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NEC’s ShieldPRO ruggedized tablet PCs have never exactly put much emphasis on looks, but the company seems to at least be trying to spice things up a bit with its latest FC-N22A model, which ditches the usual nothing-but-business appearance for something designed to turn a few more heads. That brightly-colored exterior will still give you the same IP55-compliant dust and water resistance, however, along with enough ruggedness to protect it from three-foot drops onto a concrete floor. Otherwise, you can expect the usual 12.1-inch display, low-power Core 2 Duo U7500 1.0GHz processor, a promised 12 hours of battery life, optional built-in GPS, and good ‘ol Windows XP for an OS. No word on a price just yet, but you can look for this one to hit Japan by the  end of June

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LaCie’s bright orange Rugged Hard Disk hasn’t changed much externally since it surfaced over two years ago, but what used to buy you 160GB will now land you a full half-terabyte with dough left over for several In-N-Out runs. The latest Rugged drive packs Hitachi’s 500GB Travelstar 5K500 and still maintains the scratch-resistant aluminum shell and shock-resistant rubber bumper. As for ports, you’ll find a USB 2.0-only edition or a more versatile iteration that includes USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 sockets. Either flavor comes bundled with the company’s Setup Assistant and backup software, and if you’re tired of waiting for 1TB in your pocket, you can make do with this one for just $299.99 / $399.99 depending on your choice of interface(s).

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Look out, argonauts — you’ve got more than Panasonic and Dell vying for your hard-earned dollars, as even Averatec is looking to make a play in the rugged laptop space. The firm’s new Voya line of lappies gets going with a new duo of rough ‘n tough rigs: the 14.1-inch 4473 and the 15.4-inch 6494. Both units pack a magnesium alloy outer case, corner bumpers and an anti-shock mounted hard drive. Internally, you’ll find an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 250GB HDD, WiFi, X3100 graphics set, a dual-layer DVD writer, 4-in-1 multicard reader and Windows Vista running the show. We’re told that each should be available to order real soon, and with the Voya family starting at just $1,299, it may be just the thing for the outdoorsman / outdoorswoman on a budget.
[Via Blast]

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Look out, argonauts — you’ve got more than Panasonic and Dell vying for your hard-earned dollars, as even Averatec is looking to make a play in the rugged laptop space. The firm’s new Voya line of lappies gets going with a new duo of rough ‘n tough rigs: the 14.1-inch 4473 and the 15.4-inch 6494. Both units pack a magnesium alloy outer case, corner bumpers and an anti-shock mounted hard drive. Internally, you’ll find an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 250GB HDD, WiFi, X3100 graphics set, a dual-layer DVD writer, 4-in-1 multicard reader and Windows Vista running the show. We’re told that each should be available to order real soon, and with the Voya family starting at just $1,299, it may be just the thing for the outdoorsman / outdoorswoman on a budget.
[Via Blast]

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In case it’s not glaringly apparent just by eying the image above, Ricoh’s 600 (the proper successor to the Caplio 500G) is built to withstand most any element you’ll encounter during a weekend jaunt through the wilderness. The 10-megapixel compact features a 2.7-inch LCD, 28-140mm wide-zoom lens, 5x optical zoom, USB connectivity, ISO 3200 capability and a shock-resistant chassis that also turns a cold shoulder to dust and water. Those in a pinch can swap in a set of AAA cells should the rechargeable Li-ion run out of juice, and though we can’t imagine it getting much use, there’s even an accessory shoe included for an external flash. Apparently all that toughness doesn’t come cheap, as Ricoh’s set to demand £349.99 ($693) for this thing when it lands in May.

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Under most circumstances, we too would take one glance at the monolith pictured above and scream in horror. But of course, we’re entirely sure you’re familiar with the wacky machines emerging from NextComputing. The ultra-tough Vigor Evo HD is hailed as the company’s “highest performance rugged workstation,” and besides offering up a floating chassis which absorbs all sorts of bumps and shocks, it also comes with a 17-inch LCD plastered right on the side. Said panel is covered with a hard-coated protective screen, and sitting just beneath that is your choice of AMD / Intel processors, up to four PCIe or PCI-X 64-bit slots, a dual-layer DVD writer, up to 3TB of internal HDD space and most everything else you’d find in a pre-fab desktop. Of course, it loses the vast majority of its intimidation factor when equipped with the optional wheels / telescoping handle package, but we won’t tell anyone if you’re not man / woman enough to lug it over your shoulder.

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