Harris' HTC-made Census handheld hits the FCC

Harris Corp's HTC-made Census handheld may only be a shadow of its former self now that the Census Bureau has decided not to use it for any actual census-taking, but that doesn't mean it can hang its head in shame forever, and it's now popped up to make an encore appearance at the FCC. Thankfully, this time around the FCC folks have snapped plenty of pics of the device, including a look at its innards, which you can find at the link below. Otherwise, the device appears to be mostly unchanged, with it still boasting the same fingerprint security, and EVDO and WiFi connectivity, albeit without any voice capabilities. One of the few things getting changed, it seems, is the device's battery -- which, given recent developments, is likely one of the last upgrades it needed.

[Via Register Hardware, thanks Michael]

[Lou @ May 5th 2008 2:05PM]

Yuck!

[Yankees368 @ May 5th 2008 2:13PM]

So what will these things be used for now? I mean, we all paid for them...

[Phoenix @ May 5th 2008 2:34PM]

The official will use the GPS to get from house to house, AFAIK

[VW_MTL @ May 5th 2008 2:57PM]

Funny thing is that the latest Canadian Census ( 2006-2007) costed $567M for a total population of $31.6M, that under $18 per citizen....

[Mario @ May 5th 2008 3:12PM]

And how much did they pay for your grammar lessons?

[Ytril @ May 5th 2008 3:26PM]

One misplaced '$' and his entire post went back to grammar school.

[phanbouy @ May 5th 2008 4:51PM]

HTC = holy talking chihuahua?

you never know.

[Derek @ May 5th 2008 5:18PM]

Actually, we do know. It's High Tech Computer ;)

[JRD15 @ May 5th 2008 6:37PM]

Is it just me or do those buttons look glued on and ready to break off at any second.

[phanbouy @ May 5th 2008 10:40PM]

i think i made that phone in 2nd grade

[Tracy @ May 16th 2008 2:51PM]

This is your government being penny smart and dollar foolish. Rather than partner with a reputable technology supplier who charges a fair market value for their services, they put everyone through this secretive adversarial closed bid process, and pick the cheapest device and software they can find. Then when it falls apart, and they spend more than originally planned making up for its shortcomings, they scratch their heads and wonder what happened...

[Dean @ Mar 24th 2009 7:19PM]

I've been reliably informed that census workers are being trained to use these devices now.

[alana0j @ Apr 2nd 2009 10:31PM]

These are being used to update the address list in preparation for the 2010 census. They're OK...kinda. Better than pen and paper, that's for sure.

[Byron @ Apr 7th 2009 8:24AM]

I found one of these things just laying in the grass, how do i return it to its rightful owner, It says property of US Government on it with a asset number. what should I do?

[memahee @ Apr 17th 2009 10:33AM]

Call your ELCO (Early Local Census Office), or if you can't find that, then call the office in your State Capital. Tell them you found a HHC (hand-held computer) and they'll give instructions for its return.

[cameric.eye @ Apr 21st 2009 3:01PM]

Honestly, paper would be faster. I'm working for the census right now and these things are very slow and temperamental.

[fuhead @ Apr 28th 2009 4:15PM]

Does anyone know how to get a Stylus for the Census handheld?