If you like to match your satnav to your vehicle, and you drive a Jeep, you’ll be pleased to know that the company has announced a new GPS. Clad in tire-effect rubber, the Jeep GPS Navigator RT-300 has a 3.5-inch touchscreen and can be set to announce street names to avoid you needing to take your eyes off of the road.
Panasonic’s Toughbook range has always prioritised sturdy build above just about anything else, but in a welcome nod to processing power the company has announced that it will be upgrading the semi-rugged notebooks with Intel’s new Centrino 2 processor. Both the Toughbook CF-52 and Toughbook CF-74 will feature the new processor, as well as getting improvements in video performance, storage and networking.
Garmin’s new Oregon handheld GPS range, the existence of which was tipped earlier this week when product descriptions hit the online stores, has been officially confirmed by the company. Five models are available, ranging from the the basic Oregon 200 and shaded relief-mapped Oregon 300, to three 400-series devices each tailored to different outdoor activities. Each model has a 3-inch color touchscreen and water & shock resistant casing.
Panasonic are readying their own Atom-based UMPC, although the device will bear little resemblance to the slick, compact handhelds we’re used to. Fitting into the company’s ToughBook range, the as-yet unnamed ultraportable will be a touchscreen-based ruggedized tablet, using rubber covers and a protective casing to keep the UMPC functional in extreme conditions.
Anyone who has ever tried to demonstrate a touchscreen likely knows the anxiety of seeing a novice user jab brutally at the display. Bad enough when it’s your precious Tablet PC; potentially even more expensive if it’s your home automation interface. So it’s good to see Stealth Computer’s new SV-2400 ruggedized touchscreen; intended, really, for industrial applications, the 24-inch widescreen would nonetheless make for a great combo control panel and display for any user with forceful fingers.
Matt Faulkner has been braving the outside world recently, testing out one of GETAC’s rugged Tablet PCs. This particular model is similar to the E100 we saw back in January, using an Intel Stealey A110 ULV processor running at 800MHz, half a gig of RAM and an 80GB, shock-mounted hard-drive. However the 8490XT adds a keypad to the right of its 8.4 in. widescreen TFT Wide Angle View touchscreen.
Check out Matt’s overview video after the cut
LaCie has announced an update to its ruggedized external storage range, ideal for the clumsy traveller who insists on carrying all their media around with them. Now available in a 500GB version, with almost no size increase on the older, smaller capacity models, LaCie have given the drive a shock-resistant rubber bumper and scratch-proof aluminium shell. Inside, there’s a well-swaddled 2.5-inch Hitachi Travelstar 5K500 HDD.
US-based computing company Averatec have announced two new semi-ruggedized notebooks, promising greater resilience to the knocks and scraps a working laptop often suffers. Fitting into the Voya series, the new additions consist of the 4473, which has a 14.1-inch 4:3 aspect display, and the 6494, which has a 15.4-inch widescreen display. While neither is meant to survive, say, a hod full of bricks landing on them, they’re drop and vibration resistant, while the keyboard and trackpad are spill-resistant.
The Dell Vostro line of notebooks and desktops were targeted at small business users, as such they’ve collected the feedback from some of their Vostro customers and made some changes. First they thinned up all of the models, it was at the cost of a bit of ruggedness, but now the notebooks are a lot thinner.
Then they added some little features that make a big difference including adopting the touch sensitive LED backlit keys of some of the XPS systems. The notebooks are now noticeable thinner and lighter and have some other features that road warriors are likely to appreciate, but they still maintain the same low price and they come crap-ware free.
RedPost released its first product not too long ago, the RedPost/Kit, which we got for review and loved. Now they are back on the scene with the same design, but with some upgrades.
SlashGear Japan
