Symbol's MC50 fills the gap between standard PDAs and fully ruggedised devices.

Essentially a pocket PC, the MC50 has features to support staff who are not desk-bound, but operate in environments such as the sales floor. This makes it pricier than standard handhelds, but it's well worth the cost for firms that need a workhorse instead of an organiser.

The device ships in three basic versions. One sports a 1D barcode scanner, the second houses a 2D scanner and monochrome image capture, while the third supports full-colour image capture. All three can be specified with either a five-way navigator control or a 37-key Qwerty-style keypad.

We looked at a keyboard-based model with 2D scanner and monochrome camera. All versions feature a 520MHz Intel PXA 270 processor, 64MB of memory, and 802.11b wireless connectivity. The faster 802.11g Wi-Fi standard is missing.

The TFT display is a 65K-colour model and has a resolution of 240 x 320. Each unit has a removable 1,560mA battery pack as standard, which offers a higher capacity than most other pocket PCs.

The MC50's USB desktop cradle is able to charge the device and a spare battery (an optional extra) at the same time. As an alternative, an RS232 connection is available.

A speaker and microphone are built into the chassis and the MC50 can be linked to a voice over IP service for cheaper phone calls. A vibration and LED alert are included for incoming call warnings.

Symbol's well-designed keyboard makes it easier to use the device without recourse to the stylus, something that can dramatically slow things down.

A blue modifier key turns the top row of buttons into shortcut keys for the menu bar and applications, while a block of keys to the right of the keyboard become navigation (arrow) keys.

The orange modifier key accesses secondary characters such as '@', and the same block of keys to the right serves as a numeric keypad while it is active.

Although the keys are small, anyone used to text messaging on a mobile phone should have no problems. If you're inputting text for any length of time, though, things could start to get a little awkward.

The MC50 is more robustly constructed than most pocket PC devices we've come across before. A fitted strap makes it less likely that users will drop the unit, while a screw-down cover protects a Secure Digital memory card slot.

A sample application on the MC50 let us scan both 1D and 2D barcodes, and see the information they contained. Business applications could use the scanner to look up prices for retailing, or IT staff could barcode assets for quick lookup on their inventory records.

The barcode scanner can also be used to speed deployment of MC50 devices. Using Symbol's Mobility Services Platform (MSP), an administrator can print and distribute custom barcodes to staff who scan them using the MC50's built-in Rapid Deployment Client. This configures the device and, based on a predefined list, informs it which applications to pull down from the network and install.

The MC50 also comes with a built-in client for Symbol's Airbeam Smart software. This is another part of the MSP and allows IT managers to update the device firmware and applications over the air. Again, this greatly aids deployment and maintenance.

A tool also allows the user to disable the MC50's radio to save battery power, but the likely roles for this handheld will typically need constant wireless Lan access.

The lack of 802.11g wireless connectivity is a little disappointing and the durable design of the MC50 also pushes up the price a fair amount, but it is a rugged digital assistant with a good range of features making it suitable for use in a variety of environments.