NEC's ShieldPRO ruggedized tablet PCs have never exactly put much emphasis on looks, but the company seems to at least be trying to spice things up a bit with its latest FC-N22A model, which ditches the usual nothing-but-business appearance for something designed to turn a few more heads. That brightly-colored exterior will still give you the same IP55-compliant dust and water resistance, however, along with enough ruggedness to protect it from three-foot drops onto a concrete floor. Otherwise, you can expect the usual 12.1-inch display, low-power Core 2 Duo U7500 1.0GHz processor, a promised 12 hours of battery life, optional built-in GPS, and good 'ol Windows XP for an OS. No word on a price just yet, but you can look for this one to hit Japan by the end of June.

[Via I4U News]

General Dynamics Itronix sure took their time producing a follow-up to its original Duo-Touch tablet PC, but it has finally come though, with its new Duo-Touch II offering a fairly sizable leap after that nearly three year dry spell. It's still far from a powerhouse, however, with it boasting a 1.2 GHz Core Duo U2500 processor and a max 2GB of RAM, although that's somewhat made up for by its extensive connectivity options, including 3G support and GPS in addition to the usual WiFi and Bluetooth. Most importantly, the die-case magnesium unit should also be more than rugged enough for all but the most demanding users, with it meeting or exceeding MIL-STD 810F durability standards and thoroughly sealed to keep water and dust out. Just be prepared to shell out for all that durability, with the tablet set to demand a full $3,595 when it becomes available in March.

It looks like that batch of laptops HP trotted out yesterday wasn't all it had in store, as the folks at Notebook Italia are now reporting that the company is set to update its Pavilion tx1300 line of convertible tablet PCs with all new tx1400 series models. What's more, it seems that at least one retailer (linked below) already has one of those tablets (the tx1410us) up for pre-order, with it setting you back $1,200. For that, you'll get the same 12.1-inch touch screen as before, along with a 2.2GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-64 processor, Geforce Go 6150 graphics, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, a DVD burner, and built-in 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth, all in a 4.5 pound package. No word on any of the other models in the line just yet, but according to Notebook Italia, this one is apparently only the first of more to come.

Read - Notebook Italia
Read - JR.com, HP Pavilion tx1410us

[Via Mobile Whack]