Only MobileDemand would think of this: using a T8700 Rugged Tablet PC to hit a baseball.

MobileDemand is continuing to make progress in the rugged tablet pc space, this time inking a deal with Affiliated Foods Midwest:

Affiliated Foods Midwest, a member-owned grocery cooperative headquartered in Norfolk, Neb., recently partnered with rugged Tablet PC manufacturer MobileDemand to help simplify its order entry process and streamline operations - a move that helped significantly decrease the cost of goods sold for participating retailers.

The 850 independent grocers that make up AFM previously used small screen handheld computers for their order entry process. This forced them to download data to a desktop computer to review, optimize and finally place the order. The co-op recognized that this was a time-consuming and inefficient process and presented an opportunity to switch to a new full screen, rugged mobile computing system.

Yikes! Those folks at MobileDemand sure know how to drive a point home. Check out this video of them using a rugged xTablet PC as a hammer. It is part of their Tablet PC Torture Chamber Series.

The folks at MobileDemand and the Box Canyon Dairy have been putting rugged Tablet PCs to the test, using them to help streamline management of the dairy's breeding and vet procedures. They've produced a thorough of a case study, complete with video and written documentation.

Here is a description of the problem MobileDemand was aiming to solve for Box Canyon Dairy, along with some videos, and more information on MobileDemand's website:

Idaho Dairy Reduces Cattle Wrangling Time by 50 Percent with New Software, RFID and a Rugged Tablet PC.

CHALLENGE

· Streamline management of the dairy’s complex breeding and veterinary procedures

· Provide employees with access to up-to-date information

SOLUTION

· Migrate existing software to a mobile, full screen TabletPC

· Introduce mobile version of DairyQuest on to fully digitize management of dairy’s veterinary procedures

RESULT

• More efficient, streamlined operations

• More accurate decision making, less errors

Scott Haag, general manager of Box Canyon Dairy in Wendell, Idaho is all too familiar with challenges of running large dairy. The 2,500-acre dairy roughly 100 miles southeast of Boise, has been in operation for the past 26 years and milks roughly 7,000 cows on a regular basis. The dairy owns an additional 1,000 dry cows and is in the process of buying another dairy, which will bring its total count to approximately 10,000 cows.

With an operation of this magnitude, management of the veterinary care and breeding of these animals is not only a priority but a necessity. So, when Haag decided to implement a more efficient process for the health, care and breeding of the cows, he turned to ProfitSource, a software developer for the agriculture industry based in Wisconsin, and MobileDemand, a rugged Tablet PC manufacturer based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The resulting implementation has completely transformed daily operations at the dairy.

By MobileDemand: http://www.RuggedTabletPC.com

And ProfitSource: http://www.DairyQuest.com

A lot of readers like to know how different screen technologies work indoors and out.

In this video from MobileDemand, they compare their xView screen to their standard display.

Here are the show notes from MobileDemand's video:

This video demonstrates the difference in direct sunlight and indoors between the standard xTablet Tablet PC display and the new xView sunlight readable display.  We show you various angles during a sunny day in direct sunlight. 

Note that the displays are nearly equivelent indoors, while the sunlight readable display is far superior in direct sunlight.

We intend to also demonstrate the difference and viewability of each display while inside of a vehicle, such as a beer truck.  MobileDemand has sold thousands of tablets that are used in beer trucks and other vehicles with our standard display and have had great success.  That extra little bit of shade inside the vehicle makes all the difference so the standard display is easily viewable. 

The MobileDemand xTablet is your rugged computing solution for the wireless world. What sets the xTablet apart? Three words: POWER, CAPABILITY and RUGGEDNESS. With the industry’s highest processor performance, this resilient tablet PC can be used anywhere from the shop floor, to the delivery truck to the checkout line. And our military-tested ruggedness will meet your business’ performance standards. Features include:

· Integrated numeric keypad

· Bar-code scanner

· Credit card reader

· Sunlight readable display

· Vehicle mounts and accessories are also available to complete your system

The xTablet is a versatile, flexible and powerful performer that is designed with your needs in mind.

And you thought our abuse of MobileDemand's xTablet T8700 was bad? Check this out!

Here is run down by clip of what they do to the xTablet T8700

Tablet PC Insanity

Short demonstration clips showing how much abuse the xTablet rugged Tablet PC can take.

By clip number:

1. We actually use an xTablet while it is turned on as a hammer to hammer in a roofing nail to two pieces of 1 by 8 pieces of wood.

2. The xTablet is suspended in air, 36” inches high, as we run a PowerPoint demonstration denoting the number of drops. You can hear the audio clip “And when the machine breaks down, we break down.” It is a most appropriate phrase given how our customers use the tablets in mission critical processes. Our engineer presses a button and the tablet drops out of site.

3. A tablet hits the floor.

4. A tablet hits the floor again.

5. We are zoomed in to another clip of an online trailer of “Speed Racer,” and while the camera zooms out the tablet starts shaking. It’s mounted inside of a Red Devil paint shaker and being shaken to the extreme! We used the accelerometer on the Tablet PC and showed it was taking up to 15 – 17 Gs while being shaken in the paint shaker and still running!

6. We drop a 15 ounce can of corn from about 40 inches directly onto the display of an xTablet. This demonstrates our new screen protection technology we’ve implemented in a few pilot and beta test units – to be released sometime in June or July of 2008.

7. A close up of the same can of corn hitting the display after falling 40 inches.

8. The xTablet rugged Tablet PC is rated to the military standard for ruggedness called MIL STD 810F. This calls for an electronic device to withstand repeated drops from 36 inches high to 2 inches of plywood over concrete. It calls for a total of 26 drops – one each to all flat surfaces, edges, and corners. Our “Tablet PC Torture Chamber” provides a means for this test. You can see the number of drops and each orientation the tablet is placed into in the screen of the tablet. We run a PowerPoint presentation with each slide having the number of that particular drop orientation. You can see the yardstick that gives an indication of the height. We placed a slab of concrete (meant for air conditioners to be placed onto it) on the floor, then the two 1” rated plywood pieces screwed together (as you may know – making it actually 1.5” inches thick).

9. We show a close up of an xTablet on a turning table inside our “Tablet PC Torture Chamber” being drenched by water.

10. We show the tablet again getting drenched while we are connected to YouTube showing a clip of Gene Kelly singing “Singing in the Rain.”

11. The tablet continues to get drenched while it’s running a screen saver of an aquarium. The fish don’t mind so much getting wet.

12. A very close up clip of water running off the corner of the xTablet by the numeric keypad.

13. The xTablet is sitting face up and getting soaked while still operating.

14. The xTablet is face down now and we’ve heated it up so the CPU fan is running. We pour water directly into the CPU fan and heatsink well with no harmful results!

15. The Tablet PC is again used as a hammer to nail in three nails. Notice the accelerometer attached showing the real time G forces it experiences while hitting the nails. The second and third nails reach all the way through the boards and hit the concrete, so they can’t be nailed any further.

Sharp viewers watching MTV's Rock The Cradle noticed that the judges were sporting MobileDemands xTablet T8700. Notice the tablets sitting on a table next to Belinda Carlisle of The Go-Go's.

MTV rented the tablets for use during this season, so I suspect we'll get to see some more of them in action. Watch last night's show here, and be sure to catch future episodes. Hey, maybe we'll run a "Spot the Rugged Tablet PC" and hand out a few Splotches! If you spot the tablet in upcoming episodes, post your screenshot in our forum.

Follow MTV's Rock The Cradle Facebook account here, and MobileDemand's Facebook account here.

Major kudos to MobileDemand for being awarded Technology Company of the Year by the Technology Association of Iowa.

Checkout this press release for more information:

The Technology Association of Iowa last week named MobileDemand®, a Cedar Rapids-based rugged Tablet PC manufacturer, Technology Company of the Year. MobileDemand was recognized for its rapid growth, innovation and leadership in the field.

The awards presentation was part of the association's annual Prometheus Awards, Iowa's largest and most prestigious awards devoted to promoting and celebrating the innovation and high-tech excellence in Iowa.

If you watched us trying to destroy Mobile Demand's T8700 Rugged Tablet PC in our last InkShow, you might be surprised to know that the T8700 is actually still working! If you have not seen that InkShow yet, I highly encourage you to do so. You get to see Team GBM having more fun than a geek should be allowed to have.

In this InkShow, I take a look at a few accessories like the docking station, carrying strap, and carrying case with enclosed keyboard.

• Download it here or watch the embedded version below
• Visit MobileDemand to learn more about the xTablet T8700 and the accessories you can buy.

Click To Play

Matt and I left for the airport at 3:00 this morning for 6:00 flights. We knew the CES crowds would be out in force, and in force they are!

We are all totally exhausted, but had more fun than ever. I'm already working on an article on the successes / challenges I faced covering CES. I know the others are working on similar posts. I'm also working on an article on my general impressions of what is now my fourth consecutive CES.

Keep a watch on the site over the next several days for a lot more CES videos and articles, including a chat I had with Motion Computing's CEO and co-founder Scott Eckert on the LS800, WriteTouch, and what 2008 holds in store for Motion. It's not your typical PR speak video. Scott was really forthcoming and addressed the issues and perceptions many in the community have been discussing. The Motion videos are actually a three part series, as I also chat with Scott and co-founder John Doherty about the beginnings of Motion Computing, how the design of the M1200 came about, and much more. The third video is chat with Scott and Michael Johnson, who is in of Product Development. They are fascinating discussions I know many of you will enjoy.

In addition to all the news and video coverage we posted, we recorded what is probably the best InkShow we've ever done. It was on the rugged MobileDemand xTablet T8700. I'll be editing and producing it this weekend, posting it up on Monday. Stay tuned. You will thoroughly enjoy it.

My thanks to Warner, Matt, and Sierra for an awesome show. They are some incredible people who truly love mobile computing and LIVE it. I'm so proud to be affiliated with them.

In addition, I want to thank OQO for sponsoring our coverage at CES this year. They provided the Model 02's that Sierra, Matt, and Warner used, and aided tremendously with our highly mobile requirements.

At the Tablet PC meetup last night, MobileDemand announced the "unreleased Tablet PC" that I had brought with me from Colorado Springs - the xTablet T8700 Rugged Tablet PC. It features a 1.2 ghz Core 2 Duo processor, support for 2 GB of RAM, and SSD support. It has an 8.4" screen that can switch between active digitizer and touch at the press of the button.

More details will soon be available on their website. Until then, stay tuned for an exclusive InkShow video review of this new tablet pc from MobileDemand. In addition, they have sent me a docking station and complete auto mount kit which I'll be reviewing in some follow-up InkShow video reviews.