Motorola is introducing a tablet built for business,
targeting vertical markets such as retail, healthcare field service and sales,
and logistics through its network of channel partners.
Motorola’s ET1 is billed as an enterprise tablet and is
built on the Android operating system with enhancements such as additional
security and data encryption. The ET1 joins Motorola Solutions existing lineup
of devices built on Windows Mobile and Windows CE.
“Android doesn’t have all the components to do enterprise,
so we added to it,” Sheldon Safir, global director of product marketing for
Motorola Solutions, told Channel Insider. The device also includes multi-user logon,
enabling devices to be provisioned with the access each user needs for their
particular jobs.
“We’ve also enabled enterprise functions to limit the access
users have so they are not downloading Angry Birds but are focused on getting
their work done,” he said.
The ET1 is able to withstand a 4 foot drop and is resistant
to the intrusion of dust and moisture. It includes a rechargeable battery that
will last a full eight-hour shift, but can also be hot swapped, retaining its
state for 15 minutes to change batteries before shutting down.
The ET1 works with VOIP and offers video conferencing and
push-to-talk. It includes an integral
expansion port and offers snap on accessories that can enable barcode scanning
and credit card acceptance.
The first version of the ET1 is a Wi-Fi device with two
built in cameras. In addition, apps are under development by partners to enable
specific enterprise functions including assisted selling, a product locator,
and a managers’ dashboard to show what employees are on the sales floor and
enables task assignments
Motorola Solutions is currently piloting the device in a
limited number of retail settings. In addition, the company envisions it could
be used in healthcare environments as well as in hospitality for functions such
as guest check in.
The device is 1.4 lbs. with a 7.2 inch screen and has an
integrated hand strap. “We wanted a device that would fit in one hand,” said Safir.
The screen is capacitive touch. The device itself is 8.8 inches long, 5.1
inches wide and is less than an inch thick. When it is placed face down it goes
into suspend mode to save on battery life.
It also includes Bluetooth compatibility so it can be used
with scanner or printer. The CPU is dual core 1Ghtz processor. There’s 1GB of RAM and 4GB of Flash. It also supports
a microSD card that can hold another 32GB of storage.
In addition, the bezel around the screen is customizable, so it can
be branded by the retailer.
In volume it will be less than $1k with an $800 street
price.
Motorola solutions said the device will be generally shipping
at end of year and in major volume in January 2012.
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