Handheld has lots of bounce per ounce

• By John Breeden II
• Jul 14, 2004

The TDS Recon handheld computer kicked the stuffing out of the GCN Lab's ruggedness tests.

Dropped from 10 inches and 20 inches onto a desk, it bounced more like a Superball than a computer, undergoing several subsequent impacts. Its on-screen application never stopped running.

TDS rates the Recon for drops up to 4 feet, and after its good performance at 2 feet, I agree.

The lab's rain forest environment was no problem, either. The unit came out cool to the touch.

We tested the Recon 400, which is the higher-end of the two available models. It has a 400-MHz XScale processor and 128M of synchronous dynamic RAM. The color, 240- by 320-pixel screen's sunlight coating looks fine outdoors or in an office.

Operating time on two AA batteries was long'13 hours in our tests.

The Recon isn't cheap at $1,599, but any user who works in harsh environments and doesn't want to carry a heavy notebook PC will love this 17-ounce wonder. The user is likelier to break down than the Recon.