When you are looking to source rugged technology such as tablets for use in extreme conditions, it is easy to assume that these dedicated solutions will cost very little more than a normal tablet. After all, the casing may be changed and the usability tweaked somewhat, but other than that, they are pretty much the same, right?
Well, to put it simply, no. In reality there can be a huge difference between one and the other and not only must the all changes to the design of such tablets be taken into account but the manufacturing costs of making very specialised items must all be factored in. After all, whilst a normal tablet will have a very vast potential audience and so can be simply manufactured en masse to drastically reduce the overhead costs of each one, rugged tablets have a much narrower demographic, and furthermore each model may be slightly different to more effectively accommodate those in very specific industries or carrying out very specific tasks.
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
Ordinary tablets are manufactured to withstand very little in the way of action and to operate effectively in only mild climates, with few other environmental factors taken into account. When building a rugged tablet, it is not simply a case of containing the same device within a more rugged shell, but instead will involve starting from scratch at component level, using circuitry that can run at high speeds in even the most challenging of circumstances.
This focus on durability and reliability will move from the components through to power supplies, displays and accessories, and will ensure that every aspect of the device has been fine-tuned for a given task in a difficult environment. Furthermore, with reliability being far more important in the heat of battle than it is in the heat of a Facebook post, such machines will have been designed to offer far greater longevity and extreme reliability.
You are then likely to need to pay more again to configure the tablet to your own specifications. Whilst those created for very specific markets may suit your needs perfectly (and in turn, it will always make sense for those in defence organisations to buy rugged tablets from those building such devices for defence organisations), you may well find that a device that is almost perfect still needs some tweaks to ensure that it is as perfect for your needs as possible. When faced with dangerous or extreme conditions, there should be no compromise and, again, it will make sense to spend a little more to ensure that what you get will always allow you to do what you need to, when you need to, in the most efficient and focussed way.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PAYING FOR THE BEST
Rugged devices will not be cheap, but the higher price tags will be more than justified. It may seem appealing to go for cheaper makes/models or avoid rugged devices all together to ensure that you can get more for your money, but not only will cheaper products offer less customisable and focussed solutions to help satisfy your needs, but they are also likely to be far less reliable. When they fail to work in the most pressing of situations, not only will such downtime be very costly financially but, in certain circumstances, such hardware failure could endanger lives too.
