Hasta La Gadget!

When Panasonic unveiled the Toughbook H1 tablet last year, it at least got the tough part down pat. This Windows 7 slate had a magnesium alloy chassis and met the military’s MIL-STD-810G standards for shock, dust, heat, water, and cold resistance — comforting claims for construction workers, soldiers, and pretty much anyone used to working in the wild (or, at least, standing up). The problem was, it ran on a dinky Atom processor, and left the rugged types using it with just one miniature port for attaching peripherals. Clearly, Panny agreed those were some serious shortcomings, because the brand new H2 goes a wee bit beyond mere spec bumps. The latest generation leaps forward to a 1.7GHz Core i5-2557M ULV processor with Intel’s vPro technology, along with USB 2.0 and serial sockets, and space for either a second USB port or an Ethernet jack. At the entry-level (!) price of $3,449, you’ll get a 10-inch (XGA), 6,000-nit display, 4GB of RAM, a removable 320GBGB 7200RPM shock-mounted hard drive, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 radios, and twin swappable batteries that promise up to six and a half hours of runtime. After that, the list of possible add-ons runs long for corporations and government agencies with deep pockets. These include up to 8GB of memory, a 128GB SSD, Gobi 3G or 4G radio (the latter’s coming in the fall), GPS, barcode or RFID reader, 2 megapixel camera, an insertable or contact-less SmartCard reader, or a fingerprint sensor. Good thing the boss is treating, huh?

Update : Lots of you are asking about the weight. Here’s your answer, folks: it’s 3.5 pounds, compared with 3.4 pounds for the last-gen H1.

Continue reading Panasonic intros rugged Toughbook H2 tablet, steps up to Core i5 and full-sized ports

Panasonic intros rugged Toughbook H2 tablet, steps up to Core i5 and full-sized ports originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Panasonic ToughBook C1 gets upgraded with faster processor, better battery life

Panasonic ToughBook C1 gets upgraded with faster processor, better battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So ugly even its own mother is disgusted, the Alpinist will nevertheless make you love it

This hideous looks like a stoned hippy took to carving his airline seatbelt buckle with a Dremel, but if you’re a climber, you’re probably going to love it anyway. It’s called the Alpinist Case, and it protects your camera from mountains.

The case is machined from aluminum held together with stainless steel screws and filled with low-density foam. Should your camera fall, or get whacked by a passing cliff, then there’s a good chance it will survive.

But protection is pointless if you can’t get the camera out to take photos. To this end, the flip-up, clamp-shut lid can be locked down, but popped open easily. And you hang the case from your belt by a carabiner, so access is easy and fast. You can also leave the lid un-clamped and it will be held closed by magnets.

There are three sizes, from a tiny case for slim point-and-shoots up to a larger one for bigger compacts like the Leica D-Lux. You won’t be carrying an SLR in there, but then you probably don’t want to schlep a big heavy camera up a mountain anyway.

Available now (but on back order until late July), from $60 to $120.

Alpinist cases [Betashell via PetaPixel]

See Also:

• Ugly
• The (Ugly) DIY Gorillapod
• Vacuum-Packed: Waterproof Case for Tablets

Unstoppable force meets immovable object

Sonim’s super-rugged phones have been around for years. Their technological innards are updated from time to time, but their core feature — indestructibility — always remains. Now, the folks at Blendtec have subjected a Sonim (last seen by Gadget Lab encased in concrete and still receiving calls) to the ultimate toughness test. Will it blend?

Before you watch the video of the Sonim XP3300 Force being dropped into the technological Sarlacc pit, let’s make a quick note of some of the other victims of Blendtec’s seemingly unstoppable blender. From hard drives to the iPad 2, nothing but Chuck Norris has survived its spinning blades. So how does the Sonim fare?

Pretty good. It takes a while for the Blendtec to get its teeth into the phone, which spends most of its time skittering around on top of the whirling knives below. At last, the battery cover succumbs and the whole mess disappears into a puff of toxic gray smoke.

When the torture stops, though, the phone seems to have survived pretty well. Its shell is worn smooth, but it’s still unmistakably a phone. I have the feeling that if you swapped in a new battery, the thing would probably accept a call.

Will It Blend? – Sonim XP3300 Force [YouTube]

See Also:

• Ads Worth Watching: Olympus vs. Blendtec
• Review: Blendtec Total Blender— Whippin' it Good
• Ultimate Gadget Challenge: Blendtec vs Chuck Norris
• Sonim's Indestructible Phone – Wired
• 'World's Toughest' Phone Announced, Endures Car and Beer Tests …
• Gallery: Tablets Dominate Mobile World Congress

Just a few months after releasing its outdoorsy, G700 point and shoot, Ricoh has taken the wraps off yet another rugged digital camera — the waterproof, shockproof and dust-resistant PX. This small warrior packs a 16-megapixel CCD sensor along with a 5x optical wide zoom lens and is capable of booting up in just 1.4 seconds. The device also supports subject-tracking and face-priority auto-focus features, in addition to a host of shooting modes, including toy camera, soft-focus and high-contrast black and white, among others. Most alluring, however, is its resilience. According to Ricoh, the PX can survive drops from an altitude of up to five feet, remains waterproof at depths of about ten feet, and is impermeable to dust, sand and dirt. There’s also a 2.7-inch, scratch-resistant LCD on its backside, meaning you won’t have to worry about casually tossing it in your backpack as you make your way along the trail. More flamboyant hikers, meanwhile, can add their own personal touch to the PX by wrapping it in a protective silicon sleeve, available in five, vibrant colors. If you’re interested, you can grab a PX of your own when it hits stores later this month, for $300 AUD (about $317). You can check out some sample images from Digital Photography Review by hitting the link below, or flip through some pics of the PX in the gallery below. There’s also a full PR waiting for you, after the break.

Continue reading Ricoh unveils waterproof, dirt-resistant PX camera for outdoorsy photographers

Ricoh unveils waterproof, dirt-resistant PX camera for outdoorsy photographers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 07:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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