Mobile workers have historically had to lug around laptops from site to site, or location to location. But with technology shrinking devices down, it seems absurd that workers would have to continue to bear this burden. That is where devices like the ePlate from Hitachi come in. Light and compact, this rugged device will allow mobile workers to manipulate the data they need to while they're in the field, without breaking their backs carrying laptops around.

Weighing approximately three pounds, instead of the usual seven or so pounds that a laptop adds, the lightweight ePlate will take up 9.3 x 6.7 x 1.3 inches of packing space. A ruggedized rubber outer casing will help keep this device firmly in hand. So, what can this device do? Well, it can run pretty much anything made for the Microsoft Windows CE Version 2.12 platform. A 128 MHz Hitachi SuperH SH-4 RISC microprocessor should give you the processing power you need, and an additional graphics accelerator chip will help you see what you want to see.

Speaking of seeing things on the ePlate, let's look at the screen. An 8.2 inch color DSTN back-lit transflective LCD has been created for better viewing outdoors. Hitachi's new color-STN LCD module, the SC21V001, allows the ePlate to have the best visibility of display in high ambient light conditions (reflective mode) or in dim light conditions (transmissive mode) by using the backlight. The screen incorporates a resistive touch panel and has a VGA resolution of 640 x 480.

With the ePlate, you can connect to the Internet with a built-in 56 kbps V.90 modem via a RS-232 serial port. Internal memory is 32 MB ROM, and 32 MB RAM. Other communication and expandability methods include a PC Type II Card Slot, CompactFlash slot, USB port, VGA out port, IrDA port, and a speaker. If you select the cradle option, you'll get a docking cradle for the ePlate, which will add USB and serial connections, along with battery charging. The battery is an internal rechargeable Li-ion battery.

Pricing and Availability

The Hitachi ePlate HPW-630ETR is currently available at a price of $1500.

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