Police in the UK are using the latest handheld computers to cut down on their paperwork. BlackBerry mobile devices are being employed by officers in Calderdale's Lower Valley will used the devices primarily in "stop and searches."

The devices save time which would have previously been spent filling out forms, giving officers more time to spend on the streets, tackling issues that the community has raised. The electronic stop and search forms are not only more efficient but more eco-friendly as well. They allow the instant update of details to the main computer systems, and give officers on patrol access to the latest intelligence information like suspect photos and crime information. Officers in West Yorkshire have been using this technology since 2009, and say it saves around 30 minutes per shift by allowing officers to do more work while on patrol rather then at the police station.

Rugged handheld computers are used every day in industry by retailers, warehouse operators, service technicians, parcel companies and transportation operators to track customer purchases, inventory and shipments and to scan tickets.

There are half a dozen manufacturers that compete in this crowded space, where customers demand devices that are hardy, high-tech, compact, inexpensive and suited to their particular needs. Psion Teklogix is one of these manufacturers that found a way to differentiate itself form the competition, by creating a modular platform called Omnii with interchangeable keyboards, scanners, communications modules, screens, grips and operations features like a camera and GPS. This modular platform allows cost-effective customization to suit the wide variety of industries to which they market their products. For example, Psion or one of its partners can create a new RF communications module and then plug that module into many of the pre-existing Omnii products.

A major US retailer recently featured some iPad 2 deals that were really too good to be true, since these deals were in fact a typo. The retailer is getting a lot of flack from customers who jumped on the error to purchase a 16 GB iPad 2 for $69, with the 32 GB versions listed for $169.

The prices which were supposed to be listed were in fact $499 and $599, but somehow the error was not caught until it was too late. Shoppers who jumped on the deal and had their purchases confirmed may have thought they got lucky, but that didn't last for long. Once the mistake was recognized, they all received an email saying that their orders were canceled. The error itself came from third party sellers, but many customers are putting the blame squarely on the owner of the site. While these lowered prices were false, there are still a number of online retailers that are reducing their prices on the iPad 2.