GammaTech Computer Corp. is marketing its ruggedized tablet PC in the government healthcare sector, where it aims to take on Panasonic.

The company's MT10 is one of a handful of devices that follow Intel's Mobile Clinical Assistant (MCA) reference architecture, which aims to provide better access to patient records at the point of care and to "enable documentation of a patient's condition in real time," according to Intel.

The MT10 debuted in 2008, before Panasonic's Toughbook H1 MCA and after first-mover Motion Computing's C5, which launched in 2007. GammaTech vice president of marketing Paul Kim said the company initially targeted private sector healthcare with its product. But now, Kim said he sees opportunities in government in light of health reform, and also noted interest among Department of Veterans Affairs' hospitals.

"I see a lot of potential for the government because of the healthcare initiative," he said. Kim said GammaTech has a General Services Administration schedule, but mostly markets to channel partners such as distributors, system builders and resellers. As for distributors, GammaTech works with Avnet, D&H Distributing and Synnex. Those distributors sell to government VARs, he said. GammaTech positions its MCA tablet as an alternative to Panasonic's offering.

Kim described GammaTech as "the Cinderella of mobile" as it competes against the multi-billion-dollar electronics giant. He cited customization as a point of differentiation, however.

GammaTech outsources initial manufacturing to a third-party facility in Taiwan and performs final assembly on a build-to-order/configure-to-order basis in its Fremont, Calif. facility, Kim noted. The company can swap out a hard drive for a solid-state drive, for example, or load the customer's operating system preference. GammaTech offers Windows 7 Pro on its tablet and an option to downgrade to Vista Business or XP Tablet OS.

"A lot of tier one brands can't offer customization," Kim said.

GammaTech's MT10 uses CoreT2 Solo Processor U2100, a 10.4-inch touch screen, a built-in RFID reader/bar code reader and a docking connector. Other features include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, a two mega-pixel Webcam, and hot-swappable dual batteries. The device comes with a three-year, factory direct warranty. An optional, three-year no-fault warranty has an MSRP of $300. There are also options for four-year or five-year no-fault warranties.

The MSRP price for the MT 10 is $2,300, although the company said street price comes in at around $2,100. At press time, GammaTech was set to launch a new model, the T10L.