We love the Trimble Nomad: an affordable and adaptable rugged handheld

The Trimble Nomad outdoor rugged handheld computer makes it easy to collect, save and transmit data. Whether you want to identify assets, people or locations with the extended RFID reader, track asset position using the integrated GPS receiver, or capture 5 megapixel color images with the integrated digital camera, the Trimble is an effective handheld. It comes with WiFi connectivity as standard, with an optional GSM/EDGE WWAN modem for mobile data connections.

As you’d expect it is ultra rugged (the Nomad meets the rigorous MIL-STD-810F military standard for drops, vibration, humidity, altitude and extreme temperatures) and has a good performance rating (every Nomad comes with an 806 MHz Marvell PXA320 Xscale processor, 128 MB RAM and a hot-swappable rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack to keep going strong all day).

At 17.6 cm x 10 cm x 5.0 cm and weighing in at 596 g, including rechargeable battery, it is lightweight and compact. But what we like most is the combination of all these features in a single device at a good price. We think the Trimble Nomad is a real contender for the handheld of choice.