LXE recently announced its newest edition to their line of mobile computers, the Marathon. The Marathon boasts a larger screen than a PDA in addition to more powerful computing, yet is smaller than a laptop and offers multiple connectivity options. These features allow for greater levels of usability for field service, route accounting, direct store delivery, and retail operations.

Although many use mobile devices over laptops or PDAs for their mobile operations, some of the current solutions on the market lack ruggedness and don’t offer as large of a screen as the Marathon. With the Marathon, users can experience a ruggedized, PC-based device that features a large screen and excellent ergonomics. In addition, the Marathon features:

• 1.6Ghz Atom processor
• Windows 7 or XP OS compatibility
• 7” outdoor-visible touchscreen
• Integrated fingerprint reader
• 2 megapixel camera
• 2D barcode imager
• Multiple connectivity options

Although the Marathon is not currently on the market, it will begin beta site deployments in September 2010, and shipments to pre-order customers are scheduled for December.

If you’re interested in the Marathon and LXE products, learn more here.

Touchscreens are becoming more and more prevalent among both business and consumer grade devices. The offer an intuitive option to access information, but did you know that there are different types of touchscreens for your mobile device?

Resistive Touchscreens
Durable, water and dust resistant screens that are passive, meaning that the screen can sense contact with almost any object. Resistive touchscreens respond to pressure on the surface, allowing them to be used with a stylus, pen, or finger. However, they tend to scratch easily, so be sure that your data input object is not too sharp.

Capacitive Touchscreens
In addition to being dust and water resistant, capacitive touchscreens offer a long life and can only be touched with an object that emits an electric flow, such as a finger.

Choose the touchscreen that’s right for you by checking out mobile devices here.

The SoMo 650 is a high performance mobile computer built for durability that allows businesses to improve visibility and increase productivity among their mobile workforce.

To meet the specific needs of different industries, the SoMo 650 is available in three variations:

SoMo 650 Standard
The SoMo 650 Standard is ideal for demanding business applications. It includes best-in-class Bluetooth and Wifi and is Cisco certified.

SoMo 650Rx
The SoMo 650RX is ideal for hospital applications, due to its antimicrobial materials that offer and extra layer of protection against the spread of germs.

SoMo 650DX
The SoMo 650DX is a radio-free handheld computer for high security and batch applications, making it ideal for government locations.

All of the SoMo 650 models include:

• Secure Digital (SD) and CompactFlash (CF) expansion slots
• 2 programmable side buttons for custom configurations
• Windows Mobile OS
• Ready to deploy with Socket barcode scanners or other peripherals – software is pre-loaded on the device
• Flexible and comprehensive SocketCare™ product service solution

For more information on Socket Mobile and their products, learn more here.

Today’s mobile workforce faces a variety of different challenges when information is spread across multiple devices. The Motorola ES400 EDA allows mobile managers and task workers to be empowered by giving them the tools and access to the applications needed to complete any job from any location. The Motorola ES400 EDA features:

• 600 MHz, ARM 11 processor, MSM 7627
• 256MB RAM/1GB Flash
• Military Standard (MIL-STD) 810G 4 ft. drop specification
• 32º F to 104º F operating temperature
• Meets MIL-STD 810G rain standards and IP42 sealing
• Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Professional

With dual 3.5G broadband WAN connections, devices can be deployed in pools anywhere in the world, on virtually any network. This allows mobile workers to easily capture photos, videos, barcodes and documents instantly, so there’s no confusion over hand-written information.

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The Canada Post, the official postal service of Canada, delivered over 11 billion letters to 15 million residential and business addresses. Due to this high volume, the Canada Post has decided to equip their team of over 8,000 foot-based Carriers with the Intermec CN50. The CN50 will allow workers to meet their daily delivery operations requirements, providing a timely delivery of information to customers for all traceable items.

In an effort to move away from paper-based delivery processes, the Intermec CN50 will ensure real-time upload of scanned data. Through its EA21 scanner and powerful 3G radio technologies, the CN50 will communicate with the Canada Post Central Delivery Information Application to provide streamlined data capture and delivery processes. Peter Duncan, Director Engineering Product Tracking Processes and Systems of Canada Post stated, “The Intermec CN50 provides stronger data capture and communication capabilities than our existing handheld solutions, and will help increase our savings and improve the end customer experience.”

For more information on field service solutions, such as the Intermec CN50, learn more here.