfect gift. Here are some of my favorite rugged products (and some that are still on my wish list). Maybe you can use them while you are out backpacking or hiking this year.

…

I saw the 1/11/2008 entry titled “12 Steps to a Successful Mobile Software Deployment” and thought it might pique your interest. Kevin Benedict’s in…

The Atlantic Solo Challenge tests the strength and fortitude of courageous souls. Pete Collett is one of these brave athletes, currently rowing from Africa to the West Indies. You can follow his trip on his web site. He’s using a Recon to record his travels and to use with his satellite phone. Reading his da…

If you tried the Microsoft Live Search when the product first launched in 2007, you will be happy to know that the product has been updated a few times since then. The most recent update was over the holidays.

Per Microsoft here are some of the improvements for…

If you're new to rugged computing and are hungry for a comprehensive-yet-understandable overview of what "rugged" means, I'd recommend that you read this article by Group Mobile Rugged Computers. They cover everything from non-rugged laptops all the way through rugged standards and IP ratings, wrapping up with the concept of pri…

A very happy new year to all of you! To celebrate, we’re extending our hat/jacket promotion through January!

Our offices are back open and we’re excited to start a new year. We have high hopes that OutdoorRugged.com will continue to grow and be a great community for you this year now that it has celebra…

From all of us here at TDS, we wanted to wish all our members and visitors a very happy holiday season. We're looking forward to a new year making rugged heldhelds which help you get your done more efficiently and effectively. We'll hope you'll join us in 2008 and share your stories of what you do and what you…

Several months back we entered the …

Some have wondered about how the camera works on the Nomad. I recently took a Nomad out to test its capabilities and found that it takes very reasonable photos. Just like other Windows Mobile devices, the camera is accessed from Start>Programs>Pictures and Videos. The first thing I like about the camera is that the electronic viewfinder is very smooth. This gives you a cle…

Photo by John Nelson, Tropical Rain Forest Trust/Handout

…

Here at RuggedPCReview.com we're in the lucky position of being able to do hands-on reviews and tests of just about every rugged piece of equipment out there. The reality of "hands-on" is often quite different from what you see in glossy brochures or PDF pages. A brochure doesn't provide the "feel" of a machine, whether it feels rock-solid or chintzy.

Ruggedness specs themselves also only say that much. I've often held a rugged device in my hands, looked at the specs, and went to mysel…

Milcom Recap

I landed at the beautiful Orlando airport looking forward to a week in sunny Florida and the annual Milcom conference. Much to my disappointment it began raining when I left the airport and it did not stop much for the nex…

Hi

I'm Tom Bell, president of Stratamodel Inc. We conduct soil surveys under extreme climatic and topographic conditions and a…

When most people think about a rugged computer, they think of some sort of toughened “shell” around fragile components. As we’ve shown in some of our earlier engineering videos, it isn’t that simple. For units to be truly outdoor rugged, we make adjustments on even the smallest components so your handheld performs in extreme temperatures, moisture…

Click on the links below to read the stories:

Rugged handhelds bring 21st-century technology to a 19th-century l…

Last time, I passed along some case studies featuring our rugged handhelds, and promised more to come. This time, I've pulled together stories featuring public safety agencies that use the Recon and Ranger to speed emergency response, write electronic traffic tickets, complete fire safety inspections and more.

Click on the links below to read the stories:

…

…

Click on the links below to read the stories. Next time, I'll post case studies from public safety applications.

…

…

As rugged handhelds become more affordable, capable and popular, we're learning about the different ways people can use them, both for work and for fun. Here's our top 10 list of the most unconventional uses for a rugged handheld:

10. Scorekeeping for water polo.

9. Identifying rare flora and fauna while on safari.

8. Hammering in that loose nail on the back deck. (note: we really can't recommend this use!)

7. Second base.

6. <…

Have you ever wondered how fast your Bluetooth phone or 801.11 is on your Recon, Ranger, or Nomad? If you have tried some of the popular download speed sites, you will find that most of them don't work on Windows Mobile.

I recently tested how well some Bluetooth phones connected to the Nomad. In order to…

…

Nice, neat packaging, all in environmentally friendly cardboard. The powerbrick comes with…

To perform the equivalent of a right mouse click, gently hold the stylus against the screen until the context menu appears. A small ring of dots will be drawn on the screen around the tip of the stylus, and then the context menu will appear.

Do you have a particular question for our How To series? Please feel free to post it in the forum section. Or, alternatively, if you’ve found a solution to a situation you think others may have encountered, please post your story in our blog s…

SatViewer Review

Nomad units with integrated GPS now may come with a useful tool - SatViewer. This handy application allows users to monitor and control the GPS.

I recently reviewed the…

Recently, I made a trip down to Lake Tahoe, CA to visit the beautiful Meeks Bay area. Along with my wife, I chose the Nomad and Co-Pilot software as a travel companion.

Since I was using the basic model of the Nomad, I added GPS capability by plugging in the Holux GR-271 GPS card. I was all set with my Nomad, GPS card and a pre-downloaded route for the trip.

…

Around here we read, contribute articles to, and advertise in many different places which contain information on mobile computing. In addition to the many different trade magazines which focus on specific vertical markets, some of my personal favorites include:

Pocket PC & Smartphone magazine: This publication really does a great job covering many topics of interest to mobile workers. While much of their coverage is on the consumer market (which still often…

If you ask any handheld technologist what their favorite mobile accessory is, chances are, you'll hear the term "GPS" more often than not. GPS, or Global Positioning System, technology is a free service (no monthly fees or sign-up charges) that uses satellites orbiting around the Earth to determine your exact location. This information can be used in a variety of ways, to help you obtain more useful search results, to record your activities or even to earn a little cash! These examples I’ve b…

Anyway, while everybody and their uncle now have a blog and comp…

The Trimble Nomad 800L, 800LC and 800LE ship with an embedded GPS (Global Positioning System) chip. This chip allows you to use location information for a variety of different purposes, like turn-by-turn driving directions, location-based points of interest and even tracking your travel (more on this in a later article).

However, in the past, GPS data was only able to be used by one application at a time. Obviously, this limits the usefulness of the GPS chip, since you might want to sh…

You may have seen my…