Thursday, April 23, 2009

Hospital helps abused children and tablet PCs have a role

A local hospital is using the Motion C5 and Picis' ED PulseCheck in the treatment of children who have suffered abuse. Using the built-in camera on the Motion C5 Mobile Clinical Assistant, emergency room staff can take pictures of the child's injuries and attach them to the patient record. The electronic chart is then sent to the pediatric receiving facility with everything properly documented.


Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Motion C5/F5 - New and Improved!



Motion Computing today announced upgrades to the Motion C5 Medical Tablet PC and the Motion F5 Rugged Field Tablet PC. Both can now use Verizon Broadband internally. This is tremendous news since Verizon is by far the more popular network, at least as far as Allegiance' customers are concerned. Having the flexibility to choose either Verizon or Sprint allows you to choose the mobile broadband provider with the best coverage in your area.

In other wireless news, the units now include Intel WiFi Link 5300 a/g/draft-n communications. While most of our customer haven't installed n-routers you can expect to see more of this technology over the next several years.

The next upgrade is the hard drive which now supports a 64Gb solid state drive.

A new option for the C5/F5 is an external battery charger. IT'S ABOUT TIME! I'm surprised Motion has been able to sell so many C5s into hospital environments without a battery charger being available. Better late than never!

The Motion F5 now comes with a black exterior which is much better for dirty environments. I think it will make it more appealing to customers in field service businesses.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Motion Computing FlexCarry case

I was asked recently about the FlexCarry case from Motion Computing that is designed to fit the C5 and F5 Tablet PCs. The case comes in white (more of a "bone" if you asked my wife about the color) and includes a black shoulder strap that you can also attach.

The case doesn't add much weight or bulk to the unit and provides extra protection for the display because if the tablet were to be dropped screen down then the case would prevent it from hitting directly on the floor or whatever you dropped it on.

The case does need to be partially removed in order to access the battery which is inconvenient but I don't see how a better case could be designed for easy battery access.

Here are some pics:







Friday, January 16, 2009

Motion F5 + RFID/Bluetooth = Better Safety

Many of the techie blogs are focused on the feeds and speeds of Tablet PCs. In the real world where companies have to invest in a solution that solves a problem, a tablet like the Motion F5 rugged field tablet is a good choice for inspection and other industrial applications.

Here is a press release from a company that has combined the rugged Motion F5 tablet PC with a RFID wand reader that communicates with the tablet via Bluetooth to solve a required inspection problem.

Tracking of Safety Equipment Made Easy with Handheld RFID Readers


Construction and manufacturing companies are required by law to conduct regular inspections on safety equipment such as eyewashes, safety showers and fire extinguishes. An essential part of these inspections is the accurate identification of each location where the equipment resides, regardless of its location (regularly changing) and the environment (dirt, dust, corrosive chemicals). If the location cannot be verified, the equipment at that location cannot be passed as safe.

Tuscaloosa, AL, January 16, 2009 --(PR.com)-- CASE Inc, an Alabama based software development company, has developed an RFID tracking solution for safety equipment incorporating handheld RFID readers from Tracient Technologies and Motion F5 tablet PC’s. The solution is designed for construction and manufacturing companies who are required by law to conduct regular inspections on safety equipment such as eyewashes, safety showers and fire extinguishes. An essential part of these inspections is the accurate identification of each location where the equipment resides, regardless of its location (regularly changing) and the environment (dirt, dust, corrosive chemicals). If the location cannot be verified, the equipment at that location cannot be passed as safe.

Manual data entry from testing is time consuming and creates an unacceptable opportunity for error, especially through operators selecting incorrect equipment records or equipment locations in the database / handheld application. So CASE Inc has developed an RFID based solution for verifying the location of safety equipment in a fast, accurate and effective way using existing off-the-shelf hardware along with custom written software.

CASE Inc CEO Thomas McKane says “We considered using Barcodes but found they were are out of the question due to degradation and cost of replacing stickers when they became worn and/or unusable. Outdoor use and use around mostly metal areas makes barcode stickers hard to place and use. RFID tags have proven to be far more versatile and don’t need ‘refreshing’ as they get dirty.”

CASE found the RFID tags also provided certainly. RFID tags are unique whereas barcodes can be duplicated, not guaranteeing true proximity verification.

CASE’s choice of hardware started with Motion F5 tablet PC’s and docking stations because of the built-in camera, WIFI, and durability in harsh conditions. However the F5’s built-in RFID readers didn’t always work around metal and the tablets would not fit into small, hard to reach areas where tags were sometimes mounted. Tracient’s hand-held Padl-R HF readers were selected to overcome these limitations, ensuring that inspections could be carried out 100% of the time. Connected to the tablet via Bluetooth, the Padl-Rs provided a quicker wand-like reading solution than the built-in tablet reader, cutting the time in half when inspecting hundreds of points per inspection.

Tracient’s readers were chosen because of their small size and competitive pricing, considerably less than comparable readers found in the United States. Their ease of use was also a big advantage - only 10 minutes of training per operator was needed to begin using the readers reliably.

Thomas McKane, CEO, CASE Inc says “The quality has been excellent and integration has been very easy. The support and sales teams from Tracient are highly professional, we are continually impressed with their response time and knowledge in the field of RFID technology. So far it has proved to be a perfect decision to use their readers.”

CASE chose RFID Tags from FerroxTag due to the low price/point and compatibility with metal in an industrial environment.

CASE’s rapid prototyping software development was used to write the inspection software. The software was loaded onto the Motion F5 tablets were it was used to match tag ID’s with the corresponding location. The tablets ran SQL 2005 Express which the CASE software used to reference the RFID tag ID's and verify the location. The tablets then sync’d with a master SQL 2005 server via WiFi or CAT5 connections.

In March 2008 a large US based manufacturing company (who wishes to remain anonymous) allowed CASE to begin testing the solution in one of their facilities. Testing started with approximately 50 RFID tags in highly critical safety areas, focusing on the more important inspections. The tags were placed in locations where inspections could be verified, i.e. pump houses, storm water drains etc. Different environments were also tested, including wood, metal and plastic. The testing revealed the read distance to the tags was fairly consistent, regardless of the environment, with the Padl-R typically reading the FerroxTags at 1-2 inches (2-4 cm). After several months of testing, CASE moved on to other facilities.

The trial proved the following benefits:

- Significantly reduced time to manage and verify inspections. The average time for an inspection was cut by 1/3rd.
- Verifiable inspections that cannot be fabricated with pencil and paper.
- A completely paperless solution, creating cost reduction by removing the expense of paper and paper storage.
- A much cleaner and safer workplace creating better working conditions for employees.

CASE Inc believes their solution will provide their customers with long term cost reduction in environmental/safety compliance due to less environmental fines and fewer safety accidents. They believe the solution is both robust and long lasting because if RFID tags change in the future, the Tracient readers follow industry standard protocols and offer compatibility with most brands and types.

Thomas McKane says “This is great as it has freed us from having to deal with proprietary hardware, which reduces costs in the long term and increases flexibility regarding the choice of tag.”

CASE Inc intend to market the solution to manufacturers, construction companies and utility providers through out the United States.

Friday, January 09, 2009

CES 2009: Printstik Mobile Printer

While at CES, I am doing reporting for TabletPCBuzz as well as looking at products that are a good fit for our tablet PC customers. One of the items that I have seen online before is the Printstik Mobil Printer. Seeing it in person I am even more impressed by this small, compact printer.

There are two models available, one that can communicate wirelessly from your tablet pc using Bluetooth technology. This version retails for $299. The other version, which is a USB version is $199. I think that for $100 I would be fine with the USB version.



The Printstik is manufactured by Planon. It is a thermal printer that weight just 1 pound and 8 ounces. It feels very solid and is only an inch or so longer than the width of a piece of 8 1/2 x 11" paper. It has a Li-ion battery so no power cord is required for use in the field. With a resolution of up to 200x400 dpi, this printer is perfect for printing receipts or invoices.

You can print approx. 30 pages on a single battery charge and you'll get output of 3 pages per minute depending on the density. As will all thermal imaging printers, the "ink" will fade over time but this product is designed for printing in your car or truck so it is perfect for that kind of work.

You can get more information at www.planon.com.

Friday, December 19, 2008

ALLTP releases Motion F5 Tablet PC video

I am excited to announce that we have released the first in a series of tablet pc videos. Because tablet pcs just aren't available in stores, we have long had a 48 hour demo program. Now, we are taking the next step to make it easier for you to make a purchasing decision by giving the opportunity to see videos of several different tablets. Now you can decide which is best, or at least which ones aren't a good fit, simply by watching a short video.

Please enjoy and let us know your thoughts. Your feedback is very important! And if you REALLY like it, please go to YouTube and give us a nice rating.


Monday, December 08, 2008

Motion Tablet webinar - save $500 off a new tablet

Motion Computing and Allegiance Tablet PC Experts are sponsoring a webinar on December 10th at 11am CENTRAL STANDARD TIME.

Topic: Motion Tablets, Designed to Improve Field Mobility

Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Time: 11:00 am, Central Standard Time

If you attend the full webinar (about an hour), you will get a code that entitles you to $500 off a new Motion Tablet PC (LE1700, F5 or C5).

IMPORTANT: Motion also has a promotion until the end of the year giving people $200 off Motion LE1700 tablets with the UltraView display - YOU CANNOT COMBINE THESE DISCOUNTS.

Sign up here: https://motioncomputing.webex.com/motioncomputing/j.php?ED=111603087&RG=\1