Lines Blur Between Rugged, Consumer Mobile Devices

By Brian Albright, Integrated Solutions magazine

There used to be a clear dividing line between mobile computers that were designed for general consumer use and those that were meant for industrial or service applications. That all changed with the introduction of the PalmPilot and the Windows CE mobile operating system more than a decade ago. Since then, rugged mobile devices have increasingly been designed to mimic the look, feel, and functionality of consumer personal digital assistants (PDAs) smartphones. Likewise, consumer devices now have the processing horsepower to be used in the enterprise.