Building a Customised Handheld Terminal for a Customer in Saudi Arabia

OEM configuration · Module selection · Arabic Android build · Type G plugs · Conformity route · 3-day sample

By Xinhong Smart Engineering Team · Published 28 October 2026

Quick answer: Customising a handheld terminal is mostly a question of which changes re-trigger testing. Module selection, housing colour, branding and a locked-down Android build sit inside the standard production flow; a new radio combination, a higher ingress rating or a market certification is what moves the lead time. Decide those before tooling rather than after.

A handheld terminal for a customer in Saudi Arabia is going through our OEM flow at the moment: hand-picked modules, an Arabic Android image, Type G plugs and packing to the order. This note sets out what actually changes in a build like that, what does not, and where time goes.

The short version is that most of what buyers call customisation is configuration. It is worth being precise about the difference, because only one kind of change costs you weeks.

Configuration versus customisation

Configuration selects from parts the platform already carries. Customisation creates something the platform did not yet have: a new bracket, a new enclosure opening, a module never integrated before. Both are real work, but they sit on different schedules.

Our hardware customisation and Android OS pages set out the full scope of both routes.

The Six Decisions in a Saudi Configuration

• Module mix. What the device has to read: 1D and 2D barcodes, an NFC tag, a fingerprint, LF or UHF tags. Each choice is a separate line on the build, and adding a radio late is the single most common cause of a slipped date.
• Memory and storage tier. A kiosk-only build and a build that caches a day of records locally need very different headroom. Storage tier also affects the part availability.
• Wireless bands. Confirm against the carriers the units will actually use, not against the region they are shipped to.
• Housing, colour and branding. Logo, boot logo and housing colour changes use existing tooling, so they cost no schedule.
• Power and packing. Saudi wall sockets take a Type G plug, and the charger, manual, colour box and carton labelling are packed to the order. Carton and pallet specifications can follow how your market receives goods.
• Android image. Arabic language set and right-to-left layout, your own application preinstalled and locked to it, MDM enrolment, and a defined patch commitment for the life of the fleet.

What to Agree Before the Sample Is Built

Three items are cheap to settle before sampling and expensive to settle after. Put them in writing.

• Acceptance criteria. What the unit is actually checked against before it ships: read distance on your worst label, capture quality from the fingerprint module fitted, band behaviour on your target networks, battery runtime at your duty cycle. This document is what outgoing inspection is measured against.
• The conformity route. Your importer knows which route applies to your goods classification. Ask them first, then tell us what documents they need. We can supply specification sheets, test reports held for the platform and a serialised unit list; radio approvals for the modules fitted have to be scheduled, not assumed.
• The support path. Whether you hold spares locally, how a faulty unit is diagnosed, and how long the model stays in production. A fleet is a maintenance plan before it is a purchase.

Standard models and customised builds run through the same assembly, burn-in and packing flow in our own facility in Shenzhen, with every unit serialised back to its production record. Sample quantity is two units, built in about three days, with production running about 25 days from sample approval when no re-testing is triggered. Background on the flow is in Customising an Android Rugged Tablet and the configuration detail in Industrial Handheld PDA.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can be changed on a handheld terminal without new tooling?

Module mix, memory and storage tier, wireless band configuration, housing colour and branding, boot logo and animation, the Android image including language set and keyboard layout, preloaded applications and kiosk lockdown, packaging artwork, printed manuals and the plug type on the charger. These travel through the standard production flow.

What moves the lead time?

Three things: a radio combination that has not been certified on the platform, an ingress or drop rating that has to be re-tested because the enclosure changed, and a market conformity certificate that has to be issued for the shipment. The first two are engineering schedules; the third depends on how early it is scoped.

What is the minimum quantity for a customised build?

Two units, one for evaluation and one for the integration bench, with the sample built in about three days and production running about 25 days from sample approval. Customisation adds verification steps rather than a different minimum, but a change that re-triggers ingress or drop testing adds time before the first unit is built.

Does Saudi import clearance require SABER?

Confirm this with your importer for your product category, because the route depends on the goods classification and changes over time. What we can do is supply the documentation the route needs: specification sheets, test reports already held for the platform, the serialised unit list and, where required, radio approval evidence for the LTE, WiFi and any RFID or Near Field modules fitted to the build.

Can you ship the Arabic interface out of the box?

Yes, an Arabic language set and right-to-left layout can be part of the Android image, alongside your own application preinstalled and set as the default launcher. This should be agreed before the sample is built so it can be checked on real hardware rather than assumed.

Specifying Your Own Configuration?

Send the modules the device has to carry, the tests it has to pass in your market, what you want printed on the housing and the box, and where the units ship to. We will tell you which items are standard, which re-trigger testing, and what that does to the sample and production dates.

Request a quote   See hardware customisation options →

Related reading: Industrial Handheld PDA · Android OS Customisation · Customising an Android Rugged Tablet