PDA's Sturdy Enough for the Rugged Outdoors? 20
Phunction asks: "So what is available in the sturdy outdoor/industrial handheld market?
I currently develop software for Casio's line of outdoor handhelds only slightly larger than regular, but they can't handle cold weather very well, below 0 celcius, and the screens are not to good in outdoor light. And I only know of one other manufacturer, At Work Computers, but they are almost 3 times the size of a regular pda. The OS is really not a concern, however the hardware should be water proof, handle low tempratures and have a good reflective screen that works well in direct sunlight (like the iPaq)."
here's what I've seen (Score:1)
Also, Panasonic had some rugged p75 laptops a while back that were housed in Titanium I think. I knew a guy who worked for Lucent and said he has dropped the thing close to 20 feet, and no problems. Also, he left it out in the rain overnight with no problems.
Re:here's what I've seen (Score:3, Informative)
I have the same problem (Score:1)
Strange stuff.
Re:I have the same problem (Score:1)
psion! (Score:1)
I want it all... (Score:1)
You're asking for something that is at best impractical to manufacture, will have a comparitively very small market, and challenges available technology. Even if you could find a device, what about the batteries? (Ask anyone who's taken a camera on a ski trip more than once...)
Next you'll be wanting a frictionless ball bearing.... Sorry, it's not going to happen any time soon, if at all. Time to start compromising on the requirements.
Psion (Score:3, Informative)
Casio too (Score:3, Informative)
Casio also has the EG-800 [casio.com] running Windows CE (A ruggedized version of the e-1xx), though they're only splashproof and not waterproof (for that you may want the Psion Freezer).
Another option if the OS realy isnt an issue is to get an old tablet PC from Dauphin off eBay. Most of them are waterproof but they're also only low-end 386's with mono displays.
Symbol (Score:1)
Sometimes older is better (Score:1)
More tough PDAs (Score:1)
Intermec has the Model 70 [home.intermec.com] Pocket PC.
I believe I saw a somewhat industrialized iPaq recently, but I can't find it now. Probably not announced yet.