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MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10A and Flex 10B

A pair of remarkably affordable 10.1-inch capacitive multi-touch tablet in custom-designed, preinstalled protective cases, one running Android, the other Windows 10
by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer

Ruggedized mobile computers can cost several thousand dollars, making them unaffordable or economically unfeasible for many potential customers. The MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10 models that we're examining in this review, on the other hand, start at just US$495. That's literally a fraction of what most of the leading rugged tablets cost.

MobileDemand XTABLET T1680 (SQ32960) at TigerDirect.com. MobileDemand XTABLET T1680. Price: $24,414 00 with $6.99 Shipping! Add to Wishlist. Ruggedized mobile computers can cost several thousand dollars, making them unaffordable or economically unfeasible for many potential customers. The MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10 models that we're examining in this review, on the other hand, start at just US$495. That's literally a fraction of what most of the leading rugged tablets cost.

How is this possible? It's because a few years ago, MobileDemand added to their lineup of heavy-duty rugged tablets a series of entry-level devices for customers who need more ruggedness than consumer-grade tablets can deliver, but at a price that is not prohibitive. The entry-level line began with the original xTablet Flex 8 and 10, and today includes both a Windows and an Android version of Flex 10, as well as a smaller budget handheld. In this report we're providing a comprehensive update on the current Flex 10 tablets available from MobileDemand.

How can MobileDemand sell a rugged tablets at such low prices? They do it by packaging and pre-assembling standard 'white box' Windows and Android tablets with well conceived shock-absorbing cases with protective bumpers and a carry handle. And also scratch-proof screen protectors and other touches and accessories essential to rugged tablets. So instead of having to search for a case that may or may not do the job, MobileDemand offers economy-priced tablets combined with a heavy-duty case designed by experts in rugged Tablet PCs. All for US$495 for an Android 9 version, and US$595 for one with Windows 10 Professional.

Even though third party protective cases are available for most handhelds and tablets (who doesn't instantly need one for today's fragile and wafer-thin consumer electronics), MobileDemand is one of very few suppliers of rugged tablets that also offers inexpensive versions packaged with a case. Which is surprising. Ever since Apple legitimized the tablet form factor a decade ago with the iPad, tablets have become an integral part of our lives, selling in the hundreds of millions. Inherently rugged tablets, however, only peripherally benefitted from that tablet bonanza. There are several reasons for that.

One is that traditional rugged tablet design wasn't appealing to customers used to trendy consumer tablets. Another is that even large corporate customers often balked at the high price of rugged tablets. Some high-volume enterprise buyers opted for budget-friendly consumer tablets in a third-party case. If they broke, they simply replaced them. There has been debate in the rugged industry for years as to the merits of putting consumer tech in a case. MobileDemand decided to find out for itself, and apparently it worked for them; they've offered the Flex line since 2014.

MobileDemand's Flex platform

MobileDemand's opinion of what makes a reasonable, logical lineup of rugged tablets is different. Having grown the company from modest beginnings catering to beer distributors, MobileDemand's leadership knows that one type of tablet doesn't fit all. Customers on a budget deserve as much attention as any other customer. So the company never offered bare-bones tablets that when properly equipped cost a whole lot more. They also never offered tablets with 'scalable' performance, depending on what chip option was stuck inside. Because each level of performance requires a certain design and a certain build to work well.

Instead, MobileDemand offers entry-level solutions like the Flex line, and also expertly designed rugged cases for iPads and Microsoft Surface tablets; mid-performance systems able to handle most loads; and high-performance machines for compute-intensive fields. On top, of course, of suitable apps, extras, mounts, and accessories. The difference between the company's higher-end xTablets and the Flex models is that the former are designed and built as rugged high-performance tablets from the ground up, whereas the Flex line makes a ruggedized package available at the lowest possible price.

For the Flex models, MobileDemand sources solid generic tablets that meet a set of company's features and performance goals. MobileDemand custom-designs protective rubber boots with thick bumpers to securely cushion and cradle the tablets. That assembly then goes into a sturdy, custom-designed polycarbonate shell and backplate. The picture below shows that the Flex approach goes well beyond what any third party aftermarket case can offer:

With their rugged cases, MobileDemand does far more than just sticking the tablet in a plastic shell. The backplate is designed to accommodate a briefcase carry handle, for secure mounting, for attaching a heavy duty handstrap, and it has an easily accessible holster for the unit's capacitive stylus. They design a rubber sleeve to cushion shock more effectively than any hard shell can alone. And most of this is included in the price.

What does the tablet inside look like? Most Flex customers will never find out because there's no need to remove the tablet from its armor, and the armor really isn't designed for frequent removal and re-insertion of the tablet.

The pictures below show the slender, stylish tablet at the core of the xTablet Flex 10A and the protective multi-layer casing.

What differentiates the xTablet Flex 10, either the Windows or the Android version, from buying a tablet and then a case for it is that it all comes preassembled and the case was designed by a company that has vast experience in rugged tablets. And there's an additional piece of protection that isn't visible in the pictures above: the xTablet Flex 10A also comes with a pre-applied screen protector that's not just a sheet of plastic but scratch-proof glass with a special oleophobic (fingerprint-resistant) coating. According to MobileDemand, it improves impact resistance by 20% — much welcome extra protection.

The below picture shows a close-up of the left side of both Flex 10 tablets inside their case. We removed the protective port covers for better visibility of the ports.

As far as I/O goes, the two tablets are almost exactly the same. From left to right, there is a small microphone hole, a standard 3.5mm audio in/out jack, then a USB-C port in the Windows tablet and a micro-USB port in the Android version, a micro HDMI port, a full-size USB Type A port (3.0 for Windows, 2.0 for Android), and finally a DC power jack. To the right of the ports, but inaccessible when the tablet is inside its shell, is a microSD card slot. This is one of the few reasons to ever take the tablet out of its armor. To the right of that is one of the two speakers.

We like the presence of a full-size USB port, as those are significantly less prone to damage than tiny micro connectors of any kind. The latter are sized to fit on phones and other small devices, but they really shouldn't be used in their present form in anything rugged. On the Windows version, we appreciate the reversible USB Type-C port.

The (very well done) 2-in-1 option

Before we go any further, let's discuss the remarkable Flex 10 keyboard. It's a US$70 option and to work best also needs the US$32 Flex 10A easel that adds stability. Basically, an extra US$100 converts these xTablet Flex 10 tablets into productivity-enhancing 2-in-1 hybrids. And it looks like this:

Since not everyone wants or needs the keyboard, MobileDemand actually offers the Flex 10 tablets with slightly different cases, one that has a cut-out at the bottom for the keyboard, and one that doesn't.

2-in-1 functionality has been a growing feature in the tablet market. It is popular enough that almost all the major players now offer detachable keyboards that add a lot of functionality. We definitely recommend it.

Unlike the wafer-thin and often marginally useful accessory keyboards available for consumer tablets, MobileDemand's keyboard provides full functionality, good key travel, and excellent tactile feedback. It also has a sturdy hinge that allows for a solid connection to the tablet. Combined with the easel, it makes for complete laptop functionality, should that be required.

About the only criticism we have is that the QWERTY layout is only 87%-scale. That makes it more difficult to use for touch typists. Slightly shrinking the punctuation and ancillary keys to the left and right of the QWERY layout would have easily allowed for a full-scale implementation.

Different processors and electronics

While the Windows and the Android versions of the Flex 10 look virtually identical on the outside, they are quite different inside. Windows and Android are fundamentally different. There are a few processors that can run either Windows or Android, but that's always a compromise. We're glad MobileDemand didn't make the mistake of running both OS platforms on the same electronics.

Android — the Android-based Flex 10A runs on a MediaTek MT8163 processor. While MediaTek doesn't nearly have the name recognition of Qualcomm with its Snapdragon chips that power almost half of all Android smartphones, the company is among the world's major chip makers. Roughly 1/3 the size of QualComm, MediaTek generally specializes on the lower end of the Android device market.

Like most ARM-based CPUs, the MT8163 is a highly integrated System-on-Chip that incorporates four 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 cores, Mali-T720 graphics as well as camera, storage and connectivity support. The MT8163 has been used in a variety of popular brand-name tablets. It was, however introduced in 2015, so we're not talking recent state-of-the-art tech.

Windows — The Windows-based Flex 10B uses an Intel Celeron N4100 processor. Code-named 'Gemini Lake,' the N4100 is a quad-core processor launched late 2017 primarily for use in lower end notebooks. Compared to the Intel Atom X5-Z8350 that powered the previous generation of the Windows-based Flex 10, the N4100 is a very considerable upgrade in virtually every respect.

Whereas the older Z8350 was very much an low-cost, low-end processor, Intel had higher goals for the 'Gemini Lake' Celeron chips, and that was reflected in its cost that was several times as high as that of the Z8350. When we benchmark-tested the last generation Windows-based Flex 10 in early 2017, it held its own against low-end competition and we described it as being a 'competent performer given the relatively little computing power it has at its disposal.' But we also found that it wasn't any quicker than its own predecessor model.

To provide an idea where the two xTablet Flex 10 models stand compared to their respective competition, we ran our standard Windows and Android benchmark suites on each model. The results are, of course, not directly comparable because Windows software and Intel hardware are fundamentally different from Android software and ARM hardware.

Flex 10B Windows benchmarks

For the Windows-based Flex 10B, we used our two standard performance benchmark suites on the test unit. Passmark Software's PerformanceTest 6.1 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. As a cross check, we also always use the CrystalMark benchmark suite that tests single-core performance and various subsystems and then provides an overall score.

For comparison's sake, we included the benchmark data from MobileDemand's predecessor Flex 10 tablet, and added the numbers of four other 10-inch class tablets with various types of processors.

MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10B Benchmarks and Comparisons

PERFORMANCE COMPARISON	MobileDemand	MobileDemand	Estone	Handheld	RuggON	Zebra
Model	Flex 10B (2020)	Flex 10 (2016)	MJC-100 (2019)	Algiz 10X (2017)	PX501 (2018)	ET56 (2019)
Model	10' tablet	10' tablet	10' tablet	10' tablet	10' tablet	8 or 10' tablet
Processor Type	Intel Celeron	Intel Atom	Intel Atom	Intel Celeron	Intel Core	Intel Atom
Processor Type: Intel	N4100	X5-Z8350	X5-Z8350	N2930	i5-7300U	E3940
Code name	Gemini Lake	Cherry Trail	Cherry Trail	Bay Trail	Kabey Lake	Apollo Lake
CPU Clock	1.10/2.40GHz	1.44/1.92GHz	1.44/1.92GHz	1.83/2.16GHz	2.60/3.50GHz	1.40/1.80GHz
CPU Cores/Threads	4/4	4/4	4/4	4/4	2/4	4/4
Intel Graphics	UHD 6000	HD	HD	HD	HD 620	HD 500
CPU Mark	6,197.8	1,599.7	1,719.1	1,844.2	5,259.7	3,986.7
2D Graphics Mark	188.7	96.3	84.6	129.0	330.9	159.1
Memory Mark	607.2	324.3	385.2	340.9	1,775.5	440.3
Disk Mark	463.4	615.9	667.0	2,497.3	3,244.0	1,188.4
3D Graphics Mark	258.1	109.7	128.3	119.0	518.8	267.3
Overall PassMark	1,945.3	640.1	694.1	1,091.1	2,497.1	1,447.7
ALU	43,486	22,251	22,341	24,630	53,905	30,953
FPU	29,498	18,487	18,343	20,521	52,790	27,937
MEM	25,958	19,711	19,100	18,623	46,872	33,470
HDD	24,853	21,304	22,163	36,434	37,145	26,250
GDI	8,312	3,680	3,331	4,319	13,578	2,818
D2D	3,541	2,540	2,215	3,276	6,318	4,000
OGL	4,811	3,015	2,426	2,863	11,753	3,845
Overall CrystalMark	143,459	90,988	89,919	110,666	222,361	129,273

The results here speak for themselves. For an entry-level and bargain-priced product, the Flex 10B is a strong performer. That's in part due to Intel closing the performance gap between its processor families. A few years ago, Atom class processors were cheap and slow, and Core class processors expensive and fast. Even though the Celeron N4100 processor inside the Flex 10B is technically part of the Atom family, it's quite powerful. As a result, the Flex 10B is much quicker than what used to be expected from an Atom-powered system. It trounces its immediate Flex 10 predecessor, and offers performance not far behind Core-based systems.

Bottomline is that the current MobileDemand Flex 10B, isn't just a good performer given its low price, but a good performer period.

Flex 10A Android benchmarks

And here's what the performance situation looks like on the Android side. Do note that many current rugged Android tablets are viewed as part of customers' migration strategies from older Windows CE and Windows Mobile devices to Android, and not necessarily as direct competition for Windows 10 tablets.

MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10A Benchmarks and Comparisons

PERFORMANCE COMPARISON	MobileDemand	Handheld	Juniper	Panasonic	RuggON	Zebra
Model	Flex 10A	Algiz RT8	Mesa 3	Toughbook A3	PA501	M60
Model	10' tablet	8' tablet	7' tablet	10' tablet	10' tablet	6' tablet
Year tested	2020	2020	2020	2020	2019	2019
Processor Company	MediaTek	QualComm	QualComm	Intel Celeron	Intel Core	Intel Atom
Processor Model	MT8163	SD625/MSM8953	SD660	SD660	SD660	SD625/MSM89530
CPU Clock	1.50GHz	2.00GHz	2.20GHz	2.20GHz	2.20GHz	2.00GHz
CPU Cores	4	8	8	8	8	8
Graphics	Mali T720	Adreno 506	Adreno 512	Adreno 512	Adreno 512	Adreno 506
AnTuTu	47,394	100,381	175,615	172,458	162,015	81,954
Vellamo Metal	948	1,670	2,918	2,954	2,858	1,528
Vellamo Multicore	1,125	2,563	3,806	3,513	3,840	2,662
Vellamo Browser	1,486	2,590	5,758	5,650	5,921	NA
PassMark Mobile	1,749	3,998	5,801	4,473	10,011	5,924

Since until relatively recently, most rugged mobile computers were Windows-based, our Android benchmark database has far fewer entries. Benchmarks come and go, and results aren't as comparable across processor families as they are in the Windows world. In addition, fueled by the short consumer market product lifecycles and intense competition in state-of-the-art smartphones, there has been tremendous progress in ARM-based processor features and performance.

As a result, even high-end rugged tablets such as the Panasonic Toughbook A3 and the RuggON SOL PA501 are nowhere near the performance standards set by the latest smartphones. That said, the Flex 10A's performance is more than good enough for the kind of web-based and browser-based applications that often make up the majority of customer workloads. For example, running a terminal emulation or warehouse management system mounted on a forklift requires little more than running a good browser for such applications, the Flex 10 Android offers a great price to performance proposition: For the cost of a decent (non-iPhone) mid-range smartphone, customers get a nice 10-inch that's tough and rugged enough for almost all jobs in the field.

Power consumption

Battery life is always of major importance to mobile systems. And that's especially so for devices that have internal, non user-accessible batteries.

When we opened up the Flex tablets, we found a 7.4V, 3,000mAH battery in the Windows version, and a 3.7Volt, 6,000mAH battery in the Android tablet, both amounting to 22.2 watt-hours. That on the low end for tablets this size. MobileDemand's spec sheet suggests 'up to 4-6 hours of battery life' for both versions.

We used Passmark's BatteryMon utility to examine power draw of the Windows version under different settings.

When running the drawdown test in the Windows 'Best battery life' mode, with the tablet's backlight set to its dimmest, BatteryMon showed a very low 2.2 watt draw. With the backlight at 50%, that rose to 2.8 watts, and with the backlight at its maximum it rose to 3.7 watts. In Windows 'Best performance' mode the battery draws were 2.4, 3.2 and 4.4 watts.

Given the battery's 22.2 watt-hour capacity, the lowest observed 2.2 watt draw translates into 10 hours of run time, and the highest observed draw of 4.4 watts equates to about five hours. This would make MobileDemand's estimates a bit conservative.

We were unable to measure the battery draw of the Android version. Android electronics usually draw less power, and so the Flex 10A may run somewhat longer between charges.

A look inside

While most xTablet Flex 10 customers might never remove the tablet from its protective enclosure, at RuggedPCReview.com we always want to know what's inside. A clean, logical internal layout is a good indicator of reliability and how well a device holds up over time and under adverse conditions.

Taking apart a Flex 10 — we're showing the Android Flex 10A version here — means you first have to separate the tablet from its elaborate protective plastic/rubber case. This requires VERY CAREFUL twisting and prodding to gently torque the tablet out of its cocoon.

Once that's done, you're holding in your hands the bare Flex 10A, a remarkably sleek and elegant tablet device measuring 10.1 x 6.8 inches and perhaps a third of an inch thick, if that.

Anyone expecting, based on the very low price, to find a generic 'white box' tablet inside the hefty custom casing may be surprised at the understated elegance of the Flex 10A tablet with its matte-black backside, the solid materials, and the precise manufacturing.

The Flex 10A housing consists of two black ABS plastic halves. The backside is an elegant matte-black. The front is glossy black with just a very thin bezel extending past the pre-applied screen protector. Separating the two halves requires careful prying the case open with a suitable plastic wedge tool, without breaking any of the small plastic snaps and retainers inside. We used a small triangular plastic opening pick, the kind you can see in all the fixit.com product teardown videos. Stick it into the thin gap between front and back somewhere, then gently glide it along to pop the snaps open one by one. There is no seal between the two halves as the Flex 10A is not a sealed unit.

Once separated, there are no wires or ribbon cables between the two halves. All the electronics are attached to the front side. The backside contains nothing but some metallic shielding and two sturdy anchors for the optional attachable keyboard. There is no frame; all components are mounted onto the front half of the housing. The picture below shows what things look like inside the Android-based Flex 10A:

The motherboard measures a compact 100 x 72 mm and has all of its edge-mounted I/O concentrated along one side of the board. Almost needless to say, the Flex 10A does not need a fan. Its ARM processor and ancillary electronics generate so little heat that none is needed.

The majority of the interior real estate of the Flex 10A is taken up by its battery. It is a thin 5-1/2 x 5 inch affair that is not accessible from the outside and not user-replaceable. It's however accessible enough so that a service department could easily get to it and probably replace it.

Below is a look at the edge-mounted I/O of the Flex10A: The power jack, a USB Type A port, mini-HDMI, micro-USB, and a 3.5mm audio jack. In the center you can also see the micro-SD card slot which isn't accessible when the tablet is in its protective case. That may be a negative for some users. We assume MobileDemand had no choice as another large cutout might have weakened that side of the hard shell too much.

There are no miniPCIe or other expansion connectors visible, nor can you see the storage or RAM modules. That's because the tablet's eMMC (the 'e' stands for 'embedded') storage is part of the motherboard, as is Wi-Fi and RAM and just about everything else, much like in a smartphone.

Putting the two halves back together is easier than getting them apart. Align them and snap them back together, pushing each snap in turn, one by one. It takes just seconds. To get the tablet back into its protective multi-layered casing, you first pull the soft rubber boot over it, then push the assembly back into the rigid backplate. That requires a bit of pushing and prodding to get everything settled again in its proper place, but it's much easier than getting the tablet out.

If you're interested in what the Windows version looks like inside, here it is. Opening it up and putting it back together is identical to the Android version.

The capacitive multi-touch display

In order to keep the Flex tablets as affordable as possible, MobileDemand had to make some changes and concessions over the years that the platform has been available. The original Flex 10 display, for example, was excellent and offered full 1920 x 1200 resolution. Subsequent ones, while still good, haven't been in quite the same league.

In the current lineup both tablets measure a comfortable 10.1 inches diagonally, but while the Android version does offer the full HD 1920 x 1200 (224ppi) resolution display, the Windows version only has 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. That means just 149 pixels per inch instead of 224. That's the difference between Apple 'retina' class sharpness where individual pixels are really visible anymore by the naked eye, and slight pixellation. No big deal, but it'd probably make more sense to have the Windows version with the higher res.

Since the Flex 10 tablets are rugged, many will be used outdoors, and that's where the brightness of the display makes a big difference. The original Flex 10 had a 350 nits backlight, but the two current models are down to 250 nits (we measured 262 and 255 nits for the Android and Windows versions, respectively). 250 nits is about as much as your average consumer laptop, but for any mobile computing device frequently used outdoors, brighter is always better.

To see how well it works, we compared the xTablet Flex 10B to an Apple iPad Air 2 whose retina display has a backlight strength of about 415 nits. Placed side by side outdoors on a bright afternoon in a semi-shaded area with their displays at maximum brightness, the iPad looked a little brighter, but the Flex tablet isn't far behind.

Both tablets have those fashionably glossy glass bezels and both display surfaces can, depending on the location and lighting, show fairly strong reflections. The images below show some of that. Unfortunately, strong reflections are what one has to expect from a modern consumer tablet. It's not the end of the world as most of us have become quite adept at angling our tablets so as to minimize reflections when using them outdoors.

What we also consider very important in tablet displays is the viewing angle. Ideally, brightness, colors and contrast should not change regardless of what angle a display is viewed from. On the plus side, the Flex 10 LCD display itself aces that test. On the minus side, surface reflections get worse with increasing viewing angle.

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It's been our experience that capacitive touch controllers have very narrow tolerances of what they do and do not recognize as touch/contact. There are now some such controllers that can sense touch even from a small fraction of an inch away from the surface, and that makes such systems somewhat usable with thin gloves. The Flex 10 is not one of them, and it appears that the addition of the relatively thick protective screen cover, which adds a small bit of distance between finger and glass surface, means the Flex 10 requires a slightly firmer touch than it otherwise would.

Cameras

Both xTablet Flex 10 have two integrated cameras. The user-facing 2mp camera is for video conferencing, whereas the rear-facing 5mp camera with LED flash can be used for documentation purposes.

Cameras integrated into vertical and industrial market handheld and tablet computers have historically underperformed compared to even low-end dedicated cameras and the cameras available in every smartphone. Things have gotten considerably better, but still often not enough to eliminate the need for taking along a separate camera or using a smartphone for taking pictures or video.

The last generation Windows-based xTablet Flex 10 we tested in 2016 clearly benefitted from its generic consumer tablet underpinnings — its cameras were at least as good as we saw at the time even from high-end dedicated rugged devices. The 2016 Flex 10 could easily be used for project documentation, and we expected the cameras in the 2020 versions of the Flex 10 tablet platform to do even better.

To find out we took our standard test pictures with both versions of the Flex 10 tablet.

Below are pictures shot with the Android-based Flex 10A documentation camera in its default 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution (click for full size):

And below are pictures shot with the Windows 10-based Flex 10B camera in its default 2592 x 1944 pixel resolution (click for full size):

Of the two tablets, the Android version produced noticeably better pictures, good enough for occasional use when a contemporary smartphone or dedicated camera isn't handy. The camera in the Windows version didn't come close, which was a surprise as the camera in the older 2016 Windows-based Flex 10 had been so good.

For stills, the Android version had three images sizes (2560 x 1920, 1600 x 1200, and 640 x 480 pixel), 14 scene modes, 8 white balance settings, ISO from 100 to 6400, and 2 and 10 second self-timers. The Windows version camera app offers a framing grid, six resolutions ranging from 640 x 480 up to 2592 x 1944, whiteboard and document modes, and a 'pro mode' that adds brightness control, manual focus, and a 5 or 10 second timer. Android version users have their choice of many downloadable camera apps, which the Windows version lacks.

For video, the Android version offered 1920 x 1080, 1280 x 720, 720 x 480, and 352 x 288 pixel formats, 12 scene modes, seven white balance settings, anti flicker, microphone on/off, EIS on/off, and up to 4X zoom. The Windows version seemed to have just one video mode, operated in wide-angle mode, and had brightness adjustment and manual focus.

Overall, we found camera performance to be workable, but modest.

Remarkable ruggedness

Here it gets interesting. While the bare Flex 10 tablets themselves are consumer-grade, once they are cocooned and protected inside their rugged MobileDemand cases they can easily survive the MIL-STD-810G 26 drops from four feet onto concrete. That's impressive. But it's not a surprise. It's often very low-tech solutions that make tablets capable of surviving rough handling and accidents out there in the field. An example are those blocky rubber bumpers on all four corners of the Flex 10 tablets. They aren't very elegant, but they get the job done better than the less prominent integrated corner protection in many expensive rugged tablets. Likewise, the unadorned soft rubber and hard polycarbonate shells are much less prone to scratching and denting than the elegant, high-tech materials used on many high-end rugged tablets.

MobileDemand says that you can also drop an 8-ounce steel ball from a meter onto its screen and it won't get hurt due to the special screen protector (we didn't try that).

Both tablets' operating temperature range is a bit narrower than that listed for MobileDemand's fully rugged gear, but 14 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit should cover most business users' needs.

Despite their impressive protective casing and nicely implemented protective rubber plug for all I/O ports, the Flex 10 tablets aren't considered sealed units and do not have an IP (Ingress Protection) rating. That means no working in driving rain or slushing around in brooks and streams. However, the special coating on the screen protector makes water perl off.

So, again, while the xTablet Flex 10 models look like fully rugged devices, they are consumer tablets inside a very intelligently designed case system. They can handle a lot more abuse than any sleek consumer tablet, but they are not sealed units and are not designed for use in truly harsh and unforgiving environments.

xTablet Flex mounting options

Most tablets used in business or on the job come with some kind of docking and mounting options, and the Flex 10 models are no different. And whereas MobileDemand did not offer the kind of full office and vehicle docks available for most of its higher end tablets for the original Flex 10, that has changed now and there are quite a few accessories mounting hardware options available..

For vehicle use, MobileDemand provides the professional-grade xTablet Flex Standard Vehicle Mount a flexible arm that makes for ergonomic access to the tablet in virtually any vehicle.

The mount features a quick release mechanism for rapid switching from vehicle to field operations. Included in the package is the previously available Snap Mount no-drill base that attaches to the passenger seat floor bolt that secures the passenger seat to the floor.

Also available is the xTablet Flex Standard Wall Mount. It includes a Snap Mount plate that attaches to the back of the Flex device, and arm, a wall plate and all the anchors a and ties to mount the Flex tablet on a wall.

The image to the right shows the components of the two kits, the one above the no-drill base installed in a vehicle.

Bottom line: MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10A

With their two 10-inch xTablet Flex 10 tablets, MobileDemand presents a couple of entry-level rugged tablets with entry-level prices. The Android 9 version is $495, and the Windows 10 version $595. Both tablets employ MobileDemand's unique concept of merging basic modern consumer tablets with specially designed and preinstalled ruggedness armor. The protective layered casing is better than pretty much any after-market case. These rugged tablet offerings bust the old adage that you get what you pay for; MobileDemand gives you more than what you pay for. There are some concessions, of course, but these deals are almost too good to be true.

And yet, true they are. Weighing just 2-1/4 pounds including case, handle, handstrap and capacitive pen, MobileDemand's 10.1-inch 'entry-level' thin-and-lights offer a deal for customers who seek the convenience, low cost and ease of use of a consumer tablet in a package that's better protected and doesn't cost nearly as much as a fully rugged (or even semi-rugged) tablet.

With Android dominating the global smartphone market and coming on strong in tablets, too, it makes sense for MobileDemand to provide tablets both in Windows and Android versions. The Windows version's quad-core Intel Celeron N4100 processor packs quite a punch and makes it much more powerful than its Intel Atom-powered predecessor. The quad-core MediaTek processor in the Android version can hold its own, but its relative position in the Android pecking order is lower than that of the Intel chip in the Windows realm.

Both Flex 10 tablets have a reasonably bright and vibrant display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, a perfect viewing angle from all directions, and no color shifts. The 10-point capacitive multi-touch screens are quick and responsive. The included broad-tip capacitive stylus works fine with Android, but Windows would benefit from a narrower tip.

For inexpensive thin-and-light tablets the Flex 10 models have good onboard connectivity, including full-size USB 3.0, micro-HDMI and audio, as well as USB-C (Windows) and micro-USB (Android). The 2mp and 5mp cameras offer fair performance, with the Android version the better of the two.

Inside its excellent rubber and polycarbonate casing, the xTablet Flex 10 models are remarkably well protected and can handle a good deal of abuse. These are not a sealed units though, so no dunking. Temperaturewise, the tablets can handle almost anything.

Offering good performance, very low power draw, decent displays, and surprising ruggedness, the fanless xTablet Flex models represent a compelling low-cost tablet option for anyone who needs Windows or Android on tough jobs. They aren't as bullet-proof as fully rugged device, but close enough.

We highly recommend the optional keyboard and easel that convert the Flex 10 models into remarkably cohesive 2-in-1 tablet/laptop hybrids.

Overall, the very low cost means some compromises. Which is fine; many enterprise and business applications only need entry-level features, so this is more than adequate at a price point that is hard to beat.-- Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, September 2020

MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10A and Flex 10B Specs:

Model	xTablet Flex 10A	xTablet Flex 10B
Type	Thin-and-light rugged Android Tablet PC	Thin-and-light rugged Windows Tablet PC
Added	Full review 09/2020	Full review 09/2020
Processor	Quad-core MediaTek MT8163	Quad-core Intel Celeron N4100
Processor speed	1.30GHz	1.10GHz, 2.40GHz burst frequency
Scenario Design Power	unknown	2 watts
Display Chipset	Mali T720	Intel UHD Graphics 600 400
OS	Android 9.0 Pie GMS	Windows 10 Home or Professional
Memory	3GB PCDDR3	4GB RAM LPDDR4
Display	IPS LCD, 250 nits (262 nits measured)	IPS LCD, 250 nits (255 nits measured)
Display size/res	10.1-inch, 1920 x 1200 pixel, 224 ppi	10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 pixel, 149 ppi
Digitizer	10-point procap/capacitive stylus
Keyboard	Optional detachable keyboard
Storage	128GB	128GB eMMC
Expansion slots	1 x microSDHC/SDXC	1 x microSDHC/SDXC
Housing	ABS plastic tablet in rubber and polycarbonate housing/case
Size	10.5 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches (267 x 182 x 18mm)
Weight	2.25 lbs. (1.0 kg) with case, handle and hand strap
Operating temperature	14° to +113°F (-10° to +45°C)
Humidity	5 to 95% non-condensing
Ingress protection	Not rated
Drop/shock	MIL-STD 810G, 516.6 IV (4 feet)
Power	Li-Ion 22.2 watt-hours ('4-6 hours')
Cameras	2mp camera front, 5mp camera with LED flash rear
Sensors	Accelerometer	Accelerometer
USB Type A	1 x USB 2.0	1 x USB 3.0
USB Type C	NA	1 x USB-C
Micro-USB	1 x micro USB OTG	NA
HDMI	1 x mini-HDMI
Audio	1 x 3.5mm audio jack
Wi-Fi	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 4.2
Security	DUKPT	TPM 2.0
Price	US$495 with Android 9.0 Pie GMS	US$595 with Windows 10 Professional
Contact	xTablet Flex 10A web page	xTablet Flex 10B web page

MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10A

Remarkably affordable Intel 'Cherry Trail' quad-core powered 10.1-inch Windows 10 capacitive multi-touch tablet in a custom-designed, preinstalled protective case
by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer

Ruggedized mobile computers can cost thousands of dollars, making them unaffordable to many potential customers. The MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10A that we're examining in this review, on the other hand, costs just US$595. That's less than the cheapest iPhone 7. How is this possible? It's because a few years ago, MobileDemand decided to add to their lineup of heavy-duty rugged tablets a series of thin and light 'business-loaded' tablets designed to deliver productivity improvements to the wide range of customers who require more ruggedness than consumer-grade tablets can deliver, but at a price that is not prohibitive. The original xTablet Flex 10 was part of that lineup, and the Flex 10A analyzed in this report is its successor.

How can MobileDemand sell a rugged Windows 10 tablet for so little money? By pre-packaging and assembling what is essentially a standard, albeit fully loaded, consumer/business Windows tablet with a competent protective case with bumpers and a carry handle. And also a scratch-proof screen protector and other touches and implements essential to a rugged device. So instead of searching for a case that may or may not do the job, buyers get a tablet with a heavy-duty case designed by experts in rugged Tablet PCs. For US$695 with Windows 10 Home, and US$670 with Windows 10 Professional.

This kind of pricing means that MobileDemand entered an entirely new territory with their xTablet Flex line (which also includes the Flex 8). Ever since Apple legitimized the tablet form factor with the iPad, tablets have become an integral part of our lives, selling in the hundreds of millions. Unfortunately, rugged tablet vendors have struggled with participating in the tablet bonanza. There are several reasons for that.

One is that traditional rugged tablet technology simply didn't appeal to buyers used to sleek, trendy consumer tablets. Another is that they balked at the high price of rugged tablets. As a result, many enterprise buyers opted for inexpensive consumer tablets and perhaps a third-party protective case. If they broke, they simply replaced them. There is considerable debate in the rugged industry as to whether it's a good idea to put consumer tech in a case. With the Flex line MobileDemand decided to find out for itself, and apparently it worked out quite well for them.

MobileDemand's Flex platform

It's important to understand MobileDemand's philosophical approach to the Flex line. In essence, the difference between the company's higher end xTablets and the Flex models is that the former are designed and built as cohesive, fully integrated rugged tablets with significant performance and capabilities, whereas the Flex line makes a ruggedized package available at the lowest possible price.

For the Flex models, MobileDemand is sourcing generic tablets that meet the company's features and performance goals. MobileDemand then custom-designs protective rubber boots with thick bumpers to securely cushion and cradle the tablets, and that assembly then goes into a sturdy, also custom-designed polycarbonate backplate. The picture below shows that the Flex approach goes well beyond what any third party aftermarket case can offer:

The pictures above show that MobileDemand does far more than just cladding the tablet with hefty protection; they also design the backplate to accommodate a briefcase carrying handle, a heavy duty handstrap, and an easily accessible holster for the unit's capacitive stylus. All of this is included in the price. Customers ordering an xTablet Flex 10A will receive the unit exactly as shown in the pictures above.

What does the tablet inside look like? Many Flex customers will never find out because there's no need to remove the tablet from its armor, and the armor really isn't designed for easy removal and re-insertion of the tablet.

So below you can see the slender, stylish tablet at the core of the xTablet Flex 10A on top, and the elaborate protective multi-layer casing beneath it.

What differentiates the xTablet Flex 10A from buying a tablet and then a case for it is that it all comes preassembled and the case was designed by a company that has vast experience in rugged tablets. And there's an additional piece of protection that isn't visible in the pictures above: the xTablet Flex 10A also comes with a pre-applied screen protector that's not just a sheet of plastic but scratch-proof glass with a special oleophobic (fingerprint-resistant) coating. According to MobileDemand, it improves impact resistance by 20% — much welcome extra protection.

The below picture shows a close-up of the left side of the xTablet Flex 10A, both with and without the protective case and boot. The picture shows how slender the base tablet is.

Note that in the upper picture we photoshopped off the soft protective rubber plug that covers all I/O on the left side of the tablet.

As far as I/O goes, from left to right, there is a small microphone hole, a standard 3.5mm audio in/out jack, a micro USB port that also can be used for charging the tablet, a micro HDMI port, a blue full-size USB 3.0 port, and finally a DC power jack. Beneath the hinged snap-on cover to the right of the ports is a microSD card slot (which is one of the few reasons to ever take the tablet out of its armor). To the right of that is one of the two speakers.

What we especially appreciate is the full-size USB port, as those are significantly less prone to damage than the tiny and flimsier micro connectors of any kind. The latter are sized to fit into phones and other small devices, but they really shouldn't be used in their present form in anything rugged.

The (very well done) 2-in-1 option

Before we go any further, let's discuss the remarkable Flex 10A keyboard. It's a US$70 option and really also needs the US$30 Flex 10A easel. Basically, an extra US$100 converts to xTablet Flex 10A into a remarkably flexible and remarkably productivity-enhancing 2-in-1 hybrid. And it looks like this:

I should mention that 2-in-1 hybrids are hot. Hot enough to be a rapidly growing part of the overall tablet market. Hot enough for almost all the major players now offering cleverly designed detachable keyboards that add a lot of functionality. And also hot enough for rugged notebook market leader Panasonic to replace their two major traditional Toughbook laptops with 2-in-1 hybrids.

Unlike the weird waver-thin accessory keyboards offered for many consumer tablets, MobileDemand's Flex 10A keyboard is a true keyboard with full keyboard functionality, good key travel, and excellent tactile feedback. It also has a very sturdy hinge that allows for a very solid connection to the tablet. Combined with the easel, it makes for full and complete laptop functionality, should that be required.

That said, we very highly recommend getting the keyboard and easel.

Intel 'Cherry Trail' processor

The xTablet Flex 10A runs Windows 10 Home or Professional on an Intel Atom X5-Z8350 processor. This is a quad-core 'system-on-chip' processor of Intel's 14nm 'Cherry Trail' lineup that succeeds the popular 22nm 'Bay Trail' roster. Integrated graphics are of the Intel Gen 8 variety, the same generation as Intel's high-end 'Broadwell' chips.

Where does the X5 prefix come from? That's because having used the i3/i5/i7 prefixes in their more expensive Core processors to indicate good/better/best, Intel wanted to apply that system to their Atom processors as well. So the X5-8350 chip in this xTablet would be a mid-range offering with more capabilities and features than an X3 CPU, but not quite as much as an X7-class processor.

The X5-Z8350 processor in the Flex 10A has a base frequency of 1.44GHz, almost the same as the Atom Z3770 in the predecessor Flex 10 tablet's 1.46GHz. However, maximum burst frequency in the newer chip is just 1.92GHz versus the 2.39GHz of the Z3770.

To provide an idea where the xTablet Flex 10A stands in terms of overall computing performance, we ran our two standard performance benchmark suites on our evaluation unit. Passmark Software's PerformanceTest 6.1 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. As a cross check, we also always use the CrystalMark benchmark suite that tests various subsystems and then provides an overall score.

For comparison's sake, we included the benchmark data from MobileDemand's predecessor Flex 10 tablet as well as the company's xTablet T8650 tablet equipped with a slightly higher-end X5-Z8550 processor. We also added the numbers of two other Cherry Trail-based tablets (the Arbor Gladius G0830 and the Getac T800), as well as the Bay Trail-based Trimble Kenai.

MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10 A Benchmarks and Comparisons

PERFORMANCE COMPARISON	MobileDemand	MobileDemand	MobileDemand	ARBOR	Getac	Trimble
Model	xTablet Flex 10A	xTablet Flex 10	xTablet T8650	Gladius G0830	T800	Kenai
Processor Type	Intel Atom	Intel Atom	Intel Atom	Intel Atom	Intel Atom	Intel Atom
Processor Type: Intel	X5-Z8350	Z3770	X5-Z8550	X5-Z8300	X7-Z8700	E3826
Code name	Cherry Trail	Bay Trail	Cherry Trail	Cherry Trail	Cherry Trail	Bay Trail
CPU Clock	1.44/1.92GHz	1.46/2.39GHz	1.44/2.40GHz	1.44/1.84GHz	1.60/2.40GHz	1.46GHz
CPU Cores/Threads	4/4	4/4	4/4	4/4	4/4	2/2
Graphics	Intel HD	Intel HD	Intel HD	Intel HD	Intel HD	Intel HD
CPU Mark	1,599.7	1,590.9	1,708.7	1,639.7	1,620.3	499.8
2D Graphics Mark	96.3	179.8	135.2	96.7	104.7	86.4
Memory Mark	324.3	412.8	385.6	281.3	284.1	249.4
Disk Mark	615.9	294.4	847.2	618.5	601.1	1,726.5
3D Graphics Mark	109.7	127.3	228.2	141.4	162.6	122.0
Overall PassMark	640.1	603.2	746.5	647.6	643.0	550.1
ALU	22,251	30,027	22,828	21,436	21,118	9,897
FPU	18,487	18,413	17,567	17,627	18,082	8,058
MEM	19,711	22,904	20,956	18,176	17,648	15,386
HDD	21,304	10,634	25,675	19,628	18,620	35,416
GDI	3,680	5,793	4,635	3,473	3,430	2,937
D2D	2,540	3,216	3,500 est	2,307	4,000 est	2,072
OGL	3,015	3,366	3,226	2,548	2,984	1,733
Overall CrystalMark	90,988	94,353	98,387	85,195	85,882	75,499

As is, the benchmark results of tablets using this class of Intel chips tends to be quite close. Compared to the original Flex 10, the new Flex 10A is a little quicker overall in the more relevant PassMark benchmark, though not all results make sense. The older chip actually yields better graphics benchmark numbers, but the newer Flex 10A has much quicker mass storage, even though both versions use relatively low-end eMMC mass storage. The higher-end xTablet T8650 is somewhat quicker overall.

Bottomline is that the Flex 10A, as well as the other devices listed in the table above, are all amazingly competent performers given the relatively little computing power they have at their disposal. The Bay Trail and Cherry Trail Atom chips in these machines cost only a small fraction of the price of the type of Intel Core processors used in high end mobile computing gear.

Power consumption: low but inconclusive

Comparing the spec sheets of the original Flex 10 with the new Flex 10A shows that battery capacity has gone down from 28.9 watt-hours to 21.5 watt-hours. However, whereas the company's battery life estimate for the original unit was '6 hours,' estimates for the new Flex 10A are '10 hours.' Intel rates the processors used in the old and the new unit both at 2 watts of SDP. SDP, which stands for 'Scenario Design Power,' indicates average real-world power usage. That's different from Intel's TDP ('Thermal Design Power') which indicates the highest power use.

Given that both chips have the same SDP, how could the new Flex 10A have 65% longer battery life?

To measure power draw, we used the PassMark BatteryMon utility to examine power draw under different settings. We discovered that the Windows Power Settings control panel, which usually allows you to select from various power settings, in the Flex 10A is limited to 'Balanced.' The explanation in the Windows Help panel was that this was because of the system's InstantGo (see Wiki on InstantGo) that allows systems to wake up instantly from sleep with apps and data up to date.

When running the drawdown test, with the tablet's backlight set to its dimmest, BatteryMon shows an impossibly low 0.75 watts. With the backlight in normal indoor setting, that rose to 1.0 watts and with the backlight at its maximum, it rose to 1.3 watts.

0.75 watts would be by far the lowest power draw we've ever seen in our lab. If the battery provides 21.5 watt-hours as the specs say, that would translate into a theoretical battery life of almost 29 hours. Even with the backlight on full bright, it would still mean 16.5 hours until a full battery is completely drained. We don't think that's the case, even with the different display of the Flex 10A and the 14nm process technology of the Cherry Trail chip. So BatteryMon is likely incompatible with how the Flex 10A power system functions.

Interestingly, BatteryMon did, however, show a discharge rate of 9.5 hours, which would affirm MobileDemand's battery life estimate.

A look inside

Most xTablet Flex 10A customers may never remove the tablet from its protective enclosure. At RuggedPCReview.com, we always want to know what's inside as that provides important clues to a device's quality of design and execution.

Taking apart the Flex 10A means you first have to separate the tablet from its elaborate protective plastic/rubber case. This requires very careful twisting and prodding to gently torque the tablet out of its cocoon.

Once that's done, you're holding in your hands the bare Flex 10A, a remarkably sleek and elegant tablet device measuring 10.1 x 6.8 inches, and perhaps a third of an inch thick, if that.

In terms of construction, the Flex 10A housing consists of two black ABS plastic halves. The backside is an elegant matte-black. The front is glossy black with just a very thin bezel extending past the pre-applied screen protector. Separating the two halves requires very careful prying the case open with suitable plastic wedge tools, without breaking any of the small plastic snaps and retainers inside. Twisting too much or forcing things apart can easily result in damage. There is no seal between the two halves as the Flex 10A is not a sealed unit.

Once separated, there are no wires or ribbon cables between the two halves. All the electronics are attached to the front side. The backside contains nothing but some metallic shielding and two sturdy metal anchors for the optional (and very highly recommended) attachable keyboard. There is no frame; all components are mounted onto the frontal polycarbonate half of the housing. The picture below shows what things look like inside the Flex 10A:

The motherboard measures a super-compact 100 x 70 mm and has all of its edge-mounted I/O concentrated along one side of the main board. The Flex 10A does not need a fan. The Intel Cheery Trail processor and ancillary electronics generate so little heat that the metallic backside of the LCD seems sufficient to dissipate it.

The majority of the interior real estate of the Flex 10A is taken up by its battery. It is a thin 5-1/4 x 4-3/4 inch affair that is not accessible from the outside and not user-replaceable. It's however accessible enough so that a service department could easily get to it and probably replace it. The battery packs 21.46 watt-hours, and MobileDemand documentation claims about 10 hours of battery life.

Putting the two halves back together is very much easier than taking them apart. Align them and snap them back together. Takes just seconds. To get the tablet back into its protective multi-layered casing, you first pull the soft rubber boot over it, then push the assembly back into the rigid backplate. It requires a bit of careful pushing and prodding to get everything settled again in its proper place, so we wouldn't do this too often.

Decent IPS 1280 x 800 pixel capacitive multi-touch display

While the Flex 10A's mass storage is significantly faster than that of the first generation Flex 10, there's been a concession in the name of ongoing affordability. The Flex 10A's display, while still good, isn't in the same league as that of its predecessor. Measuring a comfortable 10.1 inches diagonally, it now offers 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, down from the 1920 x 1200 pixel of the first gen Flex 10. That means just 149 pixels per inch instead of the former 224. That's the difference between Apple 'retina' class sharpness, and an Amazon HD or a first gen Microsoft Surface tablet. No real big deal, but it's always nice to move forward, not backward.

We had additional concerns over the new Flex 10A tablet's 280 nits backlight, also down from 350 nits in the first gen version. 280 nits is still more than your average consumer laptop, but for any mobile computing device frequently used outdoors, brighter is always better.

To see how well it works, we compared the xTablet Flex 10A with an Apple iPad Air 2 whose formidable 'retina' display is said to have a backlight strength of about 415 nits. Placed side by side outdoors on an overcast morning in a semi-shaded area with their displays at maximum brightness, amazingly both displays appeared about equally bright. So the Flex 10A backlight may be underrated.

Both tablets have those fashionably glossy glass bezels and both display surfaces show strong reflections. The images below speak for themselves. Unfortunately, strong reflections are what one has to expect from a modern consumer tablet. It's not the end of the world as most of us have become quite adept at angling our tablets so as to minimize reflections when using them outdoors.

What we also consider very important in tablet displays is the viewing angle. Ideally, brightness, colors and contrast should not change regardless of what angle a display is viewed from. On the plus side, the Flex 10A LCD display itself aces that test. On the minus side, surface reflections get worse with increasing viewing angle.

As far as touch technology goes, it's almost needless to say that the xTablet Flex 10A uses 10-point projected capacitive multi-touch for effortless tapping, panning, pinching and zooming.

MobileDemand supplies a capacitive pen with a foot-long lanyard. The pen is of the passive capacitive variety and has the broad tip that works well for tapping and panning, but not very well for precision work. To MobileDemand's credit, they replaced the usually short and chintzy generic capacitive pens with their rubber tips with a metal mesh tipped stylus that's more durable, works somewhat better, and is longer and thicker than generic styli. And they also used their standard and very durable tether and stylus holder to store the pen when it's not in use. Nonetheless, by now we'd like to see a narrower tip stylus.

Cameras

The xTablet Flex 10A has two integrated cameras. The user-facing 2mp camera is for video conferencing, whereas the rear-facing 5mp camera with LED flash can be used for documentation purposes.

Cameras integrated into vertical and industrial market handheld and tablet computers have historically underperformed compared to even low-end dedicated cameras and, more recently, the cameras available in almost every smartphone. Things have gotten considerably better, but still often not enough to eliminate the need of taking along a dedicated camera or smartphone if photo or video documentation is needed on the job.

Here the xTablet Flex 10A benefits from generic consumer tablet underpinnings — its cameras are at least as good as we've seen even from high-end dedicated rugged devices, and possibly even better. As a result, the Flex 10A can definitely be used for project documentation.

The Flex 10A's documentation camera, especially, is quite decent and capable of taking good quality pictures up to 2592 x 1944 resolution. The focus is fast but tends to be a bit soft. The camera does not compress images so much that they become useless.

Below are pictures shot with the Flex 10A camera in its default 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution (click for full size):

Default 1080p video, too, works remarkably well. The camera does not fall behind and the image is sharp enough. Note that the Flex 10A cameras use the default Windows 10 Camera app. In the Flex 10A it allows setting white balance, shutter delay, exposure compensation, shutter speed, ISO, and even manual focus. But that's about it for options. Anything beyond that will require a third party camera app.

Remarkable ruggedness

Here it gets interesting. While the bare Flex 10A tablet itself is consumer-grade, neatly protected inside its rugged case it can actually survive the MIL-STD-810G 26 drops from four feet onto concrete. That's impressive.

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MobileDemand says that you can also drop an 8-ounce steel ball from a meter onto its screen and it won't get hurt due to the special screen protector (we didn't try that!).

The operating temperature range is narrower than for MobileDemand's fully rugged gear, but 32 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit should cover most business users' needs.

Despite its protective casing and nicely implemented protective rubber plug for all I/O ports, the Flex 10A isn't considered a sealed unit and does not have an IP rating. That means no working in the rain. However, the special coating on the screen protector makes water perl off.

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The video clip to the right shows some of the 'torture chamber' tests MobileDemand subjected the Flex 10A to.

In MobileDemand's own words, 'the rugged case has two layers for drop protection. The first layer is rubber with bumpers similar to what you see on other fully rugged MobileDemand tablets. The second layer is a high impact polycarbonate case that holds the rubber layer in place, but also provides mounting details for critical user carrying accessories including a back hand strap, a briefcase handle, a stylus holder, and an I/O door cover.'

So, again, while the xTablet Flex 10A looks like a fully rugged device, it is a consumer tablet inside a very intelligently designed case system. It can handle a lot more abuse than any sleek consumer tablet, but it is not a sealed unit and it is not designed for use in truly harsh and unforgiving environments.

xTablet Flex mounting options

Most tablets used in business or on the job come with some kind of docking and mounting options, and the Flex 10A is no different. And whereas MobileDemand did not offer the kind of full office and vehicle docks available for most of its higher end tablets for the original Flex 10, things have been improved for the new Flex 10A.

For vehicle use, MobileDemand provides the professional-grade xTablet Flex Standard Vehicle Mount a flexible arm that makes for ergonomic access to the tablet in virtually any vehicle.

The image to the right shows the components of the two kits, the one above the no-drill base installed in a vehicle.

Bottom line: MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10A

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With the second gen xTablet Flex 10 tablet, now called the Flex 10A, MobileDemand presents a fine-tuned update to its revolutionary concept of combining basic modern Windows tablets with specially designed and preinstalled ruggedness armor. The protective layered casing is even better, the price even lower, and the new version occupies a more firmly defined place in MobileDemand's growing product line. The new xTablet Flex 10A busts the old adage that you get what you pay for; here you get more than you pay for. There are some constraints, of course, but this deal is almost too good to be true.

And yet, true it is. Weighing just over 2.5 pounds including case, handle, handstrap, capacitive pen and easel, MobileDemand's 10.1-inch 'thin-and-light' offers a new answer for customers who seek the convenience, low cost and ease of use of a sleek consumer media tablet in something that's better protected and doesn't cost anywhere near as much as a fully rugged (or even semi-rugged) tablet.

The Flex 10's quad-core Intel 'Cherry Trail' processor yields decent performance, the kind available only from Intel Core-powered (and much more expensive) devices just a few years years ago.

The low cost might one lead to expect low-end componentry, but the xTablet Flex 10A impresses with an remarkably bright and vibrant display that offers 1280 x 800 pixel resolution (though sadly down from the 1920 x 1200 resolution of the original Flex 10), a perfect viewing angle from all directions, and no color shifts. Its 10-point capacitive multi-touch screen is quick and very responsive, and works well with Windows 10 and touch-optimized applications. The included capacitive stylus has the usual broad tip, but it's of the metal mesh variety and works quite well.

For an inexpensive thin-and-light tablet the Flex 10A has good onboard connectivity, including a full-size USB 3.0 port as well as micro-USB and micro-HDMI. The 2mp and 5mp cameras offer consumer tablet performance (i.e. quite good).

Inside its excellent rubber and polycarbonate casing, the xTablet Flex 10A is remarkably well protected and can likely handle a good deal of abuse. This is not a sealed unit, so no dunking, but temperaturewise this tablet can handle almost anything.

Offering good performance, very low power draw, a remarkably good display, and surprising ruggedness, the fanless xTablet Flex 10A represents a compelling, and compellingly inexpensive, package for anyone who needs Windows on tough jobs that don't require the higher protection (and cost) of a fully rugged device.

We highly recommend the optional keyboard and easel that convert the Flex 10A into a remarkably cohesive 2-in-1 tablet/laptop hybrid.

Overall, the very low cost means some compromises. The Flex 10A does not offer Windows 7 for those who still want or need it, is not sealed, does not have a replaceable battery, performance is not at the Intel Core level, the unit does not offer an integrated scanner (nor RFID or GPS), and we do miss the even sharper screen of the original Flex 10. If that doesn't matter, the xTablet Flex 10A may well fit the (very small) bill.-- Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, March 2017

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MobileDemand xTablet Flex 10A Specs:

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Type	Thin-and-light rugged Windows Tablet PC
Added	Full review 03/2017
Processor	Quad-core Intel Cherry Trail X5-Z8350
Processor speed	1.44GHz, 1.92GHz burst frequency
Scenario Design Power	2 watts
Display Chipset	Intel HD Graphics 400, 500MHz burst frequency, 2GB graphics video max memory
OS	Windows 10 Home or Professional
Memory	4GB DDR3L-RS-1600
Display	IPS LCD with 280 nits LED backlight
Display size/res	10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 pixel, 149 ppi
Digitizer	OGS (One Glass Solution) 10-point capacitive multi-touch/capacitive stylus
Keyboard	Optional detachable keyboard for 2-in-1 functionality (US$70, highly recommended)
Storage	64GB eMMC
Expansion slots	1 x microSD
Housing	ABS plastic tablet housing inside rubber glove with protective rubber bumpers, polycarbonate case, and briefcase handle
Size	10.5 x 7.14 x 1.22 inches (267 x 181 x 31mm)
Weight	2.4 lbs. (1.1 kg) with case, handle and hand strap
Operating temperature	32° to +120°F (0° to +49°C)
Humidity	5 to 95% non-condensing
Ingress protection	Not rated
Drop/shock	MIL-STD 810G, 516.6 IV: 26 repeated drops to 1 operating unit on to plywood over concrete from 48 inches
Tumble	1,000 one-meter tumbles (simulates 5 years worth of drops and tumbles)
Vibration	Est: Accelerated extreme truck and forklift vibration testing, 21G peak acceleration, 10 to 1,000Hz (6 hour test simulates intense forklift vibration extremes and a total of 100,000 miles at 55mph on average US roads)
Power	Internal non user-replaceable Li-Ion 3.7V, 5,800mAh, 21.46 watt-hours ('10.1 hours')
Cameras	2mp camera front, 5mp camera with LED flash rear (up to 2592 x 1944 pixel)
Sensors	Est: Light, G-sensor, Gyrometer, e-Compass
Interface	1 x micro USB 2.0 (for charging), 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x mini-HDMI, audio, power, docking
Wireless options	802.11a/b/g/n/ac with Bluetooth 42
Price	US$595 with Windows 10 Home, US$670 with Windows 10 Professional
Warranty	1 year
Contact	xTablet Flex 10A web page
Brochure	xTablet Flex 10A PDF spec sheet