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As usual, when it comes to getting new computing machines, our friends from Japan are again ahead of all of us. Our Japanese buddies will have the chance to be the first one to get hold, feel and test the spanking new and ruggedly handsome NEC tablet PC, which is appropriately branded as the ShieldPro FC-N22A. From its name alone, you can immediately deduce that this machine was built for the purpose of sustaining the most severe environmental conditions. True enough, the ShieldPro tablet PC can withstand temperature range of -4 F to 122 F, can sustain falling up to about 35-inches without breaking apart, is dust proof and complies to IP55 requirement for being water proof.

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LaCie has upgraded its most popular product - the all-terrain Rugged Hard Disk with some 500GB of storage goodness. If you will recall, this external hard drive was recently upgraded to 320GB, but it seems LaCie will not stop upgrading its capacity until they hopefully pack in one terabyte or more.

But for now, you will have to be satisfied with 500GB of storage. If you’re not so much into photography and music, 500GB is already a lot, and possibly more than you would need. With 500GB you can store around 710 movies, 135,000 songs or 550,000 photos. And with the hard disk’s scratch-resistant aluminum shell as well as its shock resistant rubber bumper, you are assured that your data files are secured from everyday bumps, bruises and hard knocks. This ruggedized data storage package is available with USB 2.0, Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 versions and was designed to interface smoothly with any computer.

The 500GB LaCie Rugged Hard Disk is now available and retails for $299.

Read [LaCie]

Panasonic has upgraded its Toughbook 19 rugged convertible tablet PC, and they have upgraded it big time. If the previously release of the Panasonic Toughbook 19 was all about durability and defying severe physical conditions, the new Toughbook 19 is more about power and processing capability.

The new Panasonic Toughbook 19 now features a Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive. Panasonic even poured in an anti-glare, anti-reflective sunlight viewable display, a backlit keyboard, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity, mobile broadband-ready (WWAN), GPS and a 2-megapixel webcam. In short, after releasing a sub-performing Toughbook 19, Panasonic is now offering the real deal, which comes in a 5.1-pound package.

Now with all those upgrades comes the biggest upgrade of all, the Panasonic Toughbook 19’s price tag shoots up to an estimated price of $3,199.

Read [Panasonic] Via [Engadget]

The latest UMPC release coming from CeBIT is the Panasonic Toughbook. Little details have been released about this Atom-based device, however we do know that it features a 5.6-inch touch screen, a QWERTY keyboard and will be running Windows Vista. The Panasonic Toughbook is not your typical UMPC, but instead has a hardedned case that is water, dust and shock resistant. It is also aimed more at the professional market as opposed to the general consumer. The Toughbook is expected to be released during the Autumn of 2008.

Via [PC Watch Japan]

These rugged designed products always seem to have a military style to them, and the latest from Dell is not any different. The Latitude XFR D630 marks Dell’s first venture into the rugged laptop market and is intended for government and commercial users. The XFR D630 features a 14.1-inch display that is outdoor readable at 500 nits and is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processors. They also have shock isolated mounting to protect hard drive along with a sealed keyboard to prevent rain and dust (and crumbs) from sticking the keys. The XFR D630, of course also meets the military standard (MIL-STD 810F) specs, which means it can withstand extreme hot or cold temperatures, moisture and altitude. The Latitude XFR D630 is currently available and retails for $3,899.

Read [Dell]