Trimble Yuma Tablet: It's Rugged, and Runs Ubuntu

by Sam Dean - Feb. 10, 2012Comments (0)

As we reported late last year, Canonical is very interested in taking Ubuntu to tablets, TVs and other new devices. And recently, the Spark tablet has been drawing a lot of interest as a Linux-based, open platform device that can compete with Apple's iPad. Now, the rugged Yuma tablet (shown here) is drawing some buzz. It comes in a version pre-loaded with Windows 7, but you can also get it in a version running Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Netbook Edition, and it's available now. A look at the Yuma makes it clear that Ubuntu can have a bright future on tablets.

The Trimble Yuma tablet is not your average tablet. It has rugged casing and other rugged features, and is aimed at military and industrial users, some of whom will probably welcome its Ubuntu option. It's not priced like other tablets either. It sells for $3,695 from the SDG website.

You can watch a video of the Ubuntu version of the Yuma at the bottom of this page. (Is it just me, or does the guy doing the demo in the video look like a young Bill Gates?) The tablet weighs 2.6 pounds and is clearly designed from the ground up for rugged use, including outdoor use. It's pretty cool to see Ubuntu running on it.

Canonical's Mark Shuttleworth has been making a lot of noise about taking Ubuntu to new types of devices, inlcuding tablets. And, Ubuntu TV has already arrived. The Yuma tablet is evidence that designers can come up with innovative form factors for tablets that run Ubuntu, and it's likely that we'll see more of these tablets arriving this year to compete with the iPad the many Android-based tablets.