Road Warrior

Insurers looking to improve communications with and productivity of their field agents, while providing them with durable, functional technology, have a new choice in the tablet PC market. Itronix, a Spokane, Wash.-based developer of wireless, rugged, mobile computing solutions, introduced the Duo-Touch Tablet PC. The Duo-Touch features a dual-mode touch panel that provides both a passive touch screen and a standard digitizer, or active touch screen, which gives users the ability to write on the screen.

"A field agent's notebook needs to be able to be dropped, rained on or left in the trunk of a car in the cold and still work," says Matthew Gerber, senior vice president, product line management for Itronix. The tablet PC was designed for exposure to the elements, including rain, snow, wind, dust and temperatures ranging from minus 20 degrees to 60 degrees Celsius, as well as the the ability to survive vibration, shock and chemical exposure.

For insurers that want to enable their agents with real-time access to the insurance company anytime, anywhere, the Duo-Touch provides four means of wireless connectivity in the same unit: PAN (Personal Area Network; Bluetooth), WLAN (wireless local-area network), WWAN (wireless wide area network) and GPS (Global Positioning System). "Agents in the field are better off having all four of these options so they are wirelessly connected in a variety of environments," explains Gerber.

A key functionality of the Duo-Touch's wireless integration design is its Common Radio Module Architecture, which enables users to upgrade to new wireless technologies easily and cost effectively as they become available, according to Itronix.