Creating a Custom Tablet to Fit Your Needs

If you want to create a custom tablet that fits your specific business requirements, you will need to work with a manufacturer that offers custom tablet design and production. This process involves providing the manufacturer with detailed specifications for the tablet, such as the operating system, screen size, processing power, and specialized requirements, as well as the actual device ID or “look” of the device. 

The manufacturer will use this information to design and build a custom tablet that perfectly meets your requirements – proprietary design, custom batteries, processor to power AI, and biometrics. This can be a time-consuming process that will either require a minimum order quantity (MOQ) or non-refundable engineering costs (NRE) Despite the time and cost, complete customization can be well worth it if you have specific needs that cannot be met by off-the-shelf tablets.  

Minno provides fully custom design and production services, as well as offers more economical and faster ways to customize a device for your business.  

When Custom-Built Tablets Make Sense – And When they Don’t 

Full Customization

When you buy an off-the-shelf consumer-grade tablet you are getting a device that was designed to meet the needs of the most people possible.  A fully custom  rugged tablet like those from Minno, is precisely that – a tablet that you can configure inside and out to your specific requirements. You may opt for a custom keypad, custom ports for peripheral connections, custom batteries, integrated biometric scanners, or a proprietary case that reflects your brand. But while a custom built tablet may provide a perfect solution for your business, the benefits have to be weighed against the time and cost of producing it.

A custom ID or tablet housing, often requires cutting a custom steel mold to create the shape and number of ports you want. Sometimes mold inserts can address small changes without full mold production, but a truly custom ID usually requires a full custom mold.  Similarly, changes to a motherboard may require re-design and testing of the board and may affect the selection of other components to ensure they are compatible. 

If a custom-designed tablet will provide a better solution for your business and help you to be more productive, or if there is a significant return on investment, then going the full custom route may be worthwhile. 

Minno has equipped numerous start-ups and industry leaders with use-case tablets. They have supplied solutions supporting tele-health, in-flight entertainment, smart control systems, point of sale retail and other clients. [See case studies below]

A Cost-Effective Alternative To Full Customization

Minno understands the economic challenges of innovation, so they have found ways to semi-customize your rugged tablets to get you the functionality and performance you need without the time and expense of designing from scratch. Minno starts with a great device and then makes it uniquely yours.  

Minno knows from experience that the workplace can be a demanding 24-hour environment where tablets need to be durable and run fast, have ample storage and screens that are sunlight-readable, and fingerprint and scratch-resistant.

Minno tablets also offer powerful processors (CPU and GPU) to provide responsive performance. Their devices have solid-state drives (SSD) for on-device storage and options for micro SD card slots for removable storage. Minno rugged tablets are designed with excellent connectivity to reach Cloud storage from wherever you work and communicate with co-workers or the office. 

Minno can white label (custom-brand) rugged tablets with your company logo on the exterior of the case and on the boot-up screen to help you boost your brand recognition and have the feel of a proprietary product. 

Minno also offers pre-engineered upgrade options that include integrated barcode scanners, larger RAM and ROM memory, fingerprint scanning, NFC, and high-accuracy GPS. Sometimes options can be found for higher performance processors on for same product ID. They also provide a variety of operating system options: including Android, Windows (consumer, pro, or IoT (Internet of Things) versions), and Linux. 

Minno rugged tablets can also be equipped with custom mounting systems, carry straps and handles.

Superior Performance

Custom Solutions Case Studies

Case Study #1: Re-imagining In-Flight Entertainment

Minno created a new product that provided Alaska Airlines with a low-cost, 

high-end in-flight customer experience.

Skycast partnered with Minno to develop an ideal updated Windows 10 tablet with an expanded 9-inch screen to replace the existing fleet of Windows 8 device units deployed with Alaska Airlines.

Hardware device challenges: the device needed screen durability, security of licensed media content, continual re-distribution of clean, sanitary tablets and consistent charging and battery-life on longer haul flights. Unique requirements:

FAA and industry expectations require elimination of any external speaker functions, all cameras, and GPS components. Alaska Airlines requested superior screen resolution and sound quality as delivered either through provided ear-buds, or high-end headphones often carried onboard by passengers.

Finally, since rented or provided tablets compete to a large degree with BYOD devices, Skycastrequired this customized device offer superior performance at the best possible value for users. 

Minno meets the challenge

The custom designed Minno device featured:

• Seamless Wi-Fi access (where applicable onboard).
• ‘One touch’ integration with onboard server streaming content.
• Simultaneous multiple screen operation.
• Sophisticated usage analytics reporting via Microsoft’s Azure Data Factory.
• Privacy settings that ensure user sessions are cleared with every use.
• Complex security configurations for content protection.

Hardware overview

The Windows device features a high resolution 9” screen and runs on the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise operating system with a fast Intel® Atom™ processor. The tablet is encased in a protective aluminum security shell that features an integrated stand.

 Customer Comments on Minno Built Device

Skycast Solutions provides airlines with low-cost, high impact innovations to create a “tablet-friendly cabin.” Founded by Bill Boyer, and lead by airline veterans, Skycast develops cutting-edge solutions including protected tablets and functional accessories for increased cabin comfort and utility.

“There is a race developing in the inflight entertainment industry.  On one side, passengers marching ahead in the personal technology and tablet revolution, on the other, airlines endeavoring to accommodate these personal devices, but offering an opportunity to enhance quality and convenience of viewing on multi-hour flights with limited media-streaming capacity on aircraft.

We are excited to get our new tablet in the air with Alaska Airlines,” said Bill Boyer, CEO of Skycast Solutions. “After a lot of hard work and investment into the product, we are thrilled to be able to offer another option for airlines looking for premium portable IFE.”

Case Study #2: A Tool for Replicating Perfect Pizza at Dominos

Getting orders right every time was the goal of Hishmeh Enterprises, owner of numerous Domino Pizza franchise locations in California and Arizona. Dominos recognized the importance of providing kitchen staff with Instant visual access to ingredients, preparation steps, and a finished view of each food item on their evolving menu.

Dominos is challenged to continually train, manage and deliver a diverse range of menu items efficiently in numerous store locations. Management envisioned a visual approach to these goals delivered with independent large-screen Android tablets mounted in kitchens and connected by Wi-Fi to their web-based menu-training platform. With limited space constraints and to add this capability at optimum value, Hishmeh decided to operate these units independently of existing Point-of-Sale systems. They turned to Minno to design and manufacture a lightweight, 22-inch Android touch-screen platform that would meet their needs with an always-on, sanitizable, durable large screen format, capable of loading graphics quickly.