Getac’s latest ruggedised handheld comes with a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, e-compass, altimeter and 3 megapixel camera and is touted by the company as being perfect for geographical information systems applications.

Specs & info
Price: £799 ex VAT
Operating system: Windows Mobile 6.1 Classic
Processor: Samsung 2450, 533MHz
Memory: 128MB RAM, 2GB Flash
Dimensions: 144.25 x 82.25 x 29.3mm
Weight: 300g
Display size: 3.5”
Display resolution: 640 x 480 pixels
Expansion slot: 1 x SDHC

The PS535F is designed for use in tough outdoors environments, perfect for use in warehouses etc, although due to its ruggedised casing and anti-glare screen could also find a second audience as an outdoor GPS device.

The battery life, after all, far outstays any other Windows Mobile handheld on the market today, getting through just about a full day off use off a single charge without too many of the power hungry features running. As it is even with the GPS active we reckon you can get five hours or more off this.

The device sees a rare outing for Windows Mobile 6.1 Classic, the traditional PDA operating system with no phone module. And traditional is the key word here. There are no fancy add-ons, no new user friendly interfaces we have become accustomed to seeing on consumer devices.

This is bare-bones Windows Mobile in all its stylus-centric glory.

The UI is neither good looking nor particularly easy to use, and is overly reliant on the stylus – thankfully a decent sized, if lightweight one, is included here. What the uncustomised OS does offer, however, is unrivalled levels of customisation. There is the ability to add software for almost any function, whether off the shelf or bespoke, and is one of great – and often unsung – capabilities of Windows Mobile.

It is designed to meet MIL-STD 810F and IP54  standards, which protects it against shock, extremes of temperature and other conditions that it is likely to encounter in its intended environment. We were unable to test it in such an environment but were able to simulate some typical problems. These included a drop test from 1.5 metres, and spilling water over the unit and ensuring that it remained powered on all the time.

We didn’t spot any obvious weaknesses: no surprise, the device feels very solid, built like a rock and the ports well protected. The battery and memory card covers are screwed down, and the USB charging port protected with a rubber seal.

The unit is large in the hand but not excessively so, and the weight is distributed evenly throughout the handset to make it reasonably comfortable to hold. The rugged design doesn’t come at the expense of usability either, with the front buttons very accessible and the joystick hitting about the right amount of sensitivity, enough that you can avoid using the stylus for basic tasks.

The Getac is equipped with a 3megapixel camera. It’s strangely difficult to access, there’s no hardware button or software shortcut, meaning you can only launch it through an icon in the Pictures application. The output from the camera is pretty poor, producing images akin to a cameraphone from two or three years ago (albeit large ones). Not being a consumer product this isn’t a major concern, as images from this camera are not likely to be intended for printing other than for purely functional purposes.

Other features impressed: the GPS was is excellent, holding its signal in a range of environments. Wi-fi (802.11b/g) enabled network access, and the near 2GB of available storage enough to use without needing additional memory cards. Better still the screen was outstanding. 3.5 inches and VGA resolution it was clear to read, and visible in outdoor conditions thanks to its anti-glare treatment.

Perhaps the only question we have about the PS535F is the price. It is a given that rugged devices will cost way above what you would pay for a similarly specced non-rugged device, but in the case of this model it seems more like about £500 more – even this model is £150 more than Getac’s previous Windows Mobile device, and the update is good but hardly revolutionary.

Still, if your productivity would benefit from a mobile device and you need something tougher than a regular PDA, this is hard to beat.

Essential verdict
Performance: 8
Design: 8
Features: 8
Value for money: 6

Overall score: 8/10

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