While the Sony Xperia Z is capable of withstanding harsh treatments, when it comes to the specs the Galaxy S4 is certainly superior. So those who bought the Samsung device have to be more careful, you ask? Maybe not, as it appears like the S4 is pretty rugged itself.

Samsung has posted a video on YouTube which shows the Galaxy S4 being punished in a variety of ways and the device seems to be surviving everything. Of course, they wouldn’t have released the video if the S4s that were tested didn’t make it.

As you will see in the video below, which is in Korean with English subs, they are putting it through punishments such as dropping it from a height, punching it, covering it with dust, keeping it under water, giving it an electric shock, and even baking it. The device is doing well against all those attacks.

Check out the video and leave your thoughts below. They are saying about “thousands of other tests” that they aren’t able to show us. What could those be, we wonder.

Want even more protection out of the Galaxy S4? You could always consider the Galaxy S4 Active instead.

[Source]

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If you are planning to test how tough the Samsung Galaxy S4 is after you purchase it, maybe you can give it the treatment which was given to the Xperia Z recently, provided you have saved enough cash for one more S4. The S4 most probably won’t survive such a test. But the Sony handset is not that great as the S4 specs-wise. So what to do? Why don’t you just wait for the new tougher S4 that will apparently arrive sometime in the future?

According to President of Samsung Gulf Young Soo Kim, Samsung has plans to unveil a water proof/dust proof Samsung Galaxy S4 in the coming weeks. No confirmation on the matter from the company though, but someone in the position of Kim won’t certainly announce things like that just for fun.

If indeed it’s coming it will most probably be a bit more expensive (maybe $50-$100 more) than the S4 currently out there. And could this device have anything to do with the Galaxy S4 Mini being talked about these days? We are digging in to find out more. So, are you interested in getting a ruggedized S4?

[Source]

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Some companies just go ahead and make their rugged products as hideous as possible. Is it because they have a belief that those who look for rugged gadgets do not care about looks? But we are glad that Sony knows the importance of a thing of beauty. Their new DSC-TX20 rugged compact camera boasts all kinds of ‘-resistant’ prefixes, yet features an elegant and innovative design.

The DSC-TX20 is part of the company’s new Cyber-shot line-up which will be offering an updated “Exmor R” CMOS sensor with higher pixel count, improved Optical image stabilization, better low light performance, enhanced AF speeds (approximately 0.13 second during the day and 0.25 seconds at night), and more.

The DSC-TX20 is tough but Sony appears to have spent some quality time while designing it. The new camera comes in several dual-color versions and two of the models (green/silver and orange/gray) feature a nice texture as you can see below.

The slim camera is waterproof (up to 5m), dustproof, freeze-proof (up to 14⁰F) and shockproof (up to 1.5m). It comes equipped with a 16 MP “Exmor R” CMOS sensor, a 25mm equivalent lens with 4x optical zoom, and a 3 inch LCD touchscreen. You will also get 8x virtual zoom via the “Clear Image Zoom” technology and it will allow you to shoot full HD movies.

The camera’s “Dual-Record” feature will allow you to capture 12 MP stills while shooting video. In case that feature sounds familiar to you, HTC’s new One X and One S that we saw yesterday come with a similar capability.

The DSC-TX20 will be available in orange, green, black, blue and pink color versions in May with a price tag of approximately $330.

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Designed “with extreme sports enthusiasts in mind,” this phone represents the a larger partnership between the two brands, stretching out to major Billabong events around the world. They’ve also got exclusive wallpapers and other mobile content for the Billabong Edition smartphone, as well as the Billabong Surf Trip game for the Xperia Play PlayStation phone.

Realistically, the Billabong Edition handset is just a branded version of the existing Sony Ericsson Xperia active. This means that it has IP67 certification for dust and water resistance, as well as “wet finger tracking” technology on its smaller 3-inch touchscreen display. It’s tough and scratch resistant. Rounding out the extreme specs are a 5MP camera, FM radio with RDS, Timescape, DLNA support, Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine, and Google Android. Plus that handy loop for your lanyard or carabiner clip.

Look for it in “select markets” starting now.

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Although there are many military-grade laptops out there to choose from, it is still a bit difficult to find a good rugged machine for all the young users in schools. Lenovo has churned out tough devices earlier, but this is the first time that they are introducing a classroom-ready rugged laptop under the ThinkPad brand name.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X130e, which will be sold to schools in December with a price tag starting at $469, is coming with specific improvements which will help it to withstand the occasional fall or the abuse a notebook is likely to suffer in the hands of the students.

As you might not have forgotten, the X130e was earlier assumed to be the successor to the X120e when leaked pictures of the device started appearing on the internet. Now, the device has become official.

The 11.6 inch X130e, which will be available with an Intel Core i3-2367M processor or AMD Fusion E-300 or E-450 APU, comes equipped with a rubber bumper on the top cover, a thicker bezel, strong corners and hinges, and reinforced and recessed ports.

You will get up to 8GB of RAM and 500GB in storage, Bluetooth 3.0, and it will be powered by a 6-cell battery which is coming with a battery life of 8.5 hours.

Other features include 3 USB 2.0 sockets, HDMI, VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, a combined headphone / mic port, and a 4-in-1 memory card reader. The laptop also comes with the company’s RapidBoot technology, which is expected to provide a sub-20-second start-up time.

The downside is that all durable features in the new ThinkPad has resulted in a machine weighing in at 3.9 pounds (1.78kg), fairly heavy for an 11-incher (although Lenovo says it is “lightweight”).

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Said to be “built for the harsh realities of life,” this ruggedized case will protect your portable spinning platter for drops of up to seven feet. Go ahead and dunk water all over the drive or throw it through the desert sand. The Nomad should keep your data safe and functional. There’s a “shock-absorbing elastomer cushion” on the inside and a polycarbonate casing on the outside.

If you’re thinking this sounds mildly familiar, you might remember the LaCie Tank, which offered some similar claims. Both adhere to military specs for ruggedness and both chime in at a similar $30 price point. WD just better hope that Creative doesn’t get on their back about the whole Nomad naming scheme.

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For some people, shiny aluminum unibodies just won’t do. They need something that’s tougher and rougher to handle the hardships of daily duty. And that’s where Black Diamond Advanced Technology is taking us, transporting a military-spec ultra rugged wearable PC to the realm of a commercial release.

The Modular Tactical System starts as a computer in a vest-based pack, but the components are split up and integrated into different parts of a soldier’s uniform. This modular approach makes it easy for military personnel to configure the system to suit their specific needs and it’s that same kind of concept that’s heading to the commercial off-the-shelf version too.

Critical components like the processing platform and peripheral controller are on the rear plate carrier, while the 6.5-inch Universal Tactical Display (UTD) sits in the front. It’s friendly for nigh vision goggles, as well as for viewing under the harsh Afghanistan sun. The power of the unit isn’t huge — 1.6GHz Atom, 2GB RAM, 128GB SSD — but this is a purpose-built solution that needs to last.

Black Diamond focuses mostly on military, but they see the MTS being used in other applications too. I imagine some hardcore hobbyists could be interested in this kind of real tactical gear. No OS specifications were announced at the time of the release, but by looking at the hardware specs it’s sure to be Windows something. Android soldiers will have to look elsewhere.

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G-Form knows that there is a good number of tech users out there that are quite active, and perhaps a bit careless too. This is why they created the Extreme Sleeve. They call it “the world’s most rugged case for laptops.” With water-resistant features, flexible exterior, all lightweight enough to haul around in your backpack, the Extreme Sleeve for Laptop can even fit an iPad since it will come in 11″, 13″ and 15″ sizes on May 31 from $60 to $80 respectively.

The company claims their Reactive Protection Technology “instantly stiffens upon impact and absorbs over 90% of the energy.” That’s pretty heavy duty if you ask me, but don’t just take my word for it, check out the video of them dropping it off a 20 foot balcony with a MacBook inside.

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The development kit, set for release this July, will allow third parties to create apps that can actually be used by soldiers in the field of battle. The eventual combat-ready Android smartphone will be called the Joint Battle Command-Platform (JBC-P) handheld device.

Not surprisingly, the mobile device will have a “ruggedised tactical sleeve or case” to protect it from the tough environment it’s bound to face. They’ll also outfit it with a series of existing military radios, like the GTRS, Netted Iridium satellite, and PRC 117G, as well as TIGR map-marking and OpenOffice.

Now we just have to see if this handheld will transform into a tactical robot for transversing hostile environments, all while having a glowing red eye and a gun at ready.

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Have you ever accidentally sat on your phone, camera, MP3 player, or other portable electronic device? There’s a possibility that you broke something. With the Olympus TOUGH TG-810, apparently you don’t have to worry as much about that kind of thing.

Continuing with the rugged pedigree of the TOUGH line, the TG-810 will reportedly hold up to 100kg of crushing force. They’re saying that it’s a crushproof camera, thanks to things like the double-durable lens (and metal lens barrier) and port technology. It’s also scratch resistant, waterproof, shockproof, and freezeproof.

The usual slate of technical specs runs like this: 14 megapixels, 5x wide zoom, ISO 80-1600, 720p HD video, manometer (checking water depth), GPS, electronic compass, TAP control mode, four underwater scene modes, 3D photo shooting mode, Pet Detection Mode, 3.0-inch display, SDXC support, and HDMI connectivity.

The styling cues won’t be for everyone and the picture quality likely won’t rival the company’s micro four-thirds offerings, but at least you can go snorkeling with the TOUGH TG-810 and get it trapped under a rock. Expect to see it this month for $400.

[via Olympus]

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