Wearable computers for data-critical applications

The Zypad WL1500 series is also suitable for medical, homeland security, law enforcement, logistics, maintenance and transportation professionals.

The wearable computers allow users to maintain connectivity through a full range of communications protocols such as WiFi, Bluetooth and cellular, including 3G, CDMA and GPRS.

There is also a user-accessible SIM card slot should the user need instant access to data.

A built-in GPS tracking capability with an integrated antenna further enables communications capabilities.

Power conservation techniques allow the Zypad WL1500 to run for a typical eight-hour shift.

A power monitor with a fuel gauge lets the user determine if and when a battery charge is required.

At this point, the user could perform a hot swap of the battery without losing critical data or charge the unit through a USB port, ensuring continuity and reliability for a range of data-critical applications.

Additional features include a Micro SD slot, 128Mb of SDRAM Flash memory and a 12-key keyboard with built-in backlight to faciliate viewing.

The Zypad comes with a 3.5in TFT display at QVGA resolution with touch screen and a backlight controlled by an ambient light sensor.

Also included are an integrated microphone, a mono-audio speaker and audio-in capabilities.

The Zypad WL1500 supports an optional integrated barcode scanner or the external ring scanner that is available on previous models.

Pete Dombrowski, director of engineering at Eurotech, said: 'Eurotech's newest Zypad wearable computer delivers the great look and feel of the Zypad range with extensive communications and I/O capabilities.

'The cloud-ready Zypad WL1500 can be deployed in M2M [machine-to-machine] applications where hands-free operations, reliable communications and high computing performance are required.

'With Eurotech's Zypad WL1500 wearable computer, individual users have instant access to data in the field, and corporations can simultaneously access that vital information through the cloud in real time,' he added.

The Zypad WL1500 series will be available in the second quarter of 2011.

It comes with Windows CE 6.0 support.