Motion Computing J3400 Installation guide

On March 16, 2009, Motion Computing introduced
the Motion J3400 Tablet PC. Unlike the sequence of
technology upgrades we’ve seen over the years to the
company’s LE platform, the J3400 is an entirely new
design. This is Motion's first machine with a “wide”
aspect ratio display. It is also significantly faster and
more power efficient, has longer battery life, more
integrated communications options, and shows an
increased emphasis on durable, rugged design. In
essence, the J3400 builds on the experience Motion
Computing has gained in building top-notch general
purpose tablet computers, but moves forward into
new form factors and technologies.
The Motion J3400: Overview
Here are the highlights of Motion Computing’s new
J3400 Tablet PC:
IThe Motion J3400 is a brand-new design as of
early 2009.
IIt’s a sleek, elegant machine that measures 12.7 x
9.1 x 0.9 and weighs 4.2 pounds.
IThe machine runs Windows Vista Business and
there is a Windows XP downgrade option.
IThis is Motion’s first machine with a “wide” 12.1-
inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio.
IThe superb 1280 x 800 pixel Hydis display has
essentially a full 180 degree viewing angle from
all directions.
IMotion’s optional UltraView Anywhere option
provides very good sunlight viewability.
IIntel Centrino 2 technology with ultra-low volt-
age SU9300/9400 processors provides significant-
ly higher performance than the predecessor
model.
IThe machine is almost totally silent and barely
heats up.
IThere is a SIM slot and optional GOBI WWAN
and GPS
IIntegrated 2-megapixel camera can take
time/date and GPS-stamped documentation
pictures.
IBattery capacity is 55% larger than in predecessor
LE1700 model, and battery life is significantly
longer.
IThe J3400 has IP52 sealing and can handle 3-foot
drops.
IPricing starts at US$2,299, with a maxed-out
configuration at US$3,146.
The big picture
While many companies try different things and
often lose focus in the process, Austin, Texas, based
Motion Computing does one thing, and one thing
only, and that is making Tablet PCs. They’ve done
that since 2002 when Motion was created to build
the best possible Tablet PC slate, taking on market
leader Fujitsu in the process. Few gave them much
of a chance to succeed, but succeed they did thanks
to a combination of business sense, laser-sharp
focus on what matters, and great products.
Motion’s new flagship computer is similar in
terms of size and weight to the existing LE1700
platform, though a bit longer and narrower due to
the switch to the wide aspect ratio screen. Weight
increased a bit, primarily due to more battery power.
It's a sleek, nicely designed piece of equipment that's
less than an inch thick.
Switching to an ultra-low power version of Intel’s
Core 2 Duo processor allowed Motion to pack very
good performance. The machine runs silently
without ever heating up much and you’d swear it
runs without a fan (it does have a tiny one). The new
processors are part of Intel’s Centrino 2 platform
that also includes Intel’s GS45/ICH9M chipset, and
the WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/b/g/draft-n module.
On the graphics side, the J3400 uses the Mobile
Intel GMA 4500MD with up to 256MB of dynamic
video memory. Our test machine ran Vista Business
and used a 64GB Solid State Disk. The base configu-
ration comes with 2GB of 800MHz DDR3 memory.
You can upgrade that to a maximum of 4GB via
internal slots. Mass storage now comes in the form
of an 80 or 120GB 5400rpm 1.8-inch SATA hard disk
or the aforementioned optional Solid State Disk.
On the power side, there are now two Lithium-
Ion batteries. They are hot-swappable and Motion
expects a maximum of over seven hours of battery
life between charges.
The display has a Wacom electromagnetic digi-
tizer made easier to use with a totally flush-mount-
ed display. Input and operation is via pen, direction-
al pad, onscreen keyboard or input panel, external
mouse and keyboard, or any combination thereof.
Increased performance
Everyone wants as much speed and power as possi-
ble. In computers that means a machine that is
speedy and responsive and has enough punch to
crunch through the type of work we need for it to
do. Unfortunately, in mobile devices that is far more
difficult to accomplish than in desktops or big
notebooks that spend most of their lives plugged
into a power outlet. Since mobile computers run the
same operating systems and applications as desk-
tops, mobile computing designers have their work
cut out for them. They need to provide enough
power for the machine to run reasonably fast, but
without incurring penalties in the form of excessive
heat generation or unacceptably short battery life.
That is a very hard task.
What Motion did is switching to Intel’s latest
ultra-low voltage Centrino 2 technology that in-
cludes either the 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo SU9400 or the
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slightly slower 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo SU9300 processor.
Both chips are ultra-efficient and have thermal
design power (TDP) ratings of just 10 watts, less
than a third that of most notebook processors
(thermal design power is the maximum amount of
power a computer’s cooling system needs to dissi-
pate and is used as a measure of power efficiency).
Amazingly, that TDP rating is the same as that of
the older Motion LE1700 with its slower 1.06GHz
Core 2 Duo U7500 processor.
We ran Passmark Software's PerformanceTest 6.1
that runs about 30 tests covering CPU, 2D graphics,
3D graphics, memory, and disk and then computes
scores for each category and an overall PassMark
score. For comparison, we’re listing the Motion
LE1700 and also Motion’s F5 semi-rugged tablet
computer (Motion F5 benchmarks are for the
original version that used the Core Solo chip instead
of the subsequently used Core 2 Solo).
The new Motion J3400 did exceptionally well in
our benchmarks where it provides a massive 70%
overall performance increase over the prior genera-
tion LE1700 machine. That kind of performance
puts the Motion J3400 at the very forefront of
mobile computing technology, and certainly so
among low-power, ultra-mobile designs.
Our review machine came with Windows Vista
Business and a 64GB Samsung Solid State Disk. We
ran the “Windows Experience Index” that Microsoft
includes in Vista as an indicator of a computer’s
performance and got the following scores (range is
from 1 to 5.9):
WINDOWS VISTA EXPERIENCE INDEX
Processor 4.6 (Calculations per second)
Memory (RAM) 4.9 (Memory operations/second)
Graphics 3.2 (Performance Aero interface)
Gaming Graphics 3.3 (3D business/game graphics)
Primary hard disk 5.9 (Data transfer rate)
The Vista results are somewhat inconsistent with
the other benchmarks we ran, but still show in-
creased performance in four of five areas. As is
usually the case with industrial market machines,
the graphics scores are lower than processor, memo-
ry and mass storage scores. Processor performance
is very good and performance of the solid state disk
is superb. Making SSD available as an option makes
more and more sense as capacities increase and
prices come down. In addition, the mean time
between failure of SSD drives is said to be six times
longer than for conventional hard disks, boot and
data access are significantly faster, and battery life
of SSD-equipped machines can be as much as 10%
longer.
Battery power
Battery life is another area where competition is
getting ever more intense. Two or three hours used
to be considered quite good. The J3400’s predeces-
sor, the LE1700, was expected to get about three
hours between charges of its 38.5 watt-hour battery.
However, between advancing battery technology,
more efficient processors, and better power man-
agement, three hours is no longer good enough and
some mobile systems now sport battery lives of six
to eight hours and more. As a result, Motion, too,
sought to increase battery life in its new machine.
What they did was increase internal battery capaci-
ty from 38.5 watt-hours in the LE1700 to 60 watt-
hours in the new J3400. They did this via a dual hot-
swappable battery system, with both 14.8V/
2,000mAH Li-Ion batteries fitting into the bottom of
the machine where they become part of the design.
The batteries have an external push button that
instantly shows, via 5 LEDs, how much charge is left.
Batteries add weight, of course, and each of the two
J3400 batteries weighs 7.5 ounces, This is part of the
reason why the J3400 weighs a bit more than the
LE1700 model.
Somehow, our BatteryMon power drawdown
tester was unable to measure battery draw. The
program, however, did compute estimated battery
life based on remaining charge compared to full
charge and we saw as much as seven hours. This was
with WiFi on and the system idling along. During a
typical day, power savings modes will make the
system go to sleep and wake up again when the
computer is being used. While in sleep mode, the
power consumption is very low, and thus greatly
extends battery life. This makes an exact estimate of
real life battery life more difficult as a typical ma-
chine will not be used continuously.
We also connected the J3400 to a Kill-a-Watt
electricity usage monitor with both batteries re-
moved and saw a minimum draw of about 13 watts.
Motion’s engineers said they expected more like 8
watts, and so some of the settings in our pre-pro-
duction machine may not have been optimized.
Fantastic display
The J3400 is Motion’s first machine with a 16-to-10
“wide-format” aspect ratio display. The wide format
has largely replaced the old “standard” 4-to-3 aspect
ratio displays. This shift may be due to computers
following the trend set by television sets where a
wide screen is better able to display movies that are
almost always in wide format. Display industry
experts say it’s because the wide rectangles are the
most efficient way to cut the large sheets of sub-
strate material when LCDs are made. Be that as it
may, almost all new computers now use the wide
format, if only for practical purposes as standard
format displays may become unavailable, and the
Motion j3400 is no exception. We’ve become used to
the wide displays, and they now look modern and
“right” to our eyes.
The 12.1-inch display Motion chose is made by
Hydis Technologies. Hydis, or what was then BOE
Hydis, made a grand entrance on the LCD map
around 2003 when its AFFS (Advanced Fringe Field
Technology) displays that offered a full 180-degree
viewing angle from all directions were used in
various Tablet PCs. There was simply nothing else
like it. Hydis started operations as Hyundai Elec-
tronic’s LCD Business Division in 1989. In 2001, the
company spun off from Hyundai under the name
Hydis. It was then acquired by the BOE (Beijing
Optoelectronics) Group of China and became BOE
HYDIS. After some difficulties and restructuring in
2007/2008 the company changed its name back to
Hydis Technologies in 2008 and now has LCD
product lines from notebooks, automotive, mobile
and specialized applications. In the meantime, they
also developed AFFS+, an evolutionary advance to
AFFS that lowers power consumption and increas-
ing outdoor readability. This is the technology that
is used in the J3400 display.
Specifically, Motion chose the HV121WX with a
speedy LVDS signal interface and a perfect 180
degree viewing angle in both horizontal and the
vertical direction. It has a resolution of 1280 x 800
pixel, can display 256k colors and uses an LED
backlight. Brightness is about 320 nits, but thanks
to the AFFS+ technology you’d swear it was a lot
more than that. Since the display essentially uses
transmissive technology with certain transflective
features, the screen is bright and vibrant indoors
while being amazingly vibrant and readable out-
doors, combining the best of both worlds better
than any of the older transflective displays can.
Hydis also offers minimal pooling and a pocket that
allows the Wacom sensor to tuck right behind the
display itself.
As can be seen in images farther below, the L3400
display’s outdoor performance is simply superb. The
perfect viewing angle from all directions means you
never have to tilt and angle the tablet to see what's
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PERFORMANCE Motion J3400 Motion LE1700 Motion F5
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 Core 2 Duo U7500 Core Solo U1400
Clock speed 1.4 GHz 1.06 GHz 1.2 Hz
Thermal Design Power 10 watts 10 watts 5.5 watts
CPU Mark 834.9 545.0 324.9
2D Graphics Mark 172.9 119.4 153.8
Memory Mark 347.1 232.6 235.1
Disk Mark 552.5 201.2 168.8
3D Graphics Mark 105.3 76.2 75.6
Overall PassMark 435.2 255.0 194.4
Motion_J3400:Layout 1 4/1/09 3:34 PM Page 2

on the screen. The display itself absolutely excels in
eliminating unwanted reflection or diffusion. Where
other displays appear matte or milky or are over-
come with reflections, the L3400’s stays perfectly
readable. In head-on, direct sunlight the display is
still readable, here thanks to the inner reflectance of
the Hydis LCD.
How does it all work? Hydis claims that the
reflective polarizer used in AFFS+ displays lowers
surface reflectance and minimizes screen scatter-
ing. They claim a screen reflectance of under 0.3%
(and here I assume the value supplied by Hydis
means total reflectance of all surfaces). Given that
the effective contrast ratio of an LCD used outdoors
is computed as 1 + (emitted light / reflected light)
and that average sunlight is about 10,000 nits, the
J3400 screen has an effective contrast ratio of 1 +
(320 / >.003 x 10,000) = 1 + >10.66 = >11.66. On our
scale that means “definitely readable in sunlight”
and subjective viewing tests confirm that.
The picture below shows the screen at an ex-
treme angle. The perfect viewing angle from all
direction adds tremendously to the overall usability
of this computer. There are no color and luminance
shifts at all and you never have to squint or look at
the display from a different angle to see it.
The one thing we did not like about the display
was that it attracted fingerprints and other smudges
like a magnet, and they were difficult to clean off.
Real life outdoor viewability
While detailed specifications help in determining
how easy it is to view and use a display outdoors,
you won't know how good it is until you take it
outdoors into the sunlight. It also helps to have a
point of reference, in this case other displays to
compare to. We felt it would be interesting to see
how the Motion J3400 compared to two types of
displays common these days—an example of a high
gloss screen that most current consumer and busi-
ness notebooks have these days, and a sample of a
“matte” display with anti-glare treatment. The
comparison machines we chose are a Gateway
notebook we use in the office and a Toshiba Portege
M700 Tablet PC convertible, predecessor to the still
available Portege M750, and beneficiary of almost
two decades of Toshiba pen computing experience.
The 2006-vintage Gateway does not specifically
have an outdoor screen but despite its glossy screen,
a degree of anti-reflective treatment makes it useful
enough to be taken along on trips.
The picture below shows the computers in the
shade at around 2PM on a bright and sunny day. The
Motion J3400 screen is vibrant and totally readable
without any reflections. The Gateway display is
amazingly bright but even in the shade you can see
distracting reflections.
The next picture shows the computers in bright
daylight but away from the sun. The glossy Gateway
screen is surprisingly strong, but begins reflecting
the background to the extent where it becomes
difficult to see what is on the display. The Motion
J3400 display doesn't show any reflections at all and
remains perfectly viewable and readable.
The next picture shows the computers at the
same time and place, but from a slight angle. This
has no impact at all on the viewability of the Motion
display. The glossy display, however, becomes mir-
rorlike and completely unreadable.
Next, we compared the Motion J3400 and the
Toshiba with its matte anti-glare display. Below you
can see the computers outdoors in the shade. Both
displays are nice and bright, with the Motion some-
what crisper and more vibrant.
We then moved the computers into broad day-
light, but not directly facing the sun. The Motion
screen remains unaffected and completely readable.
The anti-glare coating of the Toshiba turns the
display somewhat milky and harder to read.
The same setting, but from an angle. The anti-
glare very effectively eliminates mirror reflections,
but it also makes the display milky and unreadable.
The Motion display is virtually unaffected.
The picture below shows the toughest test of
them all, with the displays facing directly into the
sun. The picture was taken so that the sun did not
reflect directly into the camera. Under these condi-
tions, even the brightest backlight is no match for
the sun, and readability depends entirely on the
design of the display. The anti-glare properties that
make the Toshiba display so pleasant to use indoors
again create a milkiness that makes viewing almost
impossible. The bright vibrancy we observed on
both displays in the shade is gone in direct sunlight,
but the Motion remains sharp and readable. It now
looks more like a transflective or reflective display.
That's because the Hydis AFFS+ LCD has a reflec-
tive area as well as a transmissive one.
Data input methods
You can use the J3400 with any external USB key-
board or its innovative keyboard/stand combo.
However, when you carry the tablet around, there
often won't be a physical keyboard and users rely on
alternate data entry methods. Tablet PCs usually
offer various methods, and Motion made sure users
have various selections and customization options.
There is, of course, the standard Microsoft input
panel that can be used as an onscreen keyboard (see
top screen in the picture) or for free-form or
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combed writing. The Microsoft keyboard can be
resized, but not enough for my taste. There are
better third-party alternatives.
Motion’s QuickNav utility adds a handy numeric
input pad along the right side of the display. Quick-
Nav lets you switch from the keypad to the standard
horizontal keyboard to an ergonomically designed,
rounded layout (see middle screen in the image)
that works well with the pen, but that I would like to
be able to resize and relocate. As is, you can't change
its size or location.
The bottom screen capture shows WordPad with
handwriting recognition. While handwriting recog-
nition was intended to be an integral part in the
original pen computers of the early 1990s, the
challenge of making recognition work in real world
situations proved daunting. Recognition, however, is
still there and it actually works better than ever if
you learn how to use it and give it a chance.
Unfortunately, Microsoft’s recognizer no longer
lets you freely write all over the screen as was the
case with the initial Tablet PC Edition (and most
recognizers prior to that). Instead, you need to write
into the input panel. Ink goes on smoothly and
without jaggies, but it lags behind just enough to be
noticeable. This should not be an issue in this day
and age, and I suspect it has to do with the serial
interface between the Wacom digitizer and the
computer. If it is indeed a Wacom problem, I wish
Wacom would fix that. Overall, most Windows
software is simply not optimized for handwriting
recognition, but recognition itself works very well
on the J3400. And that includes punctuation and
editing.
QuickNav also includes an image capture feature
that can also do time and GPS stamps if the J3400
has the GPS. A GPS Locator feature snatches GPS
information that you can then easily include into
documents such as surveying notes or anything else
that uses GPS tracking.
QuickNav keys can be customized any which way
you want. It's a neat utility that’d be even better if
you could resize the keys/keypad and if there’d be
floating notations of what a key does (there are
enough to make it hard to remember everything).
Integrated documentation camera
Since many of the J3400’s intended applications
could benefit from comprehensive, integrated
documentation, Motion added a built-in camera
that can snap pictures as large as 1600 x 1200 pixel.
The lens is embedded in the bottom of the unit, so it
is clearly meant to record pictures and situations as
opposed to enabling video conferencing. Like most
such cameras, this one isn't very fast or able to
generate high quality pictures, but according to
Motion, the camera assembly they chose offers the
best combination of performance, integration and
durability that is available today. While the camera's
autofocus is slow, it works well enough for docu-
mentation purposes, has good macro capabilities,
and includes a fairly bright 3-LED illuminator for
shooting in lowlight conditions.
The J3400 comes with an interesting “Picture
Snapper” interface that is embedded in the Quick-
Nav utility and has the ability to add time/date
stamping and geotagging information to images.
The picture to the right shows the Picture Snapper
in a potential application: Assume that one of the
pressure hoses on the Caterpillar bulldozer mechan-
ics shown in the background were leaking and the
condition needed to be documented for mainte-
nance or repair. An inspector could then use the
J3400 to take a close-up of the problem and the
system would automatically add a date and time
stamp as well as full GPS data. Talk about compre-
hensive documentation! The potential for this kind
of documentation via integration of onboard func-
tionality is tremendous.
Motion has traditionally been ahead of the curve
in the adoption of new technology. Given that there
are now high quality, very inexpensive 720p and
1080p HD vidcam engines that can also do 5-8
megapixel stills, we may soon see those engines
included into professional quality computing equip-
ment. Imagine being able to capture HD video with
a tablet and attach that to documentation as well.
Interface and connectivity
Unlike ultra-rugged slate computers that often have
almost no onboard connectivity due to sealing
issues, Motion has always offered plenty of interface
ports on its machines. Despite its increased environ-
mental sealing, Motion didn’t make many conces-
sions with the J3400. There are two USB 2.0 ports,
audio in/out jacks, an external video port as well as
a DVI-D custom connector for digital output, an RJ-
45 jack for the integrated 10/100/1000 gigabit LAN,
and a docking connector. There are two speakers as
well as Motion’s terrific multi-directional array
microphone design that intelligently switches
between two of its three microphones depending on
screen orientation. Compared to the LE1700, IR has
been dropped, and there is no DVI-D port (you get
one in the optional FlexDock) or Motion accessory
port. Below you can see the left and right side of the
J3400.
While the LE1700 had a standard Type I/II PC
Card slot and an SD Card slot, the J3400 has a single
Express Card 34 slot and an optional Smart Card
slot. With space at a premium and both USB and
Express Card SD adapters, Motion decided to forego
a separate SD slot. A SIM card slot can be found
under one of the batteries. It can be used for option-
al mobile broadband service.
For communications, there is Intel WiFi Link and
Bluetooth 2.1. Optionally available is Mobile Broad-
band powered by Gobi. Gobi (Global Mobile Inter-
net technology) is a Qualcomm wireless technology
that supports the various wireless networking
technologies around the world, so users can select
whatever carrier is available to them..
Security
As more computing devices are being used in an
increasing variety of settings and applications,
security is becoming a major issue. To that extent,
Motion equipped their new machine with a variety
of security measures, both hardware and software.
Unobtrusively integrated into the right side of
the slate is an AuthenTec AES2550 fingerprint
sensor. This is a small and speedy sensor that is
scratch and impact resistant and will last over 10
million rubs.
Like most new machines, the J3400 comes with a
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) module 1.2 and the
accompanying software. Optionally available is
ComputraceComplete, a tracking service from
Absolute Software that allows for remote deletion of
a stolen system’s hard drive as well as tracking down
the device. Softex OmniPass software is used for a
multi-tiered access and security system that in-
cludes a master password as well as virtual business
cards, Smart Card, fingerprint authentication and a
variety of subsidiary access levels.
The “Security” panel in the Motion Dashboard
allows quick access to authentication, password,
and encryption applications.
Finally, there is a hardware lock slot and you can
disable Bluetooth and the wireless LAN on startup.
What it amounts to is that the Motion J3400
allows pretty much any desired level of security.
Ruggedness
A degree of ruggedness is rapidly becoming a pri-
mary requirement in computers that are being used
in the field. Customers are getting tired of high
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failure rates and equipment damage even after
minor accidents. As a result, everyone, including
Motion, is scrambling to make their products more
rugged. There are many ways a computer can incur
damage and “ruggedness” is a somewhat relative
term. For most practical purposes it means a com-
puter must be able to absorb the kind of abuse and
possible accidents that are typical for its intended
use and working environment, and continue to
function if an incident occurs. For a machine like
the J3400 that might mean falling off the seat of a
vehicle, dropping to the ground while being carried,
or getting rained on.
As far as actual ruggedness specs go, Motion
Computing realizes the increasing importance of
those specs and includes more and more with each
new release. Customers want to know how much
abuse a computer can handle, and how it compares
to the competition. This is not always easy on
manufacturers of equipment that is built to be able
to handle its intended workload as opposed to
passing some arbitrary ruggedness tests. Unneeded
ruggedness can actually be a negative instead of a
plus in daily use: Heavy duty protection generally
adds size and weight—not what you want in a tablet
that will be carried around. And excessive sealing
can cause heat management issues which may then
require a bigger fan or a less powerful processor.
As is, the Motion J3400 tablet is sealed to IP52
specifications. That means it keeps dust from
getting inside the computer and can also handle
water spray falling onto the device. Motion also
subjected the J3400 to the testing procedures man-
dated in MIL-STD-810F Method 516.5 and says the
machine can handle a 36-inch drop to plywood over
concrete. As far as temperature goes, the recom-
mended operating range is 41 to 113 degrees
Fahrenheit. Units also can handle 8-80% non-con-
densing humidity, and altitudes of up to 15,000 feet
with SSD and 10,000 feet with a hard disk.
As far as design goes, an elastomer overmolded
bottom case cushions shock, seals seams, and
insulates for cool, non-slip grip. Inside, a rigid
magnesium frame makes for a strong, solid base for
mounting and attaching components, using re-
placeable strap mounts where it matters. However,
strength isn’t everything as there are situations
where rigid construction can break whereas intelli-
gently designed and applied “give” makes for a
better solution. Motion therefore created a “float-
ing” foam mount for the display. This avoids stress
on the LCD. Surrounding the rigid frame and float-
ing components is a case made of flexible plastic
PC+ABS skins. These flex rather than crack. The
skin and chassis are arranged such that, even in this
slender design, there is just enough space to allow
some flexing instead of transmitting force to the
rigid frame.
Examining the J3400, you can see clever little
details all over the place. The two batteries, for
example, have molded elastomer “lips” along the
perimeter to keep water out. Microphones and
speakers are protected from water with special
water-sealing membranes that do not affect func-
tionality. Special elastomer guards behind the
hardware buttons also seal against water.
This “strength and give” approach to design is
carried on down to components. The ExpressCard
expansion bay, for example, is attached to the
magnesium frame via replaceable, shock-absorbing
flex-mounts.
Motion J3400 Specs
Type: Semi-rugged Tablet PC slate
Housing: Magnesium chassis; PC+ABS exterior with elas-
tomer overmold bottom case
Processor: 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage
SU9400 or 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage
SU9300 (both 3MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
OS: Windows Vista Business with Windows XP downgrade
option
Memory: 2GB DDR3/800MHz in two DIMM slots; upgrade-
able to 4GB
Slots: 1 Express Card 34, 1 Smart Card, 1 SIM
Display: 12.1" Hydis WXGA (1280 x 800) sunlight-viewable
AFFS+ TFT with 180 degree viewing angle and View Any-
where display technology
Digitizer/Pens: Electromagnetic Wacom digitizer
Keyboard: Onscreen keyboard + optional J3400 82-key 94%-
scale Mobile Keyboard/Stand
Storage: 64GB Samsung MMCRE64G8MPP Solid State Disk;
also available 1.8-inch 5400RPM 80GB or 120GB SATA hard
disks with DataGuard accelerometer
Size: 12.7 x 9.1 x 0.9 inches
Ingress protection: IP52 (protected against dust; can han-
dle water spray onto surface +/- 15 degrees)
Operating temperature: 41 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit op-
erating
Drop: 3-foot drop (MIL-STD-810F 516.5 compliant)
Regulatory: AS/NZS 3548:1995 Class B; AS/ACIF S042.1 and
S042.2 for WCDMA/HSDPA and GSM/EDGE; FCC Part 15
Subparts B Class B, C (2.4GHz), E (5GHz), Part 22H, Part 24
E and OET65 Supplement C (01-01); CAN/CSA ICES-003
Class B, RSS-129 Issue 2, RSS-132 Issue 2, RS 133 Issue 2,
RSS-210 Issue 2; CENELEC EN 55022 Class B (CISPR22),
55024 (CISPR24), 61000-3-2 and 61000-3-3; ETSI EN 300-
328-2, 301-489-1, 301-489-7, 301489-17, 301-489-24, 301-
511, 301-893, 301-908-1, 301-904-4; R&TTE (89/336/EEC) &
R&TTE (99/5/EC); EC 503392:2004/IEC 62209-1:2005
Weight:4.2 pounds (as tested, with both batteries)
Power: Twin 29.6 Watt-Hour Li-Ion (14.8V, 2,000Ah each)
Communication: Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/b/g/draft-n,
CSR BlueCore Bluetooth 2.1; optional Mobile Broadband
by GOBI
Interface: Fingerprint scanner, 2 USB 2.0, audio in/out, 3
microphones, 2 speakers, VGA video, RJ-45 gigabit,
dock (4 USB, DVI-D, audio in/out, display, RJ45)
Price: Starting at US$2,299
Contact: Motion Computing
www.motioncomputing.com
[email protected]
1-512-637-1100
SPECIAL REVIEW
RuggedPC
review.com
Motion_J3400:Layout 1 4/1/09 3:35 PM Page 5

While our test unit came with a solid state disk,
Motion expects to sell a good percentage of units
with conventional hard disks, and hard disks are
historically one of the first points of failure. To
minimize that danger, Motion not only uses the 1.8-
inch format that is inherently more shock-resistant
than the larger 2.5-inch disks, but also designed a
simple but very effective hard disk cushion that
absorbs shock and reduces impact G forces to
within hard disk specs in almost all cases.
Units equipped with conventional hard drives are
protected by Motion’s “DataGuard” that uses a
shock sensor to detect drops or harsh vibration that
could damage the hard drive. It then instantly
moves the read/write heads to areas that do not
contain data and may also stop spinning as hard
drives are less vulnerable to damage when they are
not in operation. DataGuard has its own control
panel where you can configure things to your liking.
Keyboard/stand and FlexDock
Since tablet computers don’t have an integrated
keyboard like notebooks, makers of tablet comput-
ers either offer optional external keyboards or they
develop clever, more integrated keyboard solutions.
This goes all the way back to early pen computers
such as the ground-breaking Compaq Concerto of
some 15 years ago. Motion also has been offering
keyboards designed to double as stands and display
covers. The problem was always merging a function-
al keyboard into something that was actually useful,
fit nicely into the overall design, and didn’t get in
the way. This, it turned out, was easier said than
done. Older designs often didn’t reliably connect to
the slate computer, were not stable enough to work
well, had insufficient keyboards, had the touchpad
in weird places or were built so that your hands
bumped into the sides.
This time Motion got it almost perfect. The very
thin keyboard/stand doesn't snap onto the comput-
er, which eliminates weird hooks and such. It does
have the same design and uses the same materials
as the J3400, so it definitely looks like it belongs to
the machine. The keyboard opens to reveal the keys
and a stand.
The QWERTY part of the keyboard is 94%-scale,
which makes for a slightly cramped feeling that can
throw off touch-typists. The distance between the
center of the letter “Q” on the left and the letter “P”
on the right is 6.75 inches on a full-scale keyboard.
Here the distance is only 6.375 inches. That could
have been fixed by making the punctuation keys a
bit narrower, the same way the keyboard’s designers
made the period and comma keys a bit narrower
narrower in order to have an ergonomically correct
navigation diamond. Not making the QWERTY part
of smaller keyboards wide enough is something I
often find on mobile keyboards, and I cannot ex-
plain in any other way than assuming Asian lan-
guage designers (who use an entirely different input
method where touch-typing does not matter) don’t
realize how important 100%-scale of the QWERTY
part is to Westerners.
Thin keyboards are often difficult to type on
because they offer little tactile feedback or feel
flimsy. The Motion
keyboard works
better than most.
One interesting
aspect is that the
keyboard has a very
thin, form-fitting
translucent protec-
tive rubber skin
over it. It doesn't
affect typing at all
and provides
protection. The
skin is glued on
along the top and
bottom but open
on the left and right
and it looks like you
can just take it off
(which I probably would).
You can’t adjust the angle of the stand. Thanks to
the superb display with its 180-degree viewing angle
and total lack of any color shifts, that is not an issue.
The keyboard has a built-in standard touchpad with
left and right mouse buttons. They work great and
are very responsive.
Motion also offers a FlexDock that essentially
converts the J3400 into a full-featured desktop
computing solution (see picture above to the right).
The FlexDock consists of an elegant, heavy metal
base and a plastic docking part that continues the
look, materials and design theme of the J3400. The
tablet snaps onto the FlexDock and can then be
rotated from vertical to about a 45 degree angle.
There is a charging slot for a battery and the Flex-
Dock also provides extra connectivity.
Neatly tucked away under a plastic cover in the
back are four USB ports, a DVI-D port, audio in/out,
an RJ45 LAN jack, and a display port. The dock runs
US$299 and is well worth it for those who intend to
frequently use the J3400 in an office setting.
SPECIAL REVIEW
RuggedPC
review.com
Motion J3400: Summary
With the J3400 Tablet PC, Motion Computing has created an advanced modern tablet computer with state-of-
the-art performance, functionality, and an outstanding display that’s perfectly suited for the machine's intend-
ed use in a wide variety of indoor and outdoor applications. In addition, the J3400 is designed to absorb more
of the punishment and abuse a mobile computer may encounter on the job than the company's prior tablets.
A display that can be used outdoors and even in direct sunlight has become indispensable in many
vertical and industrial applications where the tablet is primarily used outdoors. Motion’s UltraView Any-
where technology delivers in conjunction with a superb display that can be viewed from any angle.
Ruggedness and sealing have been elevated to the next level with this Motion tablet now offering
IP52 sealing and the ability to survive three-foot drops. This is due to a cleverly designed system that
combines a floating magnesium chassis with a tough ABS skin, and plenty of shock-mounting. Motion
also offers a 64GB Solid State Disk that provides superb performance as well as quicker startup and
lower power consumption.
Two ultra-low voltage Intel Core 2 Duo processor options, both running at a very low thermal
design power of just ten watts, provide a significant performance boost over the prior generation
E1700. Battery life is better, too, thanks to larger batteries and improved power management.
The J3400 also has an integrated biometric fingerprint sensor, integrated
camera, an optional GOBI wireless broadband module and GPS, a new and improved
convertible keyboard, good onboard connectivity and expansion, Motion’s
Speak Anywhere multi-directional array microphones with their excellent
noise cancellation technology, and a SIM card slot. Combining durability,
performance, efficiency and understated elegance, the versatile J3400 platform
will be a workhorse in numerous target vertical markets for years to come.
– Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, Editor-in-Chief, RuggedPCReview
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