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Posts with tag rugged

LaCie's LaCinema Rugged multimedia HDD now available in US

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 17th 2008 at 6:41PM


We asked, and we're receiving. LaCie's LaCinema Rugged was initially announced across the pond late last month, yet we rough Americans were left wondering if it would ever see the light of day on US soil. Just in time for the holiday rush, LaCie has indeed announced US pricing and availability for the bulked up multimedia drive, and it's not like you even have to wait around to get your mitts on one. Try right now starting at $199.99, with sizes including 250GB, 320GB and 500GB.

Freestyle Audio's waterproof Soundwave DAP gets reviewed

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 9th 2008 at 12:14AM


We've been impatiently awaiting the red carpet arrival of Freestyle Audio's Soundwave for a few seasons now, and at long last, it appears the units are shipping out -- or, at least one made its way over to cousin site Gadling for a review. The Soundwave is pretty much exactly what you'd expect: a ho hum MP3 player with a rather unsightly design, a disgraceful user interface and the ability to operate where the vast majority of rivals cannot. The reviewer noted that controlling the action was a pain, though the internal battery could keep the jams flowing for well over a day. Of course, the biggest boon is its ability to keep on truckin' while submerged in the pool (or the tub, whatever), and the included waterproof headphones were said to be surprisingly tolerable. Now, if only brown bags were waterproof...

pureSilicon's rugged Renegade SSD touts hardware-based encryption

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 29th 2008 at 1:21AM

pureSilicon isn't offering up the first rugged SSD or anything, but its Renegade line is still tough enough to be compliant with MIL-STD-810F (and this guy's) standards. Hailed as the first solid state drive to integrate hardware-based encryption approved by the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), the device boasts up to 128GB of capacity, a dedicated on-board cryptographic processor, hard-anodized unibody enclosure and the ability to withstand most anything that you could put it through (save for a blender). Select customers have already received samples, but if you're dumbstruck by such a notion, you'll have to wait with the rest of the citizenry and nab yours in Q1 2009.

LaCie LaCinema Rugged for the rough-and-tumble media enthusiast

by Nilay Patel, posted Oct 22nd 2008 at 3:47PM


LaCie launched the original LaCinema media drive back in January, and the company is now extending the line of media-playback drives with the LaCinema Rugged. Built in a tasteful black version of the same rubber-coated chassis as LaCie's standard rugged drives, the new unit comes in capacities up to 500GB and features 1080i HDMI output of a variety of codecs, including XviD. The LaCinema remote appears to be redesigned, and the menu system is apparently graphical and pretty, which is always nice. Not a bad way to do playback on the go, we suppose -- now if LaCie would just bring the £219 ($357) drive to the States, we'd be all set.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Jeep's rugged RT-300 navigator gets rough review

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 15th 2008 at 4:49AM


Hmm, maybe Jeep should stick to scaling mountains and whatnot. To be totally frank, we had all but forgotten that a Jeep-branded navigator was even in the works, let alone closing in on release -- of course, maybe that's because we last heard of this thing in December of 2007. At any rate, the ruggedized RT-300 has finally found its way to the review bench, and unfortunately for those holding out for this critter, it didn't fare too well. At all. For starters, $249.99 is a lot of scratch for a lowly 320 x 240 resolution screen, and the fact that it's not even waterproof didn't help matters either. Worst of all, testers had issues with route calculation (read: its main function), with a certain Cincy-to-Jersey query causing a total freeze three times in a row (and even on a second unit). Bottom line? Steer clear of this one, hard though that may be for the Jeep faithful.

HP's 2730p EliteBook tablet PC reviewed, seriously loved

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 2nd 2008 at 11:47AM


HP's exceptionally fresh EliteBook 2730p tablet was recently reviewed by the notebook mavens over at GottaBeMobile, and right out of the gate, they delivered the line that tells all: "The HP 2730p EliteBook tablet is more than worthy of your consideration as your next or your first tablet PC." So, what did this thing do right in order to garner such a recommendation? Let's see -- overly satisfactory performance, an excellent design, smile-worthy battery life (4-hours in normal use on a single 6-cell), and perfectly implemented inking / tablet features. Granted, not everything was rosy, as the WXGA (1,280 x 800) screen left a little to be desired and the keyboard layout was similarly scolded. Overall, the unit still performed well enough to make it into their short list, but it sounds like you may want to try one in person before buying blind.

Corsair's new 64GB Flash Voyager USB drive going for $199

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 1st 2008 at 6:56AM


Progress is beautiful, is it not? Just shy of two years ago, Corsair blew minds with its ruggedized 16GB Flash Voyager, built to withstand all but the nastiest of drops and hold oodles of quarterly reports for a mere $299. Earlier this year, we saw the capacity double up and the price fall to just $229. Now, the bootable drive has been bloated further with a full 64GB of space, only this one's available right now for just a buck ninety-nine. Dollars to donuts we'll see a 128GB version in under 12 months for around $150, but don't let that sway your purchasing decision or anything.

Read - Corsair release
Read - On sale for $199.99

Sonim LM801 isn't a Sonim at all, XP1 still in the mix

by Chris Ziegler, posted Sep 2nd 2008 at 6:52PM


It's still a rugged little bastard -- and yes, it still has a laser pointer -- but there's one thing the LM801 cellphone is not: a Sonim. The CEO of Sonim, maker of the purposefully overbuilt XP1, wrote in on our LM801 piece to let us know that they don't actually have any association with Condurro, the company advertising it. If anything, the LM801 is actually a direct competitor for Sonim's wares -- and at £149.99 (about $270) at retail, it's bringing the heat. Assuming it actually lives up to its tough look, anyway.

Dell's Latitude E6400 ATG gets acquired, previewed

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 1st 2008 at 10:14AM


Merely weeks after Dell offered its long-awaited Latitude E6400 ATG up for sale, one of said units has been procured, unboxed and briefly tested by the laptop lovers over at NotebookReview. Initial impressions are that it's quite heavy (expected for a tough cookie such as this), built Ford tough and made to be used in broad daylight. The keyboard showed slight flex and a somewhat disheartening layout, though the touchpad was "very smooth" and the buttons had "excellent action." We won't spoil the first batch of benchmark results for you, so you'll have to wander on down to the read link for that and a handful of other pics.

Sonim's rugged LM801 phone will probably outlast you

by Chris Ziegler, posted Aug 31st 2008 at 9:50AM


Sonim has chosen IFA this week to show off its latest hardcore G'zOne killer, the in-your-face, take-no-prisoners LM801 candybar. Highlights of the rugged set include an integrated flashlight, laser pointer (for those times when you're stranded in the Rockies and you need to blind you some bears, we figure), magnetic compass, barometer / altimeter, FM radio, and thermometer, all bundled neatly into a yellow shell that repels all the water and dust you can toss at it. Most carriers aren't terribly talented at offering a rugged lineup, so we can think of a few who'd be well-served to investigate adding something like this into the mix -- and seriously, what's with no other phone having a laser pointer?

Olympus' new trio touts 10 megapixel Stylus 1050 SW with motion sensitive Tap Control

by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 25th 2008 at 2:16AM


When pumping out unimpressive point-and-shoot cameras, one sure-fire way to grab some attention is to innovate around the UI. That seems to be Olympus' approach with its new semi-rugged, Stylus 1050 SW ($300) pictured above. Able to withstand drops from 5-feet (1.5-meters), temps as low as 14 degrees F (-10 C), and submersion to 10-feet (3-meters), the new 10.1-megapixel shooter with 3x zoom and 2.7-inch display also packs an accelerometer for Olympus' new motion-driven "Tap Control" -- tap twice on the back, top or sides with your bulky, gloved hand to switch the camera into different modes. Pretty smart, actually... let's hope it takes quality images too. Of less interest is the skinny new 16.5-mm Stylus 1040 ($200) offering all of the 1050's guts without the Tap Control and weatherproofing. Last up is the Olympus SP-565 UZ ($400). It bungs the 10 megapixel sensor and 20x zoom from Olympus' SP-570 UZ into the 8 megapixel, 18x SP-560 UZ introduced this time last year. All three cams due in October. See the 1040 and SP-565 UZ after the break.

Update: Speaking of unimpressive, Olympus also outed its 8 megapixel FE-20 (£120 / $221) with 2.5-inch LCD and 3x zoom. We managed to escape our ennui just long enough to post a picture after the break.

Read -- Stylus 1050SW
Read -- The rest

Continue reading Olympus' new trio touts 10 megapixel Stylus 1050 SW with motion sensitive Tap Control

Xplore debuts rugged iX104C4 tablet PC

by Donald Melanson, posted Aug 18th 2008 at 3:03PM

Xplore Technologies isn't exactly the most prolific purveyor of rugged computers, but it looks like it's finally managed to churn out a follow-up to its circa-2006 iX104C3 tablet PC, with its new and slightly improved iX104C4 now making its official debut. This one retains the same 10.4-inch form factor of its predecessor, but gets a 50% brighter Dual Mode AllVue Xtreme display (still XGA), along with a 1.2GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, and all the usual wLAN, wWAN, Bluetooth and GPS options. As has been the case with Xplore in the past, there's no word on a price but, then again, most of the folks that wind up using these in the field won't exactly be paying for them out of their own pocket.

HP's rugged EliteBook 2730p tablet and 2530p laptop for suits and Gobi squares

by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 18th 2008 at 4:45AM


HP just unveiled a pair of rugged (MIL-STD 810F tested for dust, altitude, and high temperature) Centrino 2 12-inchers with the launch of its 2530p laptop and 2730p tablet. The 2730p bests the HP 2710p launched last year with the inclusion of a touchpad and new jog-dial along the side for use when the tablet is in slate mode. HP is also offering improved ULV (up to 1.2GHz) and LV (up to 1.86GHz) Core 2 Duo processor options and faster, 1.8-inch 5400RPM hard drive (up to 120GB), 80GB SSD, and Qualcomm's Gobi dual EV-DO / HSPA wireless option for near-complete WWAN support globally. The 2730p continues to maintain the legacy LED-backlit display, "Night Light" keyboard lighting, optional webcam (with business card reader), slice battery (up to 10-hours), and expansion base / docking station. Importantly, the stylus no longer slips out of the silo when carrying the 2730p through the cubicle farm.

The 2530p offers pretty much the same in a thinner (0.99-inches vs. 1.11-inches thick), lighter (3.19-pounds vs. 3.74-pounds), more traditional laptop design. See it pictured after the break.

[Via jkOnTheRun, twice]

Read -- 2730p
Read -- 2530p

Continue reading HP's rugged EliteBook 2730p tablet and 2530p laptop for suits and Gobi squares

Dell's rugged Latitude E6400 ATG laptop now available to order

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 10th 2008 at 1:17PM

Though we expected Dell's ruggedized Latitude E6400 ATG to have already launched by now, we suppose late is superior to never. As of this very moment, said laptop is available to order from the outfit's Small & Medium Business division, and the baseline machine comes with a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo P8400 CPU, Vista Home Basic, a 3-year warranty, 14.1-inch WXGA LED-backlit (and outdoor viewable, too) display, Intel's GMA 4500MHD graphics, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, an 80GB 5,400RPM hard drive, 802.11b/g and a built-in combo drive. The machine we just described can be ordered up for $2,399, but those with a higher spending limit can opt for integrated WWAN, a 64GB SSD, a respectable amount of memory and a 2.8GHz T9600 processor. Sadly, the estimated ship date is September 29th, but you can feel free to get in line before that figure slips well into Q4.

[Thanks, Anthony]

Casio gets fancy with LED-infused Tough Movement

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 31st 2008 at 4:16PM


Automatic movement? Sweeping hands? Pish posh. Casio's looking to impress a few watch aficionados itself with the all new Tough Movement. Designed to slip inside its Oceanus and G-Shock series of timepieces, the new movement "features a high shock resistance and a hand position correction function using LED." During the 55th minute of each hour, the movement receives time calibration signals from six bases located throughout the world; if the hands are off at all, it automatically corrects things to ensure that you're never a moment off. Reportedly, the first wristwatch to utilize the technology will be the GS-1200, which is currently slated to hit Japan this September for a stiff ¥42,000 ($390).

[Via OhGizmo]
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