Light and handy industrial PDA
(by Kirk Linsky)

The MC17 is a "portable self-scanning terminal" running Windows CE 5.0 Professional on a 312MHz Marvell PXA270 processor. This is not a general purpose light industrial Pocket PC or handheld computer. Instead, the MC17 was designed from the start as a next generation retail shopping tool. The idea here was to give shoppers an unprecedented shopping experience where they use the small 9.5-ounce terminal to check prices, locate items, find complementary products, get personal recommendations, and finally check out quickly and efficiently. The potential here is endless, but whether it is a realistic proposition remains to be seen.

As is, the MC17 is an elegantly designed and ultra-ergonomic handheld with a 2.8-inch 240 x 320 pixel QVGA display, onboard 802.11b/g WiFi, a laser scanner, and enough battery power to run for a good eight hours. It's tough enough to survive multiple 4-foot drops and take day-to-day abuse in a retail environment.