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waterproof

Casio gives us a camera to beat the hell out of

When Panasonic, Fujifilm, and Canon announced rugged cameras this year, it was odd that Casio didn't pop one out, too, given its predilection for shock-resistant products. Well, I guess November isn't too late to join the market, as Wednesday the company added the Exilim EX-G1 to its digital camera lineup.

The $299 0.8-inch thick, ultracompact 12-megapixel camera can withstand a 7-foot drop because of a two-layer construction with a stainless steel outer casing, a resin ring protecting the lens, and a polycarbonate cover on the body side near the shutter. The wrist-strap holder is made of die-cast … Read more

ATC5K and ATC3K Action Cameras can handle tough times

The Oregon Scientific ATC3K Action Camera is a bit like the Jeep Wrangler of digital camcorders. On paper, the bare-bones digicam is only capable of capturing VGA video. In a civilized world filled with pocket HD camcorders, that's not a particularly impressive feat.

However, take the ATC3K into the rough and tumble great outdoors and you'll find that its rugged construction, waterproof design, and compact size allow it to be used in conditions that would instantly void the warranty of more complex and delicate pocket cameras.

Upping the feature set while maintaining its rough and tumble nature is … Read more

Another mouse that likes to wash

Worried about germs populating your peripherals? You may dream of giving them a nice bath now and then.

Go ahead, with the MW-2800 washable optical mouse from Cherry, a ZF Electronics brand.

The mouse is targeted at hospitals, clinics, schools, manufacturing lines, and other venues where many people tend to share workstations.

The MW-2800 is not the first washable mouse. Two years ago, Belkin introduced its F5L007 mouse with the scroll wheel replaced by a touch area that allows both vertical and horizontal scrolling.

On Cherry's new MW-2800, scrolling is done with sealed scroll-lock buttons. It's supposed to … Read more

Pentax goes deeper with Optio W80

There's been an explosion of waterproof and rugged cameras and camcorders this year, and Wednesday Pentax added one more to the list (though it's been making them since 2003). The Optio W80 is a water/dust/shock/freezeproof 12-megapixel camera with a 2.5-inch LCD selling for less than $300.

The W80 can apparently survive an impressive dunk: down to 16 feet for up to two hours. It'll also take a decent fall of up to 3.3 feet and keep working in temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

On top of its "proofing," the W80 has fairly good camera specs, too. The internal lens has a zoom range of 5x and is wide angle, too, at 28mm. It records 720p, HD-quality video at 30fps. It also has the expected convenience features such as face, smile, and blink detection; auto scene recognition; and a bunch of other automatic shooting options.

About the only thing missing is optical image stabilization; the W80 only has Pentax's digital Pixel Track SR, which though it's good, still degrades photo quality. … Read more

New portable TVs are hot sellers during DTV transition

As most people are by now aware, on June 12, full-power broadcast TV stations in the U.S. will stop broadcasting their analog TV signals and will only broadcast TV signals digitally. Obviously, that impacts people who have older TVs and still use antennas to get a TV signal at home. But what's not talked about as much is the thousands of portable TVs that will stop receiving signals once analog signal disappears for good. For those who rely on such sets to tune into sporting events, such as the NBA Finals, the analog switch-off requires immediate action.

It'… Read more

Vampiric nerdlings will cower at your floating Bluetooth speakers

While all those pale suckers are indoors playing around with their videogames, you could be enjoying the summer heat, lounging in a pool and aquadancing to your favorite jams with Elima, a Bluetooth speaker designed to make your summer days even brighter.

This little orb packs in a pair of 2-watt speakers on both sides, providing you with stereo sound while it floats around in your pool. You can connect any Bluetooth device with A2DP/AVRCP and stream music from up to 30 feet away. If a call comes in while you're lounging, the Elima will automatically pause your … Read more

For Olympus, the proof is in the videos

It's always nice when a company is willing to put up its products against its marketing claims. In this case, the strengths of Olympus' Tough series of digital cameras.

Earlier in 2009, Olympus stopped designating its series of shock- and waterproof cameras with a mere SW and started calling them Tough, since the cameras were also dustproof, crushproof, and freezeproof. To prove just how much punishment they can take, it turned over a bunch of Tough-series cameras to some kids and let them have at 'em in a series of tests, which Olympus made videos of and posted to YouTube.

The "best of" video is above while the nine individual trials--including Tricycleproof and Icecreamproof--are after the break. … Read more

Pentax compacts, K2000 kit get instant rebates

If money's tight, but you don't want to miss out on spring photo opportunities, Pentax is offering up some instant savings on three of its compact cameras and its entry-level digital SLR.

Starting Friday through April 11, the company is knocking $20 off the prices of its basic compact, the Optio E70, and its lightweight ultracompact Optio P70, as well as the waterproof Optio W60. Or if you want more than a point-and-shoot, the K2000 dSLR kit with DA L 18-55mm lens and AF200FG flash has a $50 instant rebate, bringing the price down below $550.

I recently … Read more

SwiMP3: Waterproof MP3 player

The SwiMP3 player is a waterproof MP3 player with 256MB internal memory. That's approximately 60 songs, and the player has a 10-hour lithium ion battery. The device charges via USB and can be synced with both Windows (98SE, 2000, ME, XP, Vista) and Mac-based PCs (OS 9, OS X, or higher), and it even works with iTunes. Supported audio formats include MP3 and WMA files. Here's a full list of technical information including iTunes and Windows Media setup.

According to FINIS, the SwiMP3 "attaches easily to any swim goggle or snorkeling mask. For audio playback it relies … Read more