Andy Sjostrom
03-04-2003, 09:23 AM
<a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,907292,00.asp">http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,907292,00.asp</a><br /><br />This Pocket PC has it all: WiFi, Bluetooth, GSM/GPRS or CDMA/1xRTT, bar code scanner, 64 MB RAM, an SD slot and a proud price tag: $3,650. Say hello to <a href="http://www.intermec.com">Intermec's</a> new water- and dust-resistant Pocket PC which will withstand 26 5-foot drops onto a steel plate over concrete.<br /><br />"The Intermec 760 Color Mobile Computer, a Pocket PC 2002 PDA, costs a whopping $3,650 (street). Then again, this rugged device comes fully loaded with a 2-D bar code scanner, Bluetooth for wireless personal area networking, 802.11b for LAN communications, and GSM/GPRS capability with T-Mobile service for WAN communications (CDMA/1xRTT support is coming shortly). A bare-bones version without the scanner and wireless connectivity costs $1,850. Rather than pay the princely single-unit prices, most buyers purchase in volume. For quantities of 1,000 or more, the unit price varies from $1,595 to $1,995, depending on options. For mobile data collection and reporting, the Intermec 760 Color Mobile Computer is a versatile PDA."<br /><br />Yesterday, I visited a client that needs to have a mobile solution for their warehouse processes to increase efficiency and cut costs. The client had already found the Intermec Pocket PC product line and found several models that met their requirements. In a project like this, the cost of the devices represents only a smaller portion of the total system development project costs. Since the ROI is approximately one year, which it by the way is in many mobile line-of-business projects, we'll move forward with the next project stage. My next Pocket PC is $3,650.