GETAC expands rugged range with new ultra-lightweight tablet PC

Rugged computer manufacturer GETAC Inc. has added the ultra-lightweight GETAC E100 slate-style tablet PC and the “bright-as-you-need-it” GETAC B300 notebook PC to its growing roster of versatile mobile computing solutions.

GETAC introduced the units during the DistribuTECH 2008 Conference & Exhibition at the Tampa Convention Center. Both Fully Rugged units are contained in a watertight magnesium alloy case that is vibration and drop-shock resistant and meet MIL-STD-810F and IP54 compliance standards and the B300 is available with optional salt fog and/or MIL-STD-461E compliance.

At only 3 pounds the tablet GETAC E100 is designed with field and customer service applications in mind. It features an 8.4-inch TFT SVGA transmissive display with integrated touch screen panel and customizable numeric keypad. Optional features include an Ultra-Bright 800 Nit sunlight-readable display and an array of expandable “mission boxes” designed for customized market applications that utilize RFID, barcode and magnetic strip readers or digital cameras. It is powered by an Intel Stealey 512KB L2 cache processor that operates at 800MHz and offers up to five hours of battery life. It includes 512MB DDRII DRAM upgradeable to 1GB and a 60/80/100GB shock-resistant HDD.

The GETAC B300 is a 7.7-pound Fully Rugged notebook PC expressly designed for mobile users whose jobs require a display that can be easily read in any lighting condition, day or night. The unit introduces the industry’s first 1200 Nit screen and optional Night Vision capabilities, as well as a standard automatic brightness control that conserves battery power and maximizes screen readability under any lighting conditions. Built to survive any rugged job or environment the B300 introduces patent-pending technology designed by GETAC to meet the U.S. Army’s MIL-STD-3009 standard for Night Vision. This eliminates the need for special Night Vision optical filters and provides an additional measure of safety for nighttime military or law enforcement applications by instantly darkening the unit’s 13.3-inch transmissive sunlight-readable screen which is also available as an optional integrated touchscreen. It is powered by an Intel Core2 Duo Merom L7500, 4MB L2 cache processor that operates at 1.6GHz and offers up to 12 hours of battery life on one battery. The unit also includes 512MB DDRII DRAM upgradeable to 4GB, 80/120GB shock-resistant HDD, and sealed ports and connector cover.

Both the E100 and B300 include 802.11b/g wireless LAN connectivity; Bluetooth 2.0, EV-DO and GPRS/EDGE networks and integrated GPS are available as options. A smart card reader, Kensington lock and TPM v1.2 are included as standard with the E100, while the B300 includes a fingerprint scanner, cable lock slot and TPM v1.2 with the smart card reader available as an optional extra.

There is no word yet on pricing, but both the GETAC E100 and B300 will be available through GETAC authorized resellers from March 2008.