Your Guide to Choosing a Smart Phone on Only Rugged

This post sees Oliver Corbett (aka our e-commerce manager) make his debut as a guest blogger. He receives many of the online enquiries from customers looking to purchase mobile devices but are unsure which device is most suited to their operation, requirements and budget so here's his guide to selecting the best from the current PDA and rugged smart phone offerings...

Choosing a rugged smartphone can be a chore. With a multitude of operating systems, IP ratings, wireless networks and many other options to sift through, we thought it would be useful to create a handy guide to the best rugged smartphones available.

Honeywell Dolphin Black 70e

Honeywell Dolphin Black 70e

This is the latest and greatest rugged smartphone and is set to take the market by storm. With a large touchscreen and pocketable size, the Dolphin Black is designed like a consumer device with a rugged body and enterprising features. Its IP67 rating means that the device can be immersed in dust and water, and also survive multiple 4 foot drops onto concrete. A 1D/2D imager, a 5MP camera and a dual-array microphone allow for advanced data capture, and a choice of Android 4.0 or Windows Embedded give it great versatility. And finally, 3.5G GSM, WiFi-N, Bluetooth, GPS and, in an industry-leading move, NFC, meaning the Dolphin has the widest range of connectivity options of any rugged device on the market. Its affordable price and vast range of features puts the Dolphin Black at the top of our list.

Recommended markets – retail, healthcare, enterprise, on-site manufacturing and construction, field based employees.

Prices from £476

Motorola ES400

Motorola ES400

The current reigning champion of the rugged enterprise device world, the ES400 is a cutting edge smartphone allowing 1 click instant data capture. From 1D and 2D barcodes to audio and video capture, it has a wide range of scanning features. Dual 3.5G CDMA and GSM network connection means the device can be used almost anywhere in the world, and a customisable enterprise interface means that the device can be tailored to suit your specific needs. The lack of touchscreen might mean a smaller display that isn’t as ergonomic to use as some other devices however it does boast a full QWERTY keyboard which is useful for quick data input. The ES400 is rated IP42 for dust and water resistance and 3ft drop to concrete.

Recommended markets – retail, healthcare, enterprise, tertiary industry, field based employees.

Prices from £456

Seals TS3



Seals TS3 Rugged Smartphone

For a more affordable device, the Seals TS3 is a great rugged Android smartphone. It is not only in tune with contemporary demands of today's users, but it is also designed to be a tough, all-weather phone, as shown by its IP68 Rating. It provides high compatibility and flexible connectivity for many industrial applications. It is also a great companion for those who maintain active lifestyles and are keen participants of extreme hobbies and sports, with applications including: One key positioning setting with SOS rescue feature measurements of atmospheric pressure & temperature, FM Radio, Torch, Pedometer, Indicator light, E-compass, GPS, Noise reduction mic, and a Proximity Sensor. Moreover, with Android 2.3, it has access to thousands of other Google Play apps.

Recommended markets – construction, manufacturing, field based employees, extreme sports field.

Prices from £299

So, a short but sweet list of the best rugged devices currently on the market. If you have any questions about these, please give us a call on 01924 600 480 or email us at info@renovotec.com

Hope you enjoyed our first ever guest post - we'd love to hear your thoughts and if the overall response is positive maybe we'll look into doing it more often! OnlyRugged also has a dedicated 'live chat' system, so if you'd like to speak directly to Oliver or one of the team, for an immediate response, please click on the link on OnlyRugged.

The Omnii XT15f Freezes out the Competition

As many people will now be aware, Psion have been bought by Motorola and are now part of Motorola Solutions. Although this has naturally meant a few changes within the business, it hasn't altered their desire to develop and introduce innovative products to the market.

Their latest offering has improved on their Psion Omnii XT15 to bring customers the XT15f. The Omnii XT15f comes in two models, one for freezer environments and one for chillers. Sub-zero temperatures, ice build up and freezing condensation are all in a day's work for the XT15f and it will remain operational all shift-long.

Omnii XT15 f

It also boasts ice-resistant keyboards, heated displays and scan window defoggers enabling users to achieve high accuracy rates and almost flawless efficiency despite working in harsher temperatures.

Omnii XT15f: Take your Pick

The XT15f Chiller works happily in temperatures as low as -20 degrees celsius, is abrasion resistant and can withstand impact up to 1.25 Joules.

The XT15f Arctic is expertly enhanced to withstand temperatures up to -30 degrees celsius and also features optical bonding and a display heater.

Each options have corresponding chiller or arctic batteries.

The freezer resistant keyboards are available in either a 58-key numeric or 34-key alpha numeric options and the unit can withstand multiple drops from a 2 metre height onto concrete.

Operating Systems (OS) options include Windows CE 6.0 or Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 - each are complemented by 512MB RAM and 1GB Flash.

Currently the XT15f is available with a SE965 1D standard range laser or the SE1524-ER 1D long range laser. From August 2013, there will also be the option to purchase the SE4600 2D long range imager.

For more information or to get a bespoke quote, please visit our dedicated Omnii XT15 page or call us on 01924 600480

Alternatively, the full Psion (as part of Motorola Solutions) range can be easily viewed on our website - here you can also download the complete spec sheet to ensure the device is well suited to your operation.

Thanks for reading and we'll see you next post!

Total Supply Chain Summit, the Facilities Show and Sunny Bank Holidays!

So, it's the first day back after a gloriously sunny Bank Holiday weekend! Whether you chose to spend the extra day off watching the May Day celebrations or relaxing in a nearby beer garden - we hope you had an enjoyable break!

Just before the holiday, we enjoyed meeting plenty of existing and potential customers at Multimodal 2013 in Birmingham and we're now looking towards the Total Supply Chain Summit tomorrow and Thursday (8th and 9th May) then SME (Service Management Expo) which has joined forces with the Facilities show later in the month, on the 15th and 16th May 2013.

The Innovative Honeywell Dolphin Black

Total Supply Chain Summit at the Chesford Grange Hotel, Warwickshire is a chance for you to come to meet some of our team members as we showcase the latest Psion (as part of Motorola Solutions) devices including the Omnii XT15, Omnii RT15, EP10 and it's also a great opportunity to find out more information about the brand-new-to-the-market freezer variant of the Psion Omnii, the Omnii XT15f. You can also meet Ian from the Sales team to discuss your network requirements or even book a site survey for an in-depth evaluation of how RF or voice solutions can benefit your operation.

For the Service Management Expo we'll be at Birmingham's NEC, sharing stand SM203 with Honeywell.

Here you'll be able to demo the coveted Honeywell Dolphin Black PDA as well as firm-former-LXE-favourites including the Tecton/Tecton CS, the Thor, HX2 and the MX8.

We'll also be sending out an e-shot in the next few days with more detailed information on the Dolphin 70e Black, how to access our dedicated Honeywell City page and more about what you can expect to see on our stand at the Facilities show. To be added to our mailing list to receive this email and also to ensure you're always kept up to date with any news or developments, please opt-in here.

Our New and Improved RMA System - Step by Step instructions and Multimodal

As we mentioned in our last post, our brand new website is now live! The new-look site represents the evolution of our company from barcode scanning (represented by the barcode) to a range of innovative solutions, aimed at allowing our customers to be as productive as possible.    Although we're really pleased with the new branding, the change has meant that the 'Raise RMA' section on the site has changed, so I hope to make this post quite practical and a 'how-to-guide' to (hopefully!) minimise confusion. We know that many of our customers regularly use the website to find information and raise RMAs - so for step-by-step instructions please read below. Hopefully this will ensure that our new-look doesn't affect how efficiently you're able to let us know about new technical issues and the transition from our original website is as smooth as possible. We've also added a few annotated images for people who prefer to view pages as they go along

Directions for Raising an RMA on the new website    Please refer to the images below for direction on how to raise RMAs on the new website.    1. Locate 'Raise RMA' on the top navigation bar and left click.    2. This will then take you directly to the 'Raise RMA' form where you can leave your details and information on the device you would like to be repaired.    3. Once complete, please left click on 'Submit' for this to be sent to our technical team.    4. You should then see the confirmation screen and will also shortly receive a confirmation email, so that you know we're aware of your issue and will action it as soon as possible.

Fingers-crossed you will find the new RMA system straight forward to use but if you do have any problems, please don't hesitate to contact us on 01924 600480. Thanks for reading and see you next post, where we'll tell you all about our attendance at Multimodal (if you've forgotten it's next week, on the 23rd-25th April at the NEC in Birmingham - find us on stand 102 which we're sharing with Intermec. Hope to see you there! :-))

The New-Look Renovotec has arrived!

It's been a lot of hard work by lots of people (inside and outside of our team!) to get our new website ready for Multimodal 2013 and we're pleased to announce that it's finally ready to be shown off to the world! 

While our trusty barcode logo has been a worthy symbol of some the products we offer, we felt that following our expansion into voice picking through Vocollect products and the tablet market that we needed a company logo that didn't just focus on one part of our ever growing operation! The pyramids represent 'building blocks of the future' that combine innovation with practicality to move the market forward through consistent evolution and an aim to bring the most cost effective solutions to our customers. Each logo for different parts of the business, including voice, wireless networking, rugged mobile, print and consumables and repair and maintenance are all derived from the original 'Red, Rugged, R' to symbolise cohesion within the business and across all our teams.

You should start to see the new branding showing up all across the web and at trade shows: Justin and Steve welcomed the new stand for the very first time when we exhibited at IMHX at the NEC a few weeks ago. The next outing for the branding will be at Multimodal on the 23rd to the 25th April also at the NEC in Birmingham - find us on stand 102. If you'd like to book an appointment with either Dave (RF specialist) or Steve (Voice specialist) to discuss the requirements of your operation and discuss how our solutions can 'transform productivity', please call us on 01924 600480.



The New Renovotec Homepage

 
Renovotec managing director Richard Gilliard commented on the new branding: “When strategically deployed, both voice and RF solutions have the power to transform any supply chain. Renovotec’s high-level partnerships with the most trusted manufacturers in the industry give us and ultimately our customers the power to enhance their operation and we want our brand to reflect this”. Customers to date include Permira, the Steinhoff group, Eddie Stobarts and many more.

Please feel free to leave us your comments on the new branding, we'd love to hear what you think! For new and existing customers we have also produced a 'how to guide' for instructions on how to raise and RMA on the new system so if you'd like us to send you a copy, please email us and we'll get something across to your inbox as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading and we'll see you next post!

Happy Easter - More, more snow…and the QLN420 Rugged Printer from Zebra

Only 5 weeks since our last snow update and winter has struck back with a vengeance. We've all been sliding around for the last week or so but it seems to finally be melting just in time for the Easter break. For such tough conditions -being the purveyor of rugged mobile devices that we are- we wouldn't recommend anything less than a rugged mobile printer, such as the new QLn420 from Zebra.

March 2013, Spring Snow

Zebra QLn420 Features

The latest and greatest rugged mobile printer from the Zebra contigent features high-tech advancements such as 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN, a 3 times faster processor than the previous model, and Link-OS integration with the latest iOS, Android, Windows CE and Mobile and Blackberry devices for ultimate connectivity. Bluetooth 3.0 also allows for short range connection to thousands of devices.

Its rugged construction means it is going to survive in the sometimes, harsh environments it would be used in, and its large function keys combined with a fully customizable interface means it is fully useable where gloves might be used.

To find out more about the device, visit the website here or give us a call on 01924 600 480. Look out for it appearing on our Onlyrugged Ecommerce site soon too!

This month we also wrapped up warm and attended IMHX 2013 at the NEC in Birmingham which was a

The night before: The Finished Renovotec Stand

resounding success. The exhibition, which finished on Friday - showcased our new branding for the first time and the general consensus was that it was well received and customers liked the red/grey combination. Pro2Pac was also successful, with Dave Main from our sales team going down to the ExCeL Centre in East London to demonstrate the best that the RF and Voice market have to offer. Not to stop our march through every exhibition centre in the UK, we are pleased to announce that we will also be exhibiting at Multimodal 2013 at the NEC! You can find us exhibiting with Intermec at stand 102 just around the corner from the main visitor entrance in Hall 4.

That's all for this post but we hope you have a lovely long weekend to celebrate Easter and we'll see you on Tuesday when our offices re-open! To find out more about any of our products, please call us on 01924 600480 or visit OnlyRugged and someone will be available.

Psion €200 Trade in offer and Ian and Matt Join the Renovotec Team

One of our most trusted manufacturers, Psion (now part of Motorola Solutions) has now made buying their products even more attractive with their latest trade in offer. Up until and including the 30th June 2013 when your trade in either your Psion 7535 or Psion Ikon you will receive €200 (£170.90) off the cost of a full priced Psion Omnii XT15, Psion EP10 or Psion Workabout Pro 3.

We're Expanding the Renovotec Team!

Ian Hitchcox Joins Renovotec Voice

Due to the increasing number of voice enquiries we've received over the last few months and the successes of Steve Townsend since joining Renovotec, we have now been able to expand our Voice development team further. Ian Hitchcox has now joined us after starting his professional career in Business Process Management at HMRC, and then moving onto Capgemini. Here he worked in their financial services sector, first as an apprentice and then as a junior developer. As part of the development team for Renovotec Voice he will explore ways to deliver software to our customers to increase productivity and enhance their operations.

Ian said "I am excited to be joining Renovotec and looking forward to new challenges as I move from the financial services sector -which i have worked in for the past 2 years- to voice technology. I hope to utilise skills from my previous projects and put them to good use at Renovotec."



Matt Beasley



Also joining us in recent months was Business Development Executive Matthew Beasley. After working at commercial laundry equipment supplier JLA and with five years experience in the kitchen and bathroom industry as a design/sales consultant, he will now be joining the Renovotec sales team along with Justin, Dave and Oliver to help enhance the customer base and help to ensure that the team meets their 2013 sales targets.

Matt told us, "I am looking forward to working in a completely new industry and widening my skillset. While there is a lot to learn I am confident that i will contribute to the success to the sales team."

Thanks for reading and don't forget to visit us on stand S2322 at Pro2Pac (17th - 20th March) at the Excel, London and on stand 19L73 at IMHX in Birmingham on the 19th to the 22nd of March!