Marlborough, Massachusetts-based Sequoia Systems Inc’s Texas Microsystems unit in Houston has introduced a hard-hat handheld personal computer onto the market, claiming the sector will constitute the fastest-growing segment of the personal computer market for blue-collar field applications. The 3 lbs 2 oz Hardbody is built around a 75MHz 80486DX4 processor, 8Mb to 32Mb memory, a 260Mb hard disk drive and runs for up to eight hours on standard rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries. Its display is a transflective 6 diagonal 640 by 480 VGA monochrome liquid crystal display that works with a capacitive touch-screen from MicroTouch Systems Inc. Prototypes of the technology were originally developed at Texas Microsystems under the alluring title of The Grunt for the US Army’s Communications & Electronics Command under a $500,000 contract provided through the US Defense Department’s Small Business Innovation Research Programme (CI No 2,476). The Grunt was intended to be an element in an ambitious long-range plan by the US Army to equip soldiers with advanced computing and communications capabilities for the battlefields of the next century. The Hardbody is a redesign of the original prototype. It can survive both a three foot drop and a torrential downpour and is being promoted in areas such as damage assessment, safety and catastrophe management, where rugged conditions prevail on a day-to-day basis. Ships began in December with volume scheduled for the end of this month, but the company is at present not saying anything about potential customers it has up its sleeve. Prices for the Hardbody will start at $4,000.
