Motion Computing commercially launched a new rugged tablet computer, J3500, for the construction, health care and field service industries. The tablet PC includes Intel Core vPro processors, dual touch capacitive touch-screen with ultra-durable glass, a 3.0 megapixel camera, mobile broadband and GPS. The tablet runs on Windows 7 or Windows XP and sells for about $2,299.
Unlike other consumer-grade tablets, this Motion rugged tablet's screen is built with Corning Gorilla glass, which the company claims offers up to four times improvement in breakage resistance. It also includes a new, "anti-smear" coating for improved visibility. More on the ruggedness: The J3500 meets MIL-STD-810G and IP-52 ratings to ensure protection against bumps, drops, rain or other conditions that can damage commercial-grade computing solutions, according to the company.
The new tablet also includes a new touchscreen technology that optimizes it for for "digitizer and touch input," according to Motion. The screen can handle touch or pen input and it also has "palm rejection technology" that distinguishes between intentional and false touch. "Stylus recognition" enables users to easily switch between input modes.
Last year Motion Computing raised about $5.6 million in venture capital, which brought its total investment figure to about $54 million since its founding in 2001.
With all the pomp and noise around the iPad in healthcare, we're curious to see whether tablet sales increase for the incumbents, too. The iPad is, afterall, decidedly not "ruggedized" by any measure.
More on Motion' new tablet here
