rugged

People--including the editors around here--tend to forget that waterproof and rugged cameras and camcorders aren't just for pools, lakes, and beaches. Kodak, perhaps for more awareness of this, has partnered again with snowboard company Burton for a special-edition PlaySport rugged minicamcorder bundle.

There's really not much to this as it's just a PlaySport Zx5 with a new coat of paint, so to speak. All the same durability claims apply, too: waterproof to 9.8 feet, dust resistant, and shockproof up to 5 feet. (It is not freezeproof unfortunately, so you'll have to keep it at least 32 degrees Fahrenheit for it to work.)

Its shooting features and everything else are the same, but it is a bundle, so along with the minicamcorder you get an HDMI cable, remote control, 4GB SDHC memory card, a gripping tripod, and carrying case.

The bundle is in stock at Kodak.com for $199.99.

If none of that appeals to you, check out our roundup of rugged minicamcorders. … Read more

"I love going to the beach, but hate getting sand on my iPhone. #FirstWorldProblems"

If that tweet sounds familiar, you'll want to add the Grace Digital Audio Eco Pod to your shopping list.

The Eco Pod is an outdoor case for your phone or MP3 player that wraps the device in an airtight valve for complete protection against the elements. It comes with a pair of Grace's Sonar Premium Waterproof Headphones so you can jam without worrying about damaging your gear.

The case features a waterproof IPX7 headset jack that can also pair with any standard … Read more

Otterbox remains king of the rugged smartphone case arena, but there are plenty of alternatives, including Speck's new ToughShell for iPhone 4.

Like other rugged cases, this one has multiple layers of protection (three to be exact) and it comes with the requisite detachable holster with rotating belt clip that doubles as a viewing stand.

Speck, which makes some of the best iPhone cases out there, says the $49.99 ToughShell is the company's toughest case yet (it also has the ToughSkin for iPhone 4).

If this model doesn't do it for you, here are some other … Read more

Flor, the green carpet manufacturer, announced Thursday that it's opened a fifth brick-and-mortar store, this one in Dallas.

Like its other retail stores in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Santa Monica, the Dallas Flor store will offer a recycling drop-off for customers to return worn Flor items.

Flor sells carpets that are made from either wool or mostly renewable and recycled content, with an end goal of eventually making all its carpets entirely from sustainable materials.

In an age when most carpeting comes with a high amount of unhealthy VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), FLOR carpets also either meet or … Read more

LaCie today announced a new version of its rugged portable drive, the Rugged Mini, which it says is smaller yet stronger than previous versions.

LaCie claims the new aluminum Rugged Mini is 40 percent smaller than previous models, is rain-resistant, and can withstand 1 ton of pressure. The new drive is also now available in 500GB and 1TB capacities, up from just around 100GB previously, and supports USB 3.0.

The drive is bundled with LaCie Private-Public software, which protects data from unauthorized access with AES data encryption.

Like previous drives, the new Rugged Mini is compatible with both Macs … Read more

We've seen some interesting iPhone cases in our time, but SharkEye's rugged iPhone cases add a really interesting twist with its built-in retractable screen protectors.

When you're using the phone, the screen protector lives tucked away in the back of the case. But when you want your screen to be covered, you just pull down the shade, so to speak, and slide the cover over the screen (the video below is worth a thousand words).

SharkEye makes cases for the black iPhone 4 (sorry, the case isn't compatible with the white version at this time), as … Read more

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 is the manufacturer's third shot at a high-end rugged camera. (It's the fourth if you include the more budget-friendly DMC-TS10.) The price continues to hover just south of the $400 mark, but Panasonic has again bulked up the feature set and durability claims.

The big add-in feature this time is GPS, which makes perfect sense for a rugged camera. After all, it's tough to mark down where you were when you took a picture when there are no street signs. The TS3 is just slightly more durable than its predecessor, the TS2, being … Read more

Admit it! Sometimes you are so mad, you just want to slam something on the floor, step on it, and then kick it a few times. I know a friend who did just that with his portable drive only to later regret losing data and hurting his big toe. If only he had had the IoSafe Rugged Portable, his data would have been safe. His toe's another story, however.

First introduced at CES 2011 with a bang (quite a few bangs, actually), IoSafe's Rugged Portable is the first mobile external hard drive that can really withstand serious beatings and abuse. The drive can handle drops, water submersion, dust, chemicals, and being crushed by a vise. I have personally shot at it with a shotgun--at a demo, not out of anger--and it didn't break.

This means that if you happen to drop it in the street and the thing gets run over by cars, chances are it will survive quite easily. As a matter of fact, the only situation it seems the Rugged Portable won't survive is extreme heat, which its brother the IoSafe SoloPro can handle. To make up for this, the Rugged Portable is about 15 times more compact and lighter. The drive is slightly smaller than a 3.5-inch internal hard drive and weighs about 1 pound. It's designed to be carried around, while the SoloPro is meant to be used at home only. … Read more

Last month, in a marketing stunt, an iPad 2 encased in a $59.99 G-Form "extreme" sleeve was tossed out of a plane and survived just fine. So what, right? Who drops their iPad out of a plane?

Well, the folks over at the Canadian Web site Mobile Syrup decided to do a more practical test: they ran a G-Form-protected iPad 2 over with a car.

In a bit of drama, after they ran it over, they discovered that the video they had running during the test had stopped playing. But once the sleeve came off, the iPad ended up turning on just fine.

Note to Android fanboys who will take issue with us writing up another Apple story: the Motorola Xoom should fit inside the G-Form sleeve. … Read more