The one thing Motion Computing, a tablet manufacturer since late 2002, wanted to make clear is that they are not a consumer product company.
Scott Ball, Motion Computing’s Country Manager for Canada, told CDN that the company realizes they are competing with some powerful consumer brands such as Apple and Samsung in the tablet market, but it wants to remain a vertically focused vendor of tablet solutions mainly in healthcare, construction and field service industries.
Having said all that, Motion Computing has struck a partnership arrangement with Telus that will start next month. According to Ball, Telus as an independent software vendor provides the company with more reach to the SMB and other field service vertical customers.
Motion Computing tablets will be available through Telus dealers as the company wants their help in addressing customers who are looking for connectivity-type solutions.Ball added that Motion Computing will further Microsoft’s Ultra Mobile Initiative, which was started six year’s ago, with a new tablet product running Windows 7. The new product called CL900, powered by Intel Atom Z670, is a ruggedized 10-inch tablet priced at about $900.
“We talk about being vertically focused and this tablet is designed for people who stand and walk around in a point of service job, or healthcare and construction,” Ball said.
The CL900’s rugged design has been built from the inside out. Its internal frame is structurally rigid and can withstand a drop from the back of a truck or a hospital bed for example. It’s also sealed to protect against exposure to moisture, dust or harsh temperatures.
“If you use this device for its intended purpose then it will get banged around so making it rugged was our first priority,” he said.Ball said that Motion equipped the touch screen unit with Gorilla Glass from Corning, while providing legacy users with a stylus that can be hidden from view when not in use. Battery life on the CL900 unit is up to eight hours on one charge. For those looking to be connected, the CL900 offers integrated Bluetooth, wireless LAN capability and Gobi 3G mobile broadband.
Since its inception Motion Computing has only dealt with the solution provider channel as its primary route to market.
Healthcare has the potential to be a huge market for Motion Computing and its reseller network. Ball sees solutions such as physician rounding, where doctors pick up a Motion tablet at a medical station and then put them back when they are finished their rounds.
“The tipping point for healthcare is with Computerized Physician Order Entry or CPOE when orders start to be processed this way that will drive the need for more mobility to assess and treat patients,” Ball said.
Other markets that are cropping up are in the utility sector with regional municipalities for water and building inspection.
Motion Computing has even put on their Web site third-party applications such as BlueBeam and Vela Systems to help solution providers address markets such as construction.
Margins on Motion Computing tablets are hard to pinpoint Ball said because of the many different types of solutions for each vertical market. He did say that on a base level that are at five per cent.
