The size most machinery cabs settle on
Eight inches is where a vehicle tablet stops being a companion and becomes the operator's main screen, while still fitting excavator, loader and tractor cabs without a fight. PDS builds two different answers at this size. The T8 is the balanced machine: quad-core platform, standard expansion set with camera, CAN, RS485 and Ethernet, and an optional RTK module. The T8 Pro is the video machine: a Qualcomm octa-core platform, four camera channels recording at once, dual-band WiFi and a DisplayPort output for a second screen.
Choosing the platform, not the badge
Count cameras and applications, not adjectives. One guidance or dispatch client with a single camera points to the T8. Four camera views, a telematics suite and a passenger or instructor display point to the T8 Pro, whose processor and DSP were specified for that stacked load. Both share the housing dimensions, the 9-36 V input and IP66 sealing, so the mount and harness thinking carries across; the difference is entirely in what runs on the screen.
- Same 227 x 159.5 x 48 mm housing across both 8-inch models
- T8: standard expansion set and optional RTK module
- T8 Pro: four simultaneous camera channels and DisplayPort output
- Android 10 on the T8; Android 11 or 13 on the T8 Pro
- IP66 in each model's specification and a -20 to +70 C operating range on both
T8 or T8 Pro: the 8-inch decision
For machinery and dispatch work, the T8 brings a 8" IPS, 1280 x 800, brightness 750 cd/m2 or higher, fully laminated multi-touch and runs Android 10.0 on 64-bit quad-core Cortex-A53 at 1.5 GHz. Its positioning fit is GPS + BeiDou module (N303-5Q); optional built-in centimetre-level RTK positioning module (module model not stated on the product page), and the interface side reads: 23-pin function expansion port; standard expansion set of 1 x camera, 1 x CAN, 1 x RS485, 1 x 100M Ethernet plus power/ACC. That is why it appears in this shortlist: the combination matches the data and connections this work actually uses, in a housing specified for 9-36 V DC input (ISO 7637-II); IP66 sealing; operating temperature -20 to +70 C; MIL-STD-810 and ISO 16750 testing.
For machinery and dispatch work, the T8 Pro brings a 8" IPS, 1280 x 800, brightness 750 cd/m2 or higher, fully laminated multi-touch and runs Android 11 / Android 13 on Qualcomm QCM6125, octa-core 64-bit at 2.0 GHz (Kryo 260 CPU, Adreno 610 GPU). Its positioning fit is Qualcomm built-in GNSS module; optional RTK module UM982, and the interface side reads: Four simultaneous camera recording channels; DP connector x1 for a DP display (dual-screen display with different content); 23PIN connector x1 function extension interface; SMA antenna port for the LTE antenna. That is why it appears in this shortlist: the combination matches the data and connections this work actually uses, in a housing specified for 9-36 V DC input (ISO 7637-II); IP66 sealing; operating temperature -20 to +70 C.
Specifying an 8-inch installation
List the screens the operator must see, the cameras the vehicle must record and the bus connections the machine offers. That list picks the model without debate. Then send it with the vehicle type to the sales team, and confirm the expansion combination, minimum order quantity and lead time for your configuration.
Ask about an 8-inch terminal for your machines
Send your vehicle, software and interface list. The sales team replies with a configuration and price.