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Weatherproof Digital Toys?
Scott Anguish asks: "I've been trying to find gear designed for the consumer market that is able to withstand exposure to water, dirt, etc. Kodak's DC5000 Digital Camera is a nice enough unit, but still misses the mark on price ($699) and performance (2 Megapixels, no irDA). Cell phone wise: Ericsson had talked about releasing their R250d model in the U.S., but that seems to have been a no show. Their new R310s looks promising, but seems only to be available overseas. Are there any other options for use in the U.S.? (most cell providers don't seem to know much beyond the cheap phones, or the 'stylish' phones). And what of a PDA? I want something that can be tossed in pack with my eTrex GPS and not worry about the conditions. What are the options out there?"
If you look on PalmGear you can find a variety of rugged Palm PDA cases, including titanium ones from RhinoSkin and neoprene ones from other companies. I've seen hard plastic ones that look like they'd be excellent for canoe trips as well, but they're not listed there.
However, if I might be presumptuous, might I suggest that you leave all that digital junk behind (except the camera) when you're going into the woods? I find losing the distractions of home (computers, telephones, schedules, etc) an essential part of the experience, whether it's a 2 hour mountain bike or a 2 week canoe trip.
The next Cmdr Taco duplicate will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
... but for the most part, a ziplock bag could help a lot. you can hear through the plastic pretty well (for a phone), but i'm not sure how you would sound to the other person. ;)
Granted, that's not the "geek way", but I did this for a palm when mountain biking and it kept it clean/dry for my purposes.
In 1996, I used Canon's original digital camera, an Apple Newton 120 and a standard Motorola flip-phone. All survived many months of rugged backpacking without flaw or problem. (I used lots of other electronics, all of which failed miserably.) But this stuff rocked.
Sounds to me like you found your answers, but you either don't have the money or you resent having to pay more for ruggedized cases, wider operating temperature ranges, etc.
Sure, you can get plenty of 2.1 megapixel cameras for $400 or so, but you wouldn't want to take them out on a rainy day, much less swim with them. $700 for submersible sounds fair, seeing as it's the price of a lot of plastic-cased 3-megapixel models that I'd be afraid to take outdoors at all, like the Nikon 880.
Check with some of the big specialty shops like B+H Photo and see if they carry aftermarket waterproof enclosures for other models. They might.
Weatherproofing and waterproofing electronic equipment is expensive. It adds thickness and weight, and makes every switch and dial a design challenge.
The GSM phone Siemens M35i is advertized as splash-water resistant. But I am not sure wether it can be used within USA.
...has a ruggedized Organizer originating from the famous Series3 (I guess): water-, dust- and drop-proof - maybe a bit above your price range (http://www.enterprise.psion.com/public/products/w orkaboutmx.htm) but with complete com solution (http://www.enterprise.psion.com/public/products/v comm.htm)
Supposedly the Nokia 6250 is semi-immersible. http://www.nokia.com/phones/6250/ You can dunk it briefly, so it'd probably stand up to rain and perspiration.
There's also several places that make waterproof bags for electronics (search for "waterproof cell phone"), or even hard-core things like this: http://www.yachtsee.com/floatingcellphonecase.htm
Also, Garmin was supposedly making a marine version of this GPS/Cell phone uber-toy: http://www.garmin.com/products/navTalk/ Then you'd only have to have the one thing.
for the most part, a ziplock bag could help a lot
When I go hiking or riding, I drop my StarTac in a (clean) sock and then put that in a small sealed baggie. My reasoning being that it adds 1) a small amount of crash-proof padding and 2) if some water does get in I'd rather see the sock soak it up and distribute it than have the phone lying naked in the accumulated water in the bag. I've done this in horrible weather for a couple of years and my phones have not suffered. The best part is that 98% of my time (when I'm out of the bush), I don't have to carry a big goofy yellow "sport" phone around with me in the city or for business.
This is probably similar in other cities, but here in rainy Vancouver the bicycle couriers wear all manner of phones and wireless gadgets and they simply wrap them fresh daily in bags or plastic sandwich wrap and seal it with a strip of duct tape or rubber bands. This seems to work for 8+ hour shifts in really crappy weather.
The term of art you want is 'ruggedized'. Enter this into search engines along with the type of equipment you're looking for to find leads. Be warned, however: it won't be cheap, and it won't be state-of-the-art. Manufacturers of ruggedized gear are usually a generation behind, and, depending on the degree of ruggedization, can raise the cost by a factor of 2 or more.
"If I have seen further than other men, it is by stepping on their glasses." - Michael Swaine
I've been playing around with a very cool PDA case from AquaPac. (http://www.aquapac.net)
It is a tough flexible plastic "bag" that holds a Palm PDA, has an external pocket for a stylus, and a nifty rope to hang around your neck. They claim it is waterproof to 10m depth.
The case is designed to be flexible enough to use your PDA right through the case. I've had no trouble at all - even grafitti works well.
They also make some cases for cell phones and other devices, but I haven't tried them out.
- RadVen