Hasta La Gadget!

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.

Continue reading Rugged gadgets put to the test in Engadget labs, wanton destruction ensues

Rugged gadgets put to the test in Engadget labs, wanton destruction ensues originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As far as sports go, the one where you drive cars around in circles several times is likely not one of the most energy efficient. With that in mind, it’s nice to see locations like Northern California’s Infineon Raceway working toward sustainability, announcing this week the installation of more than 1,600 solar panels. The panels, manufactured by Panasonic, will provide around 41-percent of the Infineon’s energy usage. Also on its list of earth-friendly features: a solar-powered billboard and 3,000 sheep, which take care of a lot of the lawn mowing on the grounds and apparently aren’t of the electric variety.

Continue reading California raceway gets 1,600 solar panels, flaunts green track status

California raceway gets 1,600 solar panels, flaunts green track status originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic's "Toughbook" will come with a 10.1-inch screen and stylus pen. Photo courtesy of Panasonic

Attention all butterfingered geeks: Panasonic announced on Thursday an Android tablet made especially for you.

Dubbed the Toughbook tablet, Panasonic’s Android slate caters to those prone to excess dropping, be it electronics or otherwise. The Toughbook joins the company’s line of durable, impact-resistant devices.

Panasonic’s Toughbook product line has been around since 1993, touting a device portfolio comprised mostly of notebooks and slate-shaped PCs. The rugged devices come encased in high-impact plastics normally reserved for items that expect to take a beating, like car bumpers and bicycle helmets.

As 2011 has seen countless Android tablet debuts, manufacturers must fight to differentiate. Motorola’s Xoom tablet launched in February as the flagship device for Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). HTC’s Flyer tablet recently dropped, with the company heavily hyping the accompanying stylus pen to make the tablet unique. The Toughbook has a better chance of standing out in the crowded field, however, as the heavy-duty construction may appeal to the roughnecked crowd. Think: geologists in the field, or perhaps an emergency room doc.

Like Samsung’s recent Galaxy Tab revamp, the Toughbook comes with a 10.1-inch screen. The display differs from many existing Android tablets, however; Instead of a glossy TFT screen, the Toughbook tablet features a matte-finished XGA display, which the company claims is easier to read in outdoor, high-brightness settings.

Although further details are scant at the moment, we know the Toughbook will come with a stylus (like the Flyer), as well as optional 3G and 4G versions. We aren’t sure what version of the Android operating system the tablet will run, but press photos suggest it isn’t Honeycomb.

Mum’s the word on pricing, but you should expect to see the Toughbook tablet come Christmas time. Rest assured we eagerly await getting our hands on one for demolition testing.

We know some of you have been a little disappointed in Panasonic’s GF line of Micro Four Thirds cams as they’ve shed advanced features and become more “consumer friendly” — terrifying words for any serious user to hear. But, we’ve got some good news, at some point in the future the GF line will split with a more professionally-minded model sold alongside the more simplistic GF3. That’s straight from the mouth of Ichiro Kitao, the head of Panasonic’s camera division, who spoke to PhotoRadar about the company’s plans. When the GF1 will finally get a spiritual successor isn’t exactly clear, but we’re glad to hear the pocketable Micro Four Thirds series will finally get another serious shooter.

Panasonic plans to expand GF line, return to serious shooter roots originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leica’s 50mm-equivalent ƒ1.4 standard lens brings an ultrafast ‘nifty fifty’ to the Micro Four Thirds line

Oh hello! In addition to the less-than-inspiring GF3 announced today, Panasonic has redeemed itself with the new Leica DG Summilux 25mm ƒ1.4 ASPH lens. This fixed lens, which works as a 50mm equivalent “standard” on the Micro Four Thirds bodies, is likely to be one sweet chunk of glass.

First, the numbers. The lens has a seven-blade aperture for the nice, circular out-of-focus highlights (bokeh) characteristic of Leica lenses. It also comes with aspherical elements, a “nano coating” (for less reflection from the lens’ surfaces) and one “ultra-high refractive index” elements to bend the light equally to all parts of the image.

And because it opens to ƒ1.4, you’ll not only be able to take photos of anything you like in the dark, you’ll also be able to focus on somebody’s pupil and have the corner of their eye be blurred. Finally, a metal mount should mean it outlasts several cameras.

The lens, available in August, has yet to be priced. Being a Leica, it won’t be cheap. In fact, Amazon’s pre-order page — according to Photography Bay — was briefly listing it for $1,100.

Leica Summilux 25mm ƒ1.4 product page [Panasonic]

See Also:

• Panasonic Micro Four Thirds 'Rangefinder' with Leica Lenses …
• Adapter Puts Leica Lenses on Micro Four Thirds Cameras
• Voigtländer Adapter Puts Leica Lenses on Micro Four Thirds Cameras …