Top 6 Rugged Tablets with Barcode Scanner (Win&Android)
Businesses mostly require smart and sensitive devices to streamline work operations and overcome the team communication gap. But there are some situations that these devices cannot withstand. It includes outdoor stations and rough environments for working, like manufacturing units, construction sites, and mining areas.
These places have high temperatures, dust particles, vibrations, and moisture. Technology has evolved specialized devices called rugged devices with a special coating to withstand harsh environments and ensure the continuity of businesses. A rugged tablet with a barcode scanner helps companies streamline inventory management, data collection, supply chain management, and efficient billing.
1. How Rugged Tablet with Barcode Scanner Can Help Your Business?
The convergence of rugged devices and barcode scanners is pivotal in enhancing efficiency and work experience. Here are some important uses of rugged tablets with barcode scanners in different industries:
Manufacturing
The use of rugged devices ensures continuity of working for the long term. Converging rugged tablets with barcode scanners helps manufacturers correctly label and track the products and components throughout the processing. With barcode scanning on rugged devices, staff can easily access detailed information about different parts, specifications, and usage instructions.
Retail industry
Rugged devices in the retail industry help to streamline the billing process with instant data input through barcode scanning. Staff can add large items in a few seconds and generate accurate bills. It helps them improve customer satisfaction and engagement. These devices help retailers arrange the products in an organized way, maintain stocks, and ensure smooth check-out to enhance the Omni channel shopping experience.
Transportation industry
Nowadays, many countries have widely embraced using scan codes to ride in transportation, resulting in the prevalence of rugged devices with barcode scanners in buses and metro stations.
Compared to the traditional method of purchasing tickets on buses, scanning codes for bus rides offers enhanced convenience, reduces queueing time, and has largely replaced ticket vendors.
2. Benefits of Owning These Devices
Data Accuracy and Efficient Decision-making
Rugged tablets with barcodes transform data collection and other traditional paperwork into smooth and effective work. It helps businesses manage inventory reordering, optimize customer preferences, and adjust production schedules. Barcode scanners in rugged devices also minimize the risk of errors that occur with human involvement in manual data entry.
Social Distancing and Contactless Operations
Retrieving the information by scanning the barcode helps customers reduce their contact with the staff and make purchases quickly with a good customer experience. In the healthcare industry, doctors can check the patient's medical barcodes and wristbands to get the information without touching them. It helps them to keep safe from viral diseases.
Durability and Reduced Downtime
Rugged devices have special coating and protection to withstand dust, moisture, shocks, and high temperatures. Thus, you can enhance the durability and reduce downtime. The battery life of rugged devices is also much better than ordinary smart devices.
3. Top 6 Rugged Tablets with Barcode Scanner
Top 3 Rugged Android tablet with barcode scanner
1Honeywell RT10
Honeywell RT10 is a touchscreen rugged tablet with an easy-to-read screen size of 10.0 to 10.9 inches. It possesses 6GB RAM and device storage of 64GB. It is highly durable with IP65 certification. Honeywell RT10 has 13MP rear and 8 MP front cameras for better picture and video quality. It has all the standard features for various industrial tasks like 2D Area imager.
Key Features
- Honeywell R10 has a special coating that withstands 4ft drops on concrete. It complies with STD 810G standards for durability.
- It connects different teams for support, like elderly workers, with experts and technicians with the help of PTT, voice, text, and video communication.
- It possesses strong scanning capabilities for near, mid, and far-off scans with an incredible auto-focus feature.
2Panasonic Toughbook L1
Panasonic Toughbook L1 has a beautiful design and a seven-inch HD display with anti-glare and glove mode for smooth and safe contact. It also possesses 1D or 2D scanning options for industrial purposes.
This Toughbook has a battery power of 3200 mAh and is certified with an IP67 rating. Additional features include WLAN, GPS, and NFC. It has 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, and an 8MP camera.
Key Features
- It is available with P.180 to ensure global connectivity.
- It has 4G lite data support, IP65, and IP76 rating for dust and water resistance.
- It complies with the industry basic standard for processer, i.e., quad-core by Qualcomm.
3Zebra ET56
Zebra ET56 is another rugged tablet with Android OS. This touchscreen interface displays 8.0 to 8.9 inches with a 2D Area imager for scanning bar codes. This Zebra tablet model has 4GB RAM and 32 GB storage space. It also has Bluetooth, USB, 4G, Cellular, and Wireless supporting features. It is certified with an IP65 rating and a battery power 4830 mAh.
Key Features
- Workers can use the tablet using gloves, fingers, and a stylus as per feasibility.
- With LTE, enterprises can provide access to their workers to the fastest cellular connection.
- It has a special coating to handle drops of rain, snow, extreme heat, dust, and spilled liquids.
Top 3 Rugged Windows tablets with barcode scanner
1Panasonic Toughpad FZ-E1
Panasonic Toughpd FZ-E1 is a small-sized rugged device with high coating for military-grade usage. It works with Windows 8.1, enabling workers to optimize tasks with this pocket-size tablet, even in harsh environments. This tablet can withstand thirty minutes in water and can bear ten feet of drop on the concrete, making it a very reliable product.
Key Features
- It has a built-in heater to survive in -4° F temperature.
- It has 4G LTE WWAN with satellite GPS, dual SIM capacity, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
2Conker NS6
Conker is a Windows handheld rugged device with power similar to high industrial devices. It is compatible with Windows 10 and integrates with Honeywell's barcode scanner. It provides increased flexibility to mold the device as per needs. This tablet is 6.1 inches and looks perfect in hands with an HD display of resolution 1280x720. You can use the touch screen even with gloves.
Key Features
- It has a toughened touchscreen with an IP65 rating and can withstand harsh temperatures.
- It has a Honeywell N3680 scan engine with a sensor resolution of 640x480 pixels.
3DT Research DT301
It is one of the slimmest, multi-functional, and wireless computing rugged tablets for corporate use. DT301 has front and back cameras with a 2D barcode scanner and UHF RFID reader.
This device has a Corei5, i7, or Pentium Gold processor. The device has an anti-microbial coating that makes it fit to use in healthcare, where people are more exposed to viruses. It has various certifications, including MIL-STD-810G, MIL-STD-461F and IP65 rating. This rugged tablet has 8GB RAM and 256GB hard.
Key Features
- DT301 is HERO (Hazard of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordinance) certified.
- It has a detachable keyboard option for two-in-one applications.
Our Recommendation
Businesses widely use rugged devices for versatile purposes in harsh environments, so "how to manage them" becomes a crucial issue. AirDroid Business is one the best Moble device management solutions. It provides customizable security policies to set on rugged devices. It offers easy deployment of devices and then allows you to monitor and control these tablets remotely. Technical teams can provide instant remote support to the workers in the field and troubleshoot issues to reduce downtime.
4. Why Rugged Tablets?
Rugged tablets combine the portability of smart tablets with a protective coating that enables them to withstand challenging working environments like construction sites, manufacturing, and mining. These tablets are certified by various departments, ensuring they are safe from uncertain conditions like extremely hot or cold weather, water resistance, dust, and shocks.
Rugged tablets are also strong enough to withstand high drops. Battery time of rugged tablets is comparatively higher as they are available in places where charging again and again is not possible. So different models are manufactured with unique specifications to meet various business needs.
5. Rugged Tablets with Barcode Scanners vs. Regular Barcode Scanners
- Rugged tablets with barcode scanners combine tablet features for versatile usage, while you can use standard barcode scanners for barcode scanning.
- They are easy to carry in pockets, while regular barcode scanners must attach with an additional computing device, making it difficult to operate as mobile.
- Rugged tablets with barcode scanners have less downtime than standard devices as they are made with heavy metals and coating to withstand harsh environments.
- Rugged tablets with barcode scanners are more expensive than standard barcode scanners due to their high durability.
- Rugged tablets are compatible with advanced security features, while regular barcode scanners have typical security measures.
6. How Many Types of Barcode Readers Are There?
Here are five basic types of barcode readers:
Pen-type Barcode Readers are also called wand scanners and have rare usage due to limited speed and accuracy. You have to move the reader from the code to scan it slowly.
Laser Barcode Readers have a laser beam to scan the product code. Retailers mostly use laser barcode scanners because they can detect the code from a distance. Hence, it enables them to create bills instantly.
CCD (Charge-coupled Device) Barcode Readers use light sensors to detect the code. They can see the code from short distances and are versatile enough for inventory management and POS systems.
Image barcode Reader use the camera to capture the barcode's image, which you can scan to detect the code. They are widely used in logistics because they can scan 1D and 2D barcodes.
You can use Slot barcode Readers for specialized barcodes that you can find on ID cards, credit and debit cards, and other membership cards. A barcode is inserted into a narrow slot to get the information.
Conclusion
Enterprises use different rugged devices in industries that can cope with rough environments, but they use rugged tablets widely because of their small size and portability. Rugged tablets are available in various sizes, prices, and features. You must choose a device that has reasonable features and flexible handling.
After selecting the devices, it is crucial to have proper management; otherwise, they will prove problematic for your business. You can use MDM solutions like AirDroid Business for Android-based rugged devices. It will provide easy methods to deploy unlimited devices with ease of remote management, monitoring, and controlling. You can also support your team remotely accessing their devices from a centralized location.
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