Motion Computing J3400 reviews – a rugged tablet PC for outdoor use

Saturday, March 21, 2009, 9:30
Laptops
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motion_j3400 Motion Computing earlier produced a 12.1-inch tablet PC, the L1700 which offered the XGA-resolution. With its new models, the J3400, the Motion Computing has upped the ante by providing a wide-screen display, which has native resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels. The LED-backlit ‘View Anywhere’ touch-screen not only provides great viewing angles and outdoor readability but it also consumes less power.

Measuring 32.3cm wide by 23.1cm high by 2.3cm deep, the J3400 has ability to house two 30Wh batteries. When one battery is fitted, it weighs just 1.63kg and another battery adds 0.18kg. So, it is quite comfortable to hold though it not a lightweight tablet PC. The Motion computing has branded the J3400 as a ruggedised tablet which is designed to handle the outdoor use in challenging environments. The tablet PC can withstand a drop of 3 feet on to a plywood-over-concrete surface. The tablet PC feels sold when you hold it, which is due to its magnesium alloy chassis and rubberised cladding on the rear.

When the system is in landscape mode, the system controls can be accessed from the right side in the 3cm-wide bezel. These controls include camera button, microphone and ambient light sensor, Motion Dashboard button, Motion QuickNav button, Escape button and a four-way directional pad. With the Motion QuickNav, you can launch stylus-friendly on-screen keyboard whereas Motion Dashboard allows you to adjust the display, power and security settings, audio, pen & tablet, and wireless settings.

The ports and controls are located on the left side behind a protective hinged rubber flaps. These include audio and Ethernet (RJ-45) ports along with two USB connectors, VGA-out port, and the power input. On the Right hand side of the tablet you will find a slot spring-loaded stylus along with ExpressCard/34 slot, SmartCard slot, power button, a fingerprint reader and finally a Ctrl-Alt-Del button and a battery status LED. A 2-MP camera is located on the back panel along with a docking station connector, two battery bays, and a SIM card slot for the integrated mobile broadband/GPS module.

The J3400 is powered by 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 and 4GB of DDR3 RAM, you also have option to go for slower CPU, the 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300. All the variants of the J3400 come with Mobile Intel GS45 Express chipset and its GMA4500MHD integrated graphics. The tablet PC runs on Windows Vista Business operating system. The PC comes with 64GB Samsung solid-state drive but you can also go for conventional hard disks with 80GB or 120GB of capacity. These hard drives are shock-protected and come with an accelerometer.