The MC2100, a lightweight, rugged handheld computer, will ship later this month. Motorola Solutions today announced the MC2100, a lightweight, rugged handheld computer designed in the shape of a slender TV remote control device.
Motorola slotted the device to fit between its earlier MC1000 and MC3100 models in price and functionality, according to Sheldon Safir, director of product marketing for Motorola Solutions.
The MC2100 will appeal to small and medium-sized businesses that "don't need the full power of the MC3100," Safir said in an interview.
All the devices in the MC series are designed for business and industrial uses; Safir said the MC2100 will probably be primarily used for retail and manufacturing in automating inventory control through barcode scanning. One version of the MC2100 will work within wireless LAN settings, while another version will record scanned data that's transferred when the device is set into a cradle connection.
Pricing will start at $850, and the devices are slated to ship at the end of December, Safir said.
Three versions of barcode scanning functions are available on the devices, which feature a numerical keypad that sits below a 2.8-in. touch panel.
The MC2100 runs Windows CE 6.0 and is ruggedized to withstand a four-foot drop. It supports 802.11b/g/n.
It will be the first low-cost rugged handheld to support HTML5, made available through Motorola's RhoElements application framework, Safir said.
Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed . His e-mail address is mhamblen@computerworld.com .
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