Weatherproof Digital Toys? 18
Scott Anguish asks: "I've been trying to find gear designed for the consumer market that is able to withstand exposure to water, dirt, etc. Kodak's DC5000 Digital Camera is a nice enough unit, but still misses the mark on price ($699) and performance (2 Megapixels, no irDA). Cell phone wise: Ericsson had talked about releasing their R250d model in the U.S., but that seems to have been a no show. Their new R310s looks promising, but seems only to be available overseas. Are there any other options for use in the U.S.? (most cell providers don't seem to know much beyond the cheap phones, or the 'stylish' phones). And what of a PDA? I want something that can be tossed in pack with my eTrex GPS and not worry about the conditions. What are the options out there?"
PDA protection (Score:4)
However, if I might be presumptuous, might I suggest that you leave all that digital junk behind (except the camera) when you're going into the woods? I find losing the distractions of home (computers, telephones, schedules, etc) an essential part of the experience, whether it's a 2 hour mountain bike or a 2 week canoe trip.
not to take the simple route... (Score:2)
Granted, that's not the "geek way", but I did this for a palm when mountain biking and it kept it clean/dry for my purposes.
rugged toys (Score:1)
Canon, Newton & Motorola (Score:2)
a $699 waterproof digital camera misses on price? (Score:3)
Sure, you can get plenty of 2.1 megapixel cameras for $400 or so, but you wouldn't want to take them out on a rainy day, much less swim with them. $700 for submersible sounds fair, seeing as it's the price of a lot of plastic-cased 3-megapixel models that I'd be afraid to take outdoors at all, like the Nikon 880.
Check with some of the big specialty shops like B+H Photo [bhphotovideo.com] and see if they carry aftermarket waterproof enclosures for other models. They might.
Weatherproofing and waterproofing electronic equipment is expensive. It adds thickness and weight, and makes every switch and dial a design challenge.
Cellphone... (Score:2)
Psion... (Score:2)
Maybe Nokia, or Garmin? (Score:2)
There's also several places that make waterproof bags for electronics (search for "waterproof cell phone"), or even hard-core things like this: http://www.yachtsee.com/floatingcellphonecase.htm
Also, Garmin was supposedly making a marine version of this GPS/Cell phone uber-toy: http://www.garmin.com/products/navTalk/ Then you'd only have to have the one thing.
Casio G-Shock Palm (Score:1)
Yeah, I know Casio has the Casiopeia, and some others. And the industrial handhelds (but like the man says, too pricy for what you get.) But they all run some WindowsPickYourSuffix.
You can run linux on at least one of 'em, I think, but still not G-Shock.
Casio has made a G-Shock(ish) cell phone, but it's ony available in Japan so far.
Imagine the Dolphin/Whale [casio.co.jp] conference G-Shock Palm.
re: Casio G-Shock Palm (Score:1)
Besides, I think the main point about ruggedizing PDAs, cell phones, and laptops is not so they can survive submersion, but that they are'nt put out of commission by trivial bumps and drops, or get fried because you got caught in a downpour without an umbrella.
R301s pretty good (Score:1)
I've got an R310s - it's pretty good and solid. I'm outside quite a lot doing pyrotechnics, outside fire shows, hillwalking. It's taken all the weather and battering I've given it.
Interestingly enough they aren't selling very well in the UK as far as I know so you might be able to pick one up cheap. CarPhone Warehouse started selling them at 99 pounds a time but by the time I decided to get them they'd reduced them to 10 pounds.... ok this is subsidised but it shows that they aren't that popular.
Don't know why, the selling point for me was that the first page of the manual has cleaning instructions: it shows a graphic of somebody holding the phone under a running tap. My kind of phone.
Phone (Score:1)
Socks and sandwich wrap! (Score:2)
When I go hiking or riding, I drop my StarTac in a (clean) sock and then put that in a small sealed baggie. My reasoning being that it adds 1) a small amount of crash-proof padding and 2) if some water does get in I'd rather see the sock soak it up and distribute it than have the phone lying naked in the accumulated water in the bag. I've done this in horrible weather for a couple of years and my phones have not suffered. The best part is that 98% of my time (when I'm out of the bush), I don't have to carry a big goofy yellow "sport" phone around with me in the city or for business.
This is probably similar in other cities, but here in rainy Vancouver the bicycle couriers wear all manner of phones and wireless gadgets and they simply wrap them fresh daily in bags or plastic sandwich wrap and seal it with a strip of duct tape or rubber bands. This seems to work for 8+ hour shifts in really crappy weather.
Re:Casio G-Shock Palm (Score:1)
"Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk ?"
Re: Old Joke. Sorry (Score:1)
Here's how to search (Score:2)
AquaPac is all that - take your Palm under water.. (Score:3)
It is a tough flexible plastic "bag" that holds a Palm PDA, has an external pocket for a stylus, and a nifty rope to hang around your neck. They claim it is waterproof to 10m depth.
The case is designed to be flexible enough to use your PDA right through the case. I've had no trouble at all - even grafitti works well.
They also make some cases for cell phones and other devices, but I haven't tried them out.
- RadVen
Re:not to take the simple route... (Score:1)
All ruggedised/splashproof kit is yellow.