Psion introduces low-cost rugged PDA for organisations that need durable compact devices

As part of its new product development strategy, rooted in its Omnii product platform, Psion has announced its latest rugged PDA device the Psion EP10 handheld computer. This announcement takes place as part of an exclusive gathering of national dignitaries, key company executives and business partners in Shanghai, China. "We're excited to launch our latest product in China, the world's second largest economy, where mobile computers help run many of the most demanding logistical operations and where manufacturing, exports, transport and shipping dominate," said John Conoley, Chief Executive Officer, Psion.

 
The new Psion EP10 is a small and durable PDA device that offers high performance, extensive features, communications capability and durability. It represents a major addition to the company's portfolio of mobile business devices and offers all the functionality of high-end, full-size devices in a smaller form factor and at an affordable price. When the Psion EP10 hits the market in Q2 2011, it will extend the reach and appeal of Psion to a new category of buyer: business users who employ consumer-grade smartphones and devices for commercial and industrial activities to deploy business applications into the field.  
 
Built on Omnii
The Psion EP10 also appeals to businesses that require a more durable handheld computer that can cope with challenging weather and environmental conditions. Prior to the launch of the Psion EP10, these customers had to deploy consumer-level hardware that led to downtime, poor productivity, and increased long-term costs.
 
With its extensive feature set, the Psion EP10 is built from the same core technology that is used in the rest of the Omnii family, which was introduced by the company in October 2010.  It is well suited to companies in retail, transportation, professional services, field services and field sales. The device also offers the latest in wireless communications, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and 3G cellular radio of both CDMA EVDO Rev A and GSM HSPA+.
 
Strategic investments paying dividends
"Launching the Omnii platform earlier this year is enabling us to deliver high quality products across a variety of categories to market faster. Instead of the normal two years, we reduced the development cycle for the Psion EP10 by more than a third and delivered a range of additional features. The arrival of the Psion EP10 also shows that we're keeping the commitments we made earlier this year to deliver incremental opportunities to our customers, resellers and developer partners," added Conoley.
 
Another step on the road to open source mobility
The Psion EP10 is another device conceived out of the company's open source mobility (OSM) philosophy. OSM consists of three key elements:
 
 Modular Product Platform designed to bring products with the latest technologies to market faster.

 Embraces the principles of Open Innovation through Ingenuityworking.com to further co-create ideas and solutions with customers and partners.

 Customisation for unique and specialised applications, through software development kits, hardware developer kits, and the EP10 expansion module.
 
The Psion EP10 will be commercially available by April 2011 and will be distributed in all major US, European and Asian territories. Pricing to be announced shortly.