Hasta La Gadget!

Breaking news: The point-and-shoot camera market has seen better days. Smartphones are eating their lunch and going back for seconds and thirds. But they’re not dead, and a few things have helped compact cameras weather the smartphone revolution–and they involve situations in which you’d think twice about using your mobile device to take pictures.

For example, smartphones generally don’t have optical-zoom lenses (with one exception), big sensors, or extensive manual controls. And they certainly don’t have everything-proof bodies. You’d be a bit nuts to take your average smartphone snorkeling or into the thick of a haboob to snap a few shots. It’d risk the hub of your entire mobile existence.

The problem is, outside of pricey weather-sealed interchangeable-lens models, most rugged point-and-shoots are basic, boring compact cameras wrapped in resilient shells. But Olympus has straddled the line between “premium compact” and “rugged camera” for a few years now with its well-equipped Stylus Tough TG iHS lineup.

Like its predecessors, the new Tough TG-3’s solid hardware starts with an F2.0 wide-angle lens and a 4X-optical-zoom range (25mm to 100mm) with mechanical image stabilization. It doesn’t have full manual exposure controls, but it does have an aperture-priority mode in addition to panorama, time-lapse, and an extensive array of well-implemented art filters. You can pair it with an iPhone or Android phone via Wi-Fi and use your smartphone as a remote viewfinder and shutter release. Unfortunately, those remote-control Wi-Fi features will only work on dry land, so you’ll need to take handheld shots of that shark.

It’s built as much for butterfingers as scuba divers, with a waterproof rating to 50 feet, shockproofing rated to withstand drops of up to 7 feet, and crushproofing rated to withstand 220 pounds of force. It’s also dustproof and freezeproof, and it has on-board instruments including a compass, GPS, a manometer to gauge underwater depth, and an altimeter.

Unlike most rugged cameras, this one seems like it might actually be practical for everyday use. Along with its faster-than-most F2.0 lens, aperture-priority mode, and Wi-Fi capabilities, the TG-3 has an interesting take on a focus-bracketing mode. Called “Focus Stacking,” the camera snaps 8 images in rapid succession at different focal lengths. The camera is able to blend the bracketed images together as a single, completely-in-focus image at a wider aperture than most deep depth-of-field shots, and it also lets the user select one image from the sequence to use — sort of like a more-manual Lytro.

Available in June, the Olympus Stylus Tough TG-3 will cost $350. The camera will also have some unique accessories available for it, including an LED ring light that’s built to enhance the camera’s “Microscope” macro-photography mode, as well as fisheye and telephoto lens converters.

There are more than enough action cams on the market, but that’s not stopping Garmin from jumping head first into that saturated space. The GPS maker hopes to bring something fresh to the table with its $299 VIRB and $399 VIRB Elite, a pair of ruggedized camcorders that do more than simply snap footage from within a clear protective shell. Both models can shoot 1080p clips at 30fps and 16-megapixel still photos (while recording video) for up to three consecutive hours with one 2,000mAh cell, but they offer a variety of features that some competitors can’t match, including a low-power 1.4-inch transflective LCD for navigating menus and previewing footage, optional (digital) IS and the ability to sync up with a variety of other Garmin devices through ANT+.

That last feature is perhaps the most compelling here — VIRB’s ANT+ chip lets you add on accessories like a heart rate monitor while also pairing with the company’s Fenix watch, logging GPS coordinates and other stats with each captured clip. The pricier Elite flavor brings positioning sensors on board, however, along with an altimeter and WiFi, which you can use to connect the cam to a dedicated Android or iOS app. That software component lets you see a live preview and control basic settings (video start/stop and still image capture) remotely — eventually, you’ll be able to send content from the device to your phone or tablet, though that functionality isn’t included just yet. A tiny remote will also be available as an add-on, should you opt to leave your smartphone at home.

It’s easy enough to operate the water-resistant camera without a remote though, even with it mounted on your helmet or attached to a surf board. A large sliding record button lets you power up and start shooting video right away, even when the camera’s turned off. There’s no built-in storage, but you can slide in your own microSD card under the battery. The Garmin VIRB ships next month for $299, while its Elite counter part will ship around the same time for $399. Check out that base model, along with some of the many optional straps and mounts, in our hands-on photos just below.%Gallery-slideshow46976%

Filed under: Cameras, GPS

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We knew it was coming, but AT&T has now officially announced the NEC Terrain. Set to become available on the same day as BlackBerry’s physical QWERTY-packing handset, the LTE-ready Terrain boasts a “high-resolution” 3.1-inch display, a decent 1.5GHz, dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU and 8GB of built-in storage which can reach up to 32GB via microSD — all while running a not-so-fresh version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich. Given that NEC designed it with the business folk in mind, this little ruggedized (MIL-810G) smartphone also offers on-device encryption for VPN access and compatibility with AT&T’s Enhanced Push-to-Talk services, which the company says makes for the perfect blend of “the necessary features needed for work and personal use.” As stated earlier, the NEC Terrain will be hitting shelves on June 21st, carrying a $99.99 price tag with the accustomed two-year deal on the Rethink Possible carrier.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, AT&T

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Source: AT&T

Sacrificing a smartphone’s thin and sleek form factor with a case is tantamount to sacrilege in some circles. Others feel little comfort venturing outdoors without having their phone wrapped safely in one sleeve or another. Sprint’s Kyocera Torque, though, is for people who demand more than just a sheath of silicone to keep their device safe. Instead of relying on a case for its protection, it’s durable in its own right, with an IP67 rating and Military Standard 810G certification to help it withstand everything from water to salt fog.

In addition, the handset carries the distinction of being the very first phone released in the US with Kyocera’s Smart Sonic Receiver tissue-conduction tech, which does away with the traditional earpiece. We put the Now Network’s first LTE push-to-talk phone through our review gauntlet not only to gauge how tough it is, but also to find out how well it performs. Head past the break to see how it fared.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

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Some might call it ugly; we’ll say unique. Regardless of your take on Pentax’s ruggedized Optio housing, you’ll get a capable waterproof shooter, with a handful of practical features. Two new models appeared this week at CP+ in Yokohama, Japan, and while both may look like they came from the same mold, the feature sets differ vastly. The more powerful compact, the WG-3, is also the slightly larger flavor. It packs a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor, a sharp 3-inch LCD and a 4x, f/2-4.9 lens. Its survivability stats, printed around the lens, include waterproof to 14 meters (46 feet), shockproof to 2-meter (6.5-foot) drops, crush-proof to 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of force and cold-proof to -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit). Then there’s the WG-10, which is basically just a rebranded WG-1, so we won’t focus much on that.

Both cameras have similar designs that scream “rugged” — in other words, if you’re a fan of Panasonic’s original Toughbook design, you might find these attractive. They’re incredibly solid-feeling, so while trade show tethers prevented us from doing any durability testing, they definitely look the part. We spent a few minutes with the WG-3 (or WG-III as indicated to the right of the lens) — it’s almost intimidating in appearance, as if it’s telling other cameras to watch their backs. The display is sharp and bright and the camera was generally responsive, though it certainly won’t break any records for speed. Interestingly, the WG-10, which we were originally told was a Target-exclusive, and therefore only available in red, was displayed with a black finish as well — perhaps Pentax has different plans for that model in Japan, which makes sense, considering that there aren’t any Target stores here. Either way, you should expect to see both of these hit stores in April, or you can sneak a peek now in our hands-on video after the break.

Filed under: Cameras

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