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Back in the handheld game
November 15, 2006

On September 12, Agilent Technologies announced it was reentering the handheld instrument market with the introduction of DMMS and oscilloscopes. The introduction surprised me, given that Agilent/HP was once in the handheld DMM market and never in the handheld scope market.

The handheld DMM market is dominated by Fluke and it’s crowded with low-price competitors. (I worked for one of them prior to joining T&MW.) Fluke is also a leader in the handheld scope market with its ScopeMeter, although Tektronix is a player with its THS700. Recently, AEMC also joined the handheld scope market.

Despite its reputation for quality instruments, Agilent/HP has a short history in the handheld market. The HP973A handheld DMM came and went in the 1990s. Remember the Logic Dart? Is was our Test Product of the year in 1998, but it lasted only about two years.

To find out why Agilent reentered the handheld DMM and entered the handheld scope markets. I spoke with several product managers by phone.

“Customers were looking for a reliable handheld products,” said Gooi Bor Chun. They also want low-cost instruments to complement our higher-end instruments.” He also noted that these products are aimed at the installation and maintenance market, as are Agilent’s competitors above. He also noted that the handheld scopes are being marketed heavily in Asia.

Agilent’s U1600A handheld scopes with 20 MHz and 40 MHz bandwidths don’t have the banner specs of competitor’s models, which reach 100 MHz to 200 MHz. But it’s $1399 price makes it competitive.

With so many handheld DMMs on the market, I couldn’t help but wonder why Agilent would get back in the game. Product marketing manager K. Ravindaran cited several features in the U1250 series. For process measurements, these meters can display 4-20 mA in percent format. He also cited infrared-to-USB connectivity for datalogging.

The U1250A, with 4.5 digit resolution and true RMS measurements, is midway between the low-end 3.5 digit and high-end 5.5 digit meters available today. For Agilent to compete in this crowded market, it will need more than a quality product to compete with Fluke. The U1250A’s $399 price puts it at the high end of handheld DMM’s for price, so it can’t compete with the many low-priced DMMs. (For a hands-on evaluation of true RMS DMMs, see “Get your hands around a DMM” from the February 2003 issue.) Time will tell if Agilent will make it in the handheld instrument market.

Posted by Martin Rowe on November 15, 2006 | Comments (0)