Bryan Bassett, research director for enterprise mobility at research firm IDC, assures us: “As frontline workforce mobilization efforts increase, demand for robust mobile deployments will increase. Enterprises need durable, powerful, purpose-built mobile devices to enable frontline workers to participate in this second wave of digital transformation, and rugged devices will play a critical role in this effort. » According to him, “despite the challenges, the future of rugged mobility is secured.” Rugged devices enable tasks that consumer devices cannot handle and they excel in certain business processes. As more companies look to increase the productivity of their teams, field staff represent a huge growth factor. »
Rugged mobile players rated by IDC. In addition to Samsung, Zebra Technologies, Getac, Honeywell and Dell are also among the market leaders in this rugged mobile device market.
Hardened products effectively meet the needs of many industries, including industrial, healthcare, commercial, public service, transportation and logistics. Currently, the growth of the rugged mobile device market shows no signs of slowing down. The manufacturers have understood this and are bringing their models onto the market, completing them or renewing them. Samsung has just introduced a smartphone and a tablet, the Galaxy XCover7 (6.6-inch screen) and the Galaxy Tab Active5 (8-inch screen), with military standards and equipped with 5G connectivity.
“The Galaxy This device is powerful and versatile, at the same time durable and secure, perfect for professionals who need to stay connected in any situation,” assures Jerry Park, Executive VP who leads the Global Mobile B2B team in the MX space at Samsung Electronics.
Both devices and the S Pen included in the Tab Active5 have an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, an essential level of protection for intense environments on construction sites or warehouses. The Galaxy was developed according to the military standard MIL-STD-810H1
These two new products feature Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ for the Galaxy XCover7 and Corning® Gorilla Glass 5 for the Galaxy Tab Active5 to ensure greater durability and long life. The touch sensitivity can also be adjusted so that operation is possible without any problems even when wearing gloves. Finally, Samasun says they have been extensively tested to withstand cleaning with disinfectant solutions.
In terms of connectivity, the Galaxy XCover7 has been updated to offer more “reliable” 5G and Wifi 5 connectivity, while the Galaxy Tab Active5 has 5G and Wifi 6.
A first for Samsung rugged products, the Galaxy XCover7 and Galaxy Tab Active5 are compatible with Samsung Knox Vault, which protects the most important data on these devices, including PINs, passwords and lock patterns.
2 more robust mobile products
Panasonic, Zebra, Getac and Dell are also present in this rugged mobile device market. In December, Dell released the Latitude Rugged Extreme 10-inch tablet, which it claims is “the lightest on the market.” With hot-swappable batteries, it is said to be the ideal companion for working in extreme environments, be it on or under an oil rig, in a factory or on a snow-covered mountain.
The tablet complies with IP-65 and MIL-STD 810 standards, meaning it can withstand the most extreme conditions. It has been tested at temperatures from -28 to 62°C and subjected to a one meter drop test according to military specifications. On the cybersecurity side, the TPM 2.0 ControlVault tool offers a built-in encryption system. An infrared camera for facial recognition based on Microsoft Windows Hello, a fingerprint reader, privacy protection for the camera and a contact or contactless smart card reader round off the security functions.
The 7030 Rugged Extreme Tablet features a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, integrated Iris Xe graphics in i5 and i7 configurations, and up to 32GB of LPDDR5 memory for powerful performance. It also has an NVMe SSD hard drive of up to 2TB.
Last September, Getac announced the launch of its S410 semi-rugged laptop, which comes standard with a 13th-generation Intel Core i5/i7 processor, an Intel Iris Xe graphics processor, and an optional dedicated GPS chip. When it comes to connectivity, the S410 offers Wifi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3, as well as optional 4G LTE and/or 5G Sub-6 with built-in GPS, allowing users to stay connected even in the most remote locations.
