Motorola considers targeting education and medical fields with rugged tablets

With an eye toward expanding the size of the tablet “pie”, Motorola Mobility is considering new tablets targeted at specific vertical markets, according to Christy Wyatt, Vice President and General Manager of Motorola Mobility’s Enterprise Business. While being quick to emphasize that their current tablet lineup – including the recently launched Xyboard tablets and their original Xoom tablet – are well suited for a range of enterprise uses, Wyatt said MMI was considering whether different sizes, aspect ratios, or durability needs could better serve those markets.

One example provided was education, where a smaller tablet than the 10.1 and 8.1 inch models they currently offer might fit better in some uses. Durability could be a key factor for educational professionals as well, although it was in reference to medical needs that it was pointed out that water-proofing, or at least water-resistance, was needed for sanitation reasons.

In the short term Wyatt said MMI is focusing on making their Android tablets more enterprise friendly in general, by increasing the security of their devices, making them easier to manage and provision for IT departments, and generally bringing down the cost of ownership for businesses that choose to deploy Motorola’s products.

Unless Google leads the company in a different direction after the acquisition closes – something they’ve indicated they won’t do – we can expect to see Motorola branch out into some specialty markets with their Android devices in the coming years.  

source: Forbes