Aussie market snaps up tough tablets: Synnex

Synnex's new distribution agreement with ruggedised mobility vendor Getac has resulted in 'huge demand' for the vendor's tough tablets, including the new convertible V-Series.

The new 10.4in V100 and 12.1in V200 add a range of component upgrades over preceding models, including an integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU and an Intel Core "Ivy Bridge" i5-3320M processor with a clock speed of 3.30 GHz.

Andrew Yu, Synnex's Getac senior product manager, told CRN said there had been "tremendous demand" for the Getac product range over the past few months, while business opportunities in the wider ruggedised market were "huge".

Yu declined to provide specific sales figures but said Getac products had recorded double digit growth over the past few months. 

"As some of the new products, including the V-series, are soon be available to the Australian market, we are expecting a significant growth before the year end on both number of resellers and sales volume in the ruggedised computing products," Yu told CRN.

"There is a lot of demand for ruggedised products, even in general office use. That's why Lenovo, HP and Dell are all coming out with ruggedised products. There's a demand for something more reliable in case you want to take it outdoors, for example."

One of the biggest areas of growth had come from the emergency sector, where ruggedised tablets are becoming staple equipment in vehicles, Yu said.

Synnex snapped up Getac as a partner earlier this year. Getac previously operated in Australia solely through its former reseller partner Tough Corp, which went into voluntary liquidation in July. 

In addition to the V-Series it also distributes Getac’s 7in Android Z710 tablet, which was made available to Synnex’s Australian and New Zealand resellers this month.

Synnex currently has around 50 active dealers specialising in ruggedised and semi-ruggedised products, Yu said. 

At present, the distributor does not provide Getac-specific training programs to resellers, though a Synnex Getac service centre is available for its dealers. Yu said Synnex may look at online traning for Getac resellers in the future.   

Yu said the new Getac V-Series was the first convertible tablet in Australia to offer a 5-year standard warranty. The V200 is also the only product of its type to offer a 12.1in touch screen display that can be navigated while using gloves. 

"The big screen is very important for defence and emergency for example, where they need to access the tablet while driving or on the road," Yu explained.  

He said the Getac range was suitable for a range of industry verticles including utility, emergency, mining and defense.

The new series boasts improved battery life of up to 15 hours and a full-size mechanical keyboard, according to Getac. 

Both models are MIL-STD 810G and IP65 certified to withstand shocks, vibration and drops, and will remain operational at temperatures ranging from  -20°C to 60°C.