Motion Computing J3500 tablet PC review

Motion Computing's line of tablet PCs has been given an upgrade with this new system based on the latest Intel mobile processors, plus a dual-mode touch screen that lets users control it by fingertip or using the traditional digital stylus for input.

Available since June, the J3500 is a rugged device aimed at workers in the field. It meets US military MIL-STD-810G specifications and is IP52 rated against water and dust, with an anti-shock mounting for its display and hard drive. Buyers can optionally specify a Gorilla glass screen and a Flash solid state drive for extra resilience.

As such, the system is not designed to compete with consumer devices like Apple's iPad, but is intended to be used by construction workers, engineers and other roles needing a go-anywhere full-specification PC.

The system is a slate-mode tablet with a 12.1in display running Windows 7 Professional, with XP Tablet PC Edition available via downgrade rights. It can be configured with a number of extras to help with mobile work roles, including a 3-megapixel camera and 3G mobile broadband module with GPS support, plus the ability to fit two internal 30Whr battery packs for longer use while away from mains power.

However, the J3500 is a fairly hefty device to carry around, weighing 1.6kg with a single battery fitted, and at least 1.8kg with two batteries. This makes it too heavy to grip by one edge, and requires you to support it with one hand behind the middle of the case if you are using it while standing.

This could quickly get tiring, but Motion offers a shoulder strap as an accessory to take most of the weight. We suspect the shoulder strap may be essential for workers who need to carry the unit around as part of their job.

Specifications
Our review unit boasted a strong specification for running most applications, with an ultra-low voltage Core i7 U640 processor at 1.2GHz, backed by 4GB memory and a 160GB 1.8in hard drive. It also has the usual PC connectivity options, including 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

We were impressed with the dual-touch display on our review unit, which supports both multi-touch input using your fingers or the digital stylus that comes as part of the system. We found we could easily navigate around the Windows menus and applications using a fingertip, switching to the stylus when more precision is required or for handwriting input.

The stylus stows away in a slot on the top right edge of the system when not required, and simply pops out if you press it.

Windows 7's tablet PC functions also mean that an on-screen keyboard is never very far away if you need to key in anything. The keyboard hides at the edge of the screen with just a narrow strip showing, but zips into view when you tap it.

The keyboard can also be expanded as required so that the keys are a comfortable size for entering text, and a control toggles it into writing pad mode where you can scribble input using the stylus. The accuracy with which it recognises scrawled input is also impressive.

A system tray icon allows the user to select whether the J3500 will switch screen orientation when you rotate the device, but this did not function when we tried it and we had to resort to manually switching from landscape to portrait mode and back.

Motion supplied us with its optional mobile keyboard accessory, which is probably best used if you need to key in a lot of information or use a standard Windows application for any length of time.

The mobile keyboard looks like a docking slice, and does in fact clip magnetically to the base of the J3500 so you can easily carry it around with you. To use it, you release a catch and it opens up like a laptop computer to form a cradle for the system, with a full-size keyboard and laptop-style touchpad attached.

Our only misgiving about the mobile keyboard is that it is tricky to position the J3500 so that it mates properly with the docking connector.

In design, the J3500 looks like many other tablet PCs we've seen, but it has one or two notable features. To the left of the display is a miniature navigation key that functions like the arrow keys on a PC keyboard, while pushing its centre registers as an enter key press. Above this are other buttons that turn off the display, activate Motion's navigation panel and dashboard tools, and one for the device's camera, if present.

I/O options
The J3500 also has a highly contoured rubber coating over the sides and back that is probably to make the unit easier to grip when wearing gloves outdoors. Most of the traditional PC I/O ports are hidden way for protection behind covers that form part of this coating on the left side of the case.

Popping open one cover reveals an Ethernet port and standard audio jack sockets, while the adjacent one conceals two USB ports and a VGA output.

The right side of the case has a pull-off cover that reveals an ExpressCard slot for adding peripherals, plus a slot for a smartcard for authentication purposes. The right side also has a fingerprint swipe sensor and a button to lock the screen; the equivalent of pressing ctrl-alt-del on a PC keyboard.

On the underside of the J3500 can be found the camera (if specified) with a light made of a row of LEDs for illumination. A close-fitting cover in the middle protects the J3500's docking connector, while the twin battery compartments are to the left and right below this. One compartment has a SIM card connector for use with the optional 3G broadband modem.

Given the target market of the J3500, it is likely to be used for specialist vertical applications, but Motion supplies a few useful tools.

Motion QuickNav is a menu bar that provides access to functions such as the camera for snapshots and video recording, plus several on-screen keyboard options.
Motion Dashboard is a control panel for specific features such as the display, pen and tablet devices, and the wireless interfaces.

In performance, the J3500 has a decent mid-range score of 3.5, as measured by the Windows Experience Index built into Windows. This represents the lowest subsystem score, which in this case is the integrated graphics, with the processor, memory and disk subsystems all showing higher scores.

Battery life
Motion also supplied our review system with twin battery packs, which the firm quotes as delivering up to seven hours of use. However, our tests only came close to this with a figure of six hours and 39 minutes when we used the Battery Eater Pro benchmark in its Reader mode, which simulates the user reading text or some other low-intensity task.

In Classic mode, which simulates activity, the J3500 lasted for just two hours and 13 minutes. In reality, users can expect to see their batteries last for somewhere between these two figures.

Slate-mode tablet PC with dual-touch 12.1in display, 1.2GHz Core i7 processor, 4GB memory, 160GB hard drive, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth, optional 5-megapixel camera with light, optional Qualcomm Gobi 2000 3G broadband module with GPS, optional second battery pack, Windows 7 Professional.