Psion Releases A Rugged, Water-Tight PDA 106
Moghedien writes: "This time a sturdy PDA, without a keyboard, but a big hi-res screen and it's designed for work in the field. Still runs the EPOC OS, 8 hour battery life time, probably a 200MHz StrongARM, 64MB RAM and MMC. It measures 215x85x28 mm. It has an IP rate of 67, meaning it's capable of lying under water for hours, and it can put up with a fall of 1.5 meters against concrete. According to Psion, its purpose is to fill the gap between powerful PDAs for the industry and handheld machines for the professional consumer market." There's a blurb describing this device on Psion's site -- but does anyone see pictures? Update: 10/01 13:35 GMT by T : An anonymous reader says: "Here is the page for the NetPad. It has a small picture, but it's better than nothing."
Re:you forgot.. [pasty faced 100 lb geeks] (Score:3, Insightful)
I hacked 6502 assembler for a few hours this weekend, to make M.U.L.E. play for whatever number of months I want it to, in CCS64 running on my laptop THEN
I went out to cheer on a friend competing in the Santa Cruz Sentinel Triathalon THEN
I went out for a 36 mile ride on my road bike, between searing heat and blasting wind, around Monterey Penninsula THEN
I went out and had a few beers and watched the Final Time Trials of La Vuelta (which Levi Leipheimer placed 2nd in and 3rd overall G.C. First American to stand on the final podium for the final Grand Tour of the season, but don't tell fscking american media outlets about it, sheesh!)
Tech geeks are increasingly athletic, many even compete in cycle racing (the most grueling sport there is) and combination events like triathlons. I'm actually in the market for rugged devices such as this, as I want to take them hiking or biking. My primary interest, atm, is one of these [garmin.com]. So I can profile hikes and bike climbs. That is, when I'm not hacking or reading slashdot.
I know! (Score:1)
And yet we still can't come up with a toupe [canoe.qc.ca] that doesn't get big laughs...
Huh? (Score:1, Offtopic)
I don't see how the two correlate. So if a system is running Windows, it's physically more inclined to break??
Re:Huh? (Score:1)
caffine rush (Score:5, Funny)
Re:caffine rush (Score:1)
Just what I needed... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Just what I needed... (Score:1)
Only if you're willing to take a bath shorter than eight hours :)
Oops! (Score:1, Offtopic)
Copy 'n' paste disaster?
Brain on auto-pilot (Score:1)
Hmm, I guess the same happened with "Read More...", someone's brain was on autopilot to click reply, not looking at the story at all...
Oh well, it _is_ Monday morning =)
Toilet Savior (Score:5, Funny)
specs & small photo (Score:5, Informative)
Here is the spec sheet [psionteklogix.com] (96.6Kb.pdf)
Heise article had a picture (Score:5, Informative)
See the c't article from heise:
Heise [heise.de]
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Re:Heise article had a picture (Score:1)
thats just someone's car rear view mirror !
Netpad (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Netpad (Score:1)
Oh? And how do you plan to attach it to the Internet? That cable could be a problem. Hmm... No, actually it wouldn't. Perfectly safe! Nothing to worry about! (Say, could you put me in your will?
Of course an IR connection would be fine, but will your bathroom fit a PC?
What amazes me (Score:1)
Re:What amazes me (Score:1)
Check out symbol's spt website [symbol.com] [symbol.com]
Re:What amazes me (Score:1)
Droppables (Score:5, Interesting)
Having owned droppable computers for some time, I'm really about ready for a computer that's capable of portability without the awful fragility. If this computer has some reasonable I/O method available (say, some form of attachable mini-keyboard, a la Targus), it might be usable, but it seems like just another data-collection device from its description.
Why doesn't the ruggedized PC hit the mainstream market? Walkabout [walkabout-comp.com] has made a few nice PC's in tablet form, but their prices generally put off the buyer that has no specialized application in mind. I'd absolutely love a nice, sturdy, portable 'nix box like their HH3. Why haven't at least SOME of these ideas made it into the consumer models of laptops and the like?
err did you just answer your own question? (Score:1)
Ruggedized PCs (Score:2)
That's also why some mil-spec equipment costs much more than the civilian equivalents.
Re:Droppables (Score:3, Interesting)
Panasonic seems pretty mainstream. They have the ToughBook [panasonic.com] line of computers. My girlfriend stumbled across one at a bargain price, and I've been drooling over it ever since.
Re:Droppables (Score:1)
....currently a 400 p3
....if you have $4,000 to drop
....and they ever ship you one(12 weeks and waiting)
Re:Droppables - Toughbook 01 (Score:1)
There is a catch tho. It runs Win CE 3.0 and a minimum 500 unit order. Looks cool tho.
Re:Droppables - Toughbook 01 (Score:1)
Sorry - don't know the html to abbreviate the link.
This is what I've been waiting for (Score:1, Funny)
it's all a question of price, isn't it (Score:2)
Re:it's all a question of price, isn't it (Score:1)
Since it contains a StronARM processor, converting this thing to Linux should be feasible.
Looking at the prices of other Psions I think $300 is a bit optimistic...
Re:it's all a question of price, isn't it (Score:1)
Hasn't it been at least a year since these things have been "upcoming"? I'm worried they may be another Device Bay... Seriously, if anyone has seen one of these becoming a real, consumer market product, I'd be interested in any info.
Re:it's all a question of price, isn't it (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.yipton.demon.co.uk/ [demon.co.uk]
IP Rate and Ruggedization. (Score:3, Interesting)
Does anyone remember the Panasonic Toughbook [panasonic.com] - they had similar toughness (though I don't think they could sit underwater). You get a whole real computer and some of the models even have built in wireless/GPS capabilities. Granted they cost upwards of 5 grand and probably only have about 4 hours of battery life (though 8 hours doesn't seem like much for a PDA to me), but still sweet.
I'd be interested to see what an IP Rate of 100 (or zero, whichever is better, also assuming a 100 point scale) could handle. Elephants can sit on it while you work maybe?
BTW, whats with the random "number of physicial machines hosted on windows" bit at the end of the post there? Do all slashdot articles now automatically include a little MSFT bashing - hidden in the PERL soup somewhere?
How IP ratings work (Score:5, Informative)
IP ratings don't work quite like that. Rather than a 0..100 scale, they're actually a string concatenation of three 0+ scales. High numbers are better. First number is dust rating (0..6), second fluids (0..8), third mechanical impact (0..9). IP67 means "no ingress of dust", "short-term water immersion to 1m" and no description of mechanical impact strength.
There's a few on-line resources [freeserve.co.uk] around with the full list [switchingtech.com].
Re:IP Rate and Ruggedization. (Score:2)
It's not to do with shock resistance, but with the seals.
It's two scales - the first digit is relating to dust ingress and the second to water, IIRC. The first goes from 0 to 6 and the second 0 to 8. The IP is for ingress protection.
More Here [chalmit.com] (I did RC)
Re:IP Rate and Ruggedization. (Score:3, Interesting)
The first ruggedised machines I can remember are the Husky portables and the GRiD Compass (not waterproof or anything but solid!).
The Husky series were Z80-based, and ran CP/M I think. I believe the US Army had some.
Old Pic of that [obsoleteco...museum.org], and it seems they are still going [itronix-europe.com].
Going further back, the original IMPs used on ARPANet were ruggedized Honeywell DDP-516 - designed to be dropped from the cargo bay of aircraft.
i'm not so sure about this... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:i'm not so sure about this... (Score:1)
Re:i'm not so sure about this... (Score:2)
I'm not saying "gee, my crappy Palm M100 is better than that thing!!" Because believe me, my M100 IS a piece of crap. But it's a durable piece of crap, and it only cost a hundred bucks.
Scratch resistant? (Score:1)
Re:i'm not so sure about this... (Score:1)
Just because something is "solid-state", doesn't mean it can survive a drop any better than tube or mechanical designs. The entire inside back of a Palm is covered with a layer of conductive foil (shielding? ground plate?). Just the right kind of sharp hit can, and will, cause it to short out the device.
Back in the valve days, there was military-grade equipment made to survive considerable shock and other environmental stresses. Of course, having to design for +100 VDC may have had a factor in making equipment safer when it got wet...
Dropping your consumer-grade PDA from the top a ladder without breaking it means you were consumer-grade lucky.
jdv
Link to specs and info (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.psionteklogix.com/main/netpad.htm [psionteklogix.com]
Personally we already use ruggedized Windows boxes that are like this so I don't see much use for a PDA that can do the same.
liB
Even better! (Score:2, Interesting)
* JavaOne Promotion Update -
Those of you who were among the first 1,000 that 1) had your badge scanned at JavaOne and 2) registered on the developer web-site are eligible to purchase a Sharp Linux/Java PDA production unit for $399 (or equivalent price outside the US) when it is available (availability of initial model is limited in some European countries, due to the product safety standard
compliance.)
We originally promised production units for this promotion would be available in September. Some exciting additions and changes to our platform have unfortunately caused some delays. We apologize for the delay in satisfying this promotion, but think a few weeks more will be worth the wait.
Re:Even better! (Score:2)
yes sharp have been developeing a ARM based PDA which looks like a apple newton
yes psion have been developeing a arm based PDA which looks like a newton
infact with palm switching to ARM powered solution all PDA's and Phones (name a recent cell phone that dosent use an ARM) means that APPLE did the right thing (ARM was created when APPLE and ACORN needed cash so ACORN spun off those people and they worked to create a proc for a PDA which became the newton)
funny thing is about 7 YEARs ago I saw the gas man come round to do a service and he carried a newton which did all his schedualing he pluged in the modem and told them the job was done and got messaged the next job address and details
apple canned it now its taken 7years to people get back to that concept !
also the irony is that INTEL manufactor the StrongARM and StrongARM2 (aka Xscale) so between IA64 and StrongARM they have the microprocessor market
history repeats itself make sure you remember the good ideas !
regards
john jones
Re:Even better! (Score:1)
water...how about cold (Score:2, Interesting)
Casio has been there, done that.... (Score:4, Informative)
Casio has offered these type of devices [casio.com] for quite some time now.
Re:Casio has been there, done that.... (Score:1)
... and Psion hasn't? The original Psion Organiser (1984, regarded as the first PDA ever) had a sturdy design, and the Organiser II was/is widely used in tough environments. Later, the Psion HC (~1990) and Workabout (~1995) appeared. The Netpad is just the latest incarnation of Psion's long tradition of industrial PDAs.
The development of Psion's personal products is even more interesting, but Psion has unfortunately decided not to develop this product line further. Let's hope some other company takes up the glove and produces PDAs using Symbian's EPOC operating system(s).
yeah, ok - - (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:yeah, ok - - (Score:1)
Or do you mean accidentally leaving it in your chair? Well, the manufacturer shouldn't be held responsible for people being absent-minded and clumsy.
Re:yeah, ok - - (Score:1)
Note: this is from Psion Teklogix (Score:4, Informative)
They do quite well. For all Compaq's adverts of someone walking thru a factory with an iPaq, there are places where the environment is just too nasty - freezers for example.
I always fancied their netbook, which is a corporate variant on the Psion series 7 (the one that's an EPOC handheld in notebook form-factor, with a full size color screen etc.)
Re:Note: this is from Psion Teklogix (Score:3, Informative)
here is a small photo and a spec sheet [psionteklogix.com]
picture of the thing in use (Score:1, Informative)
Professional Consumer Market (Score:1)
Coming soon, the Shower PDA? (Score:2)
Finally.... (Score:2, Funny)
PDA-Pak (Score:2)
Re:PDA-Pak (Score:1)
Water proof = condensation proof? (Score:1)
How does it handle pressure? (Score:1)
Can I take it scuba-diving with me? I'd love to have something like this that I can play with while sitting bored-to-tears on a deco stop after a long dive.
For that matter, does anyone have any recommendations for inexpensive pressure housings for something fun like a computer chess game, to take along diving? I don't want a $1000 housing for a $99 chess game... Maybe a GameBoy or something...
I can't be the only one wanting this, can I?
Tim
Casio did this a while ago... (Score:2)
Links to casio: EG 800 Ruggedized PC http://www.casio.com/personalpcs/product.cfm?sect
By the way, I love Casio's name for these devices..."Personal PCs," the connotation that these machines are not mere "assistants," but real PCs that are always handy and could someday replace the desktop (or at least heavily offset it). And as the machines get smaller and more rugged, we get closer to the geek ideal of "wearables" that will run our lives: reminding us to feed our cats, telling us if our outfit matches, and generating fractal pickup lines that work every time.
Re:Casio did this a while ago... (Score:2)
Gotta go find the neosporin...
Offtopic: question about StrongARM chips (Score:1)
Re:Offtopic: question about StrongARM chips (Score:1)
According to some old documentation I have here, @200MHz, it delivers 230MIPS, consuming <900mW. However, there are other variants in the StrongARM family, and it's unclear as to which it is.
It's been quoted that an ARM processor @14MHz is roughly equivalent to an x86 @40MHz, so you're looking at the equivalent of around 600MHz in x86 power.
Since it's a RISC processor, it isn't too expensive - unfortunately I haven't bought any for a while (last ones I bought were about 2-3 years ago), so I can't quote a figure.
I can't believe you're saying that you don't need power ;-)
It's been superceded by Intel's XScale processor, which FWICR is 1GHz and greater.
Looks Newton-sized... (Score:1, Insightful)
Very true.
Better pic (Score:2)
images.google.com [google.com] yeilded a nice 300x400 images of the Netpad here [psionpage.ch]
There were some other, smaller pictures too, including an outdoorsy yellow model as well.
LOOKS LIKE A NEWTON (Score:1)
More info, and pictures (Score:2)
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Psion Netpad Specifications... (Score:2)