Psion Teklogix launches rugged iKon PDA phone

Last we heard from Psion Teklogix, it was busy cranking out a handheld workhorse for those rough days in the field, but now the outfit is celebrating its 40th year in the biz by offering up the iKon. This PDA / smartphone features a 3.7-inch VGA display, an integrated camera, built-in GPS, GSM / GPRS / UMTS connectivity options, Bluetooth, WiFi, a barcode scanner and your choice of Windows Mobile 6 Classic / Professional or CE.net 5. Furthermore, this tough guy can withstand falls from five feet to polished concrete, and it'll also hold its own when faced with sandstorms and downpours. Sadly, Psion Teklogix isn't fessing up to what the iKon will cost, but you can certainly contact the firm directly when it goes on sale this December should you be interested.

[Shane @ Oct 25th 2007 11:50AM]

What? No CDMA/EVDO? Guess this means I won't be getting these in my (Verizon-Centric) workplace.....

[holycow @ Oct 25th 2007 12:00PM]

reminds me of Siemens M65

[twoboxen @ Oct 25th 2007 12:15PM]

wake me when more non-WM6 smartphones arrive. I think I'll avoid taking a botnet with me everywhere i go.

[nicholas @ Oct 25th 2007 12:37PM]

Oh how I wish that Psion still utilized Epoc or Symbian as a platform. Penny wise and pound foolish…

Damn, will somebody make a frigging NetBook-like product again! That or a MacTablet Pro.

[cap'n @ Oct 25th 2007 2:50PM]

Who would've thought?! Cell phones that are actually durable... This should, in all honesty, be the standard by now.

[Mojo_Yugen @ Oct 25th 2007 3:14PM]

"...can withstand falls from five feet to polished concrete."

And unpolished concrete? What about that? Come on, do your research guys!

[Lucky @ Oct 25th 2007 3:18PM]

When impacting unpolished concrete, it causes cracks in the earth taht swallow small children and the elderly. Never, ever drop it on unpolished concrete.

[Mojo_Yugen @ Oct 25th 2007 3:21PM]

Whoa, they really need to put a big bold warning on the box then. Thanks for the update.

[Lucky @ Oct 25th 2007 3:15PM]

Teklogix equipment is nutzo tough. We used it at my last job working inventory for the railroad system. I'm pretty sure a semi could run over our handheld scanners and they'd survive.

[Mike Klein @ Oct 25th 2007 9:51PM]

Agree 100%. Consumer devices need to be ruggedized...splash shock dust etc.

Vendors are somewhat hesitant to do this...cause they want to sell you next years model. Only vendors doing this are ones in fields where it is a requirement.

I've looked into insurance...and this doesn't appear to be a very good option...too many gotchas in policy.

[Shane @ Oct 25th 2007 11:40PM]

The problem is that this level of ruggedizing adds $$$$ to the cost. I'm willing to bet that most consumers would not pay that kind of price just for a more rugged device. On top of that they would scream that it was too ugly.

[Mike Klein @ Oct 25th 2007 11:48PM]

Good points...but it depends.

While device dev't is still in state of flux (gps now de'rigeur, just starting to get VGA, etc.) when there is some 'stabilization' in feature set I think this may be more important to 'joe consumer'.

TCO is supposedly lower for ruggedized devices...and if device is at level where you don't need (ok want!) to upgrade every 6mos-year...then something that'll last longer will be more important perhaps.

It would be interesting to know how much is added to cost of say a $500 device when ruggedized...$50 more? $100 more?

I tend to beat on my stuff (kayaking, jetski, motorcycle) and I carry them everywhere...leading to more likely to drop /wet it cause I have it always.

Being rugged has tended in past to mean "crappy" feature set...but have you seen the new Toughbook 52? 1920x1200/64-bit...me want!! Then again this is only 'partially' ruggedized...the rugged laptop models are still 1024x768, etc.

[Bobtheinvestor @ Jan 10th 2008 4:15AM]

Not Symbian or CDMA, have they missed the audience that they should be targeting?

On the subject of rugedness I think a more flexible option would have been to have a outer cover a bit like they do on some of the commercial DVMs. Then you can have the option of good looking or practical for environment. This should make it cheaper, after all the main point is to sell as many as possible isn't it.

A Shareholder (foolishly perhaps hanging on for something special)