While a device made by Symbol would probably have been more rugged, this device from HTC (integrated by Harris) looks pretty solid as well. Harris is a huge supplier of technology for military and other government contracts. They do make some solid gear...
As for theft, it has a built in GPS and cellular data connection. You can be sure that the census bureau will know the whereabouts of these devices. In addition, I see what looks like a fingerprint scanner on this thing. I am sure it will be locked down so as to essentially be useless to anyone who shouldn't have access to it.
On the down side, however, I'm sure that since it is a government contract the devices will end up costing about 10x more than they probably should.
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While a device made by Symbol would probably have been more rugged, this device from HTC (integrated by Harris) looks pretty solid as well. Harris is a huge supplier of technology for military and other government contracts. They do make some solid gear...
As for theft, it has a built in GPS and cellular data connection. You can be sure that the census bureau will know the whereabouts of these devices. In addition, I see what looks like a fingerprint scanner on this thing. I am sure it will be locked down so as to essentially be useless to anyone who shouldn't have access to it.
On the down side, however, I'm sure that since it is a government contract the devices will end up costing about 10x more than they probably should.