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Opticon H-28

Powerful, rugged 5-inch Android enterprise terminal for data collection and communication
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

The Opticon H-28 was introduced in April 2018 as a scanning, analyzing and service solution for industries within a wide range of sectors including logistics, postal, healthcare, retail, industrial and transportation among others. It's a ruggedized handheld with an integrated industrial-grade 2D imager, but one that's slimmer and lighter than traditional industrial data capture devices while being significantly tougher than any consumer smartphone.

The hardware is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 with no fewer than eight ARM Cortex A53 CPU cores running at up to 1.5GHz, and an integrated Qualcomm Adreno 405 graphics processing unit. There's 2GB of DDR3 RAM and 16GB of eMMC Flash, with storage being expandable via a user-accessible microSDHC card slot. For an operating environment, the Opticon H-28 uses Android version 6.0.1 "Marshmallow."

The H-28 measures 3 x 6.2 inches, a footprint the size of an Apple iPhone 6/7/8 Plus. The device is two thirds of an inch thick — which is quite thin for a rugged device. The H-28 weighs 10.4 ounces, more than a consumer smartphone, but still quite manageable. The display measures 5 inches diagonally and has FHD resolution, which generally means 1920 x 1080 pixels. If that's the case, it'd be right up there with premium current smartphones in sharpness. It uses capacitive multi-touch, as is standard for a modern Android handheld. The display uses the tough Gorilla glass, but the specs do not include a nits rating or information about coatings.

Since one of the H-28's major intended tasks is data capture device, it's available with an integrated Opticon 1D/2D imager with green aiming LED (Opticon also includes a software development kit and comprehensive scanner symbologies documentation), an NFC reader, and GPS and GLONASS for rapid positioning. The handheld has two cameras, 5mp in the front, and an impressive 16mp rear auto-focus camera with flash illuminator for documenting.

For communication, there's dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/r WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, and optional WWAN (WCDMA, GSM, TDD LTE, FDD TLE). On the wired side there's USB OTG (On The Go). Wired LAN is available via a USB-to-Ethernet adapter cable. The standard battery is good for about nine hours; an optional extended battery for twice that.

The Opticon H-28 has impressive ruggedness specs. There's a very wide operating temperature range (-4 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit), it survives five feet drops onto concrete (6 feet with protective bumper), and it's sealed to IP67 specifications where the "6" means it's totally dust-proof, and the "7" that it can handle full immersion down to a meter for up to 30 minutes.

We haven't had hands on with the Opticon H-28 (yet?), but it seems a well conceived, well executed modern handheld with a very sharp display large enough for real work on the job, a case tough enough to handle drops and rain and heat and (very) cold, industrial grade scanning and data capture technology, and the latest versions of wireless communication. -- C. H. Blickenstorfer, June 2018


Opticon is a worldwide supplier of automatic identification and data collection equipment. The company, which is based in the Netherlands and has been around for over a quarter of a century, was an early manufacturer of barcode scanners and from there branched out into a large variety of data collection modules and devices, as well as ruggedized handhelds such as the H-28 described on this page. Opticon has a sales office in Renton, WA.
Specifications Opticon H-28
Added/updated Added 06/2018
Form-factor Android mobile computer
CPU/Speed Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 A53
OS Android 6.0.1
RAM/ROM 2GB LPDDR3 SDRAM/16GB EMMC
Card slots 1 user-accessible microSDHC, optional SIM
Display type TFT LCD, with Gorilla glass
Display size/res 5.0-inch/1920 x 1080 pixel (441 ppi)
Digitizer/pens Capacitive multi-touch
Keyboard/keys Onscreen
Navigation Touch
Housing Unknown
Operating Temp -4° to 122°F (-20° to 50°C)
Sealing IP67
Shock 5 feet drop to concrete (6 feet with protective bumper)
Size (WxHxD) 6.22 x 3.03 x 0.67 (158 x 77 x 17 mm)
Weight 10.4 oz. (308 grams) with battery
Power 3.7V/2,960mAH/10.95whr Li-Ion ("9 hours"); optional 3.7V/5,920mAH/21.9whr Li-Ion ("18 hours")
Interface micro USB OTG, 3.5mm audio, dock
Camera 5MP front; 16MP rear with auto-focus, LED flash
Sensors Accelerometer, light sensor, gyroscope, E-compass, proximity
Wireless 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/r, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, NFC, GPS/GLOnASS, optional WWAN (WCDMA, GSM, TDD LTE, FDD TLE)
Scanning 2D imager
Regulatory CE, CB, FCC, NCC, BSMI(TBD), IEC62133, UN38.3, Ul2054, RoHS, WEEE, REACH
List price Inquire
Product page Opticon H-28 page
Product brochure Opticon H-28 brochure (PDF)
Contact www.opticon.com
Opticon H-28