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Rugged gadgets put to the test in Engadget labs, wanton destruction ensues
Lets be honest, we've all had those moments where we've wanted to hit our phone with a hammer or throw our laptop against the wall. Generally though, we resist those urges, knowing full well that it would spell the end for our precious gadget. There's a special class of rugged devices though, that are designed to withstand anything you throw at it -- or throw it at, as the case may be. We took a few of these beefy products, as well as one Extreme Sleeve for your non-military grade electronics, and put them through a battery of tests that would turn your average gadget into an unrecognizable pile of silicon and plastic. Head on after the break for a dose of dramatic destruction porn and to find out how this bevy of brawny portables held up against our gratuitous onslaught.
Kodak PlaySport Zx3 waterproof HD camera review
We have plenty of gripes with the current crop of pocket cameras, most of them to do with image quality: grainy footage, poor (laughable) low-light performance, a lack of autofocus, digital zoom, gimmicky 1080p, and so forth. The new Kodak PlaySport Zx3 HD Waterproof Video Camera solves none of those problems. But you can put it underwater. So, all is forgiven. Follow after the break for our full review.
Kodak Slice touchscreen camera, Pulse WiFi frame, and PlaySport pocket camcorder now on sale... at JC Penney
We're not sure why Kodak is pushing its new Slice touchscreen camera out to JCPenney before any of the usual retail suspects, but there it is, looking radiant in "Radish" and marked up with a $100 premium over the usual $349 list price. If that doesn't make any sense to you, you can also grab the 14 megapixel shooter with the 3.5-inch display, 720p video capture, and built-in search for $349 from JR.com or Kodak. Kodak's also got the seven-inch Pulse WiFi digiframe that pulls photos from Facebook and the new PlaySport 1080p waterproof pocket camcorder up for sale now as well, at $129 and $149, respectively -- and yes, you can buy those from Penney's at a markup if you like, because the very fabric of our relationship to reality is unraveling in a heap on the floor of the Juniors department.
Kodak touchscreen Slice camera, underwater Playsport camcorder, and friends hands-on
Where do you show most of your digital photos to friends? Probably via Facebook or Flickr or the like, but many consumers simply do the most logical thing: turn their camera around and squint at the dinky LCD. That was the idea behind the Slice, announced yesterday and more or less designed around a lovely 3.5-inch touchscreen that may not be quite as big as a 4 x 6 print, but it's far more versatile. The 14 megapixel camera has a solid feel in the hand and looks great. For those feeling a little more adventurous there's the 1080p Playsport camcorder, which looks and feels more or less like a beefy Flip. To prove its disrespect toward moisture, the camera was unceremoniously plunked into a fish bowl, where it seemed hardly perturbed. Finally is the Pulse digital photo frame, a somewhat pedestrian-looking seven-inch, 800 x 600 model that sports the ability to receive photos via e-mail, so you can shoot those pics of the grandkids off to nanna without her having to touch a thing. Pictures of all that and a pair of new EasyShare models in the gallery below. Oh, and a crab, too. %Gallery-81864%
Kodak deals Slice touchscreen camera, Pulse digiframe and Playsport camcorder
Just in case you had any doubts, CES is in full swing. Kodak just blurted out a galleria of new goods, starting with the all-new Slice touchscreen camera (shown above). As you likely expected, this is the outfit's first touchscreen P&S, boasting a 3.5-inch rear display, a search function to sift through "up to 5,000" photos on the internal memory, a direct tag feature, 14 megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom, built-in optical image stabilization and 720p (30fps) video capture. It'll ship this April in black, nickel and radish (yeah kids, radish) for $349.95. Next up is the April-bound Pulse digital photo frame, which boasts a 7-inch display (800 x 600 resolution), integrated WiFi, 512MB of storage and a $129.99 price tag. Rounding out the bunch is a load of new EasyShare cameras (all detailed in the press release below), as well as a Playsport camcorder, which offers up waterproof 1080p action with electronic image stabilization, a 2-inch LCD, 5 megapixel still shots, smart face tracking technology and an SD / SDHC card slot. There's also an HDMI output and USB connectivity, and you'll find black, blue and purple editions shipping this April for $149.95. You're stoked, aren't you? %Gallery-81639%
