PDA's Sturdy Enough for the Rugged Outdoors?

Phunction asks: "So what is available in the sturdy outdoor/industrial handheld market? I currently develop software for Casio's line of outdoor handhelds only slightly larger than regular, but they can't handle cold weather very well, below 0 celcius, and the screens are not to good in outdoor light. And I only know of one other manufacturer, At Work Computers, but they are almost 3 times the size of a regular pda. The OS is really not a concern, however the hardware should be water proof, handle low tempratures and have a good reflective screen that works well in direct sunlight (like the iPaq)."

here's what I've seen

[squeegee-me]

I dropped my Palm V several times and had no trouble with it surviving, but once I dropped it on cement at a ski lodge getting my lift ticket. The whole screen shatered and I had to pay $100 to get it repaired/exchanged. (I have one of the wallet things for my palm.) I was supprised to find out that Palm does use real, normal glass, and not a shatter resistant, ie pastic or plexiglass, for the screens. Take that for what it's worth, and consider modifying a Palm for your needs.

Also, Panasonic had some rugged p75 laptops a while back that were housed in Titanium I think. I knew a guy who worked for Lucent and said he has dropped the thing close to 20 feet, and no problems. Also, he left it out in the rain overnight with no problems.

Re:here's what I've seen

[autocracy]

Please, let me know where you find a plastic digitizer (the surface you touch when writing that lets the palm know where your stylus is). And please, no laptops in the rain :)

I have the same problem

[Beowulf_Boy]

I have a palm III which I used for school for a time. I wear Khaki pants alot, and I just kept it in the pocket on the side of the leg. After about 2 weeks, it irratically would stop detecting stylus taps, and then it would turn on, and the screen would be all warped, and I would just flick the side, and it would go back to normal.
Strange stuff.

Re:I have the same problem

[coleSLAW]

I had some issues with my screen as well. What usually happens is the cable that connects the screen to the mainboard has a poor contact. What I did was open up the back of my Palm III, and take out the cable. Then, I used contact cleaner on the terminals and reseated the thing. Put a drop of hot glue to hold the cable and the jack together, and then I reassembled the whole thing. Haven't had any trouble since.

psion!

[Roadmaster]

Go take a look at psion teklogix [psionteklogix.com], they have a large line of industrial handheld computers, some are rugged and impact-resistant, they even have a "freezer" model and ruggedized netpads (which were even featured in slashdot not long ago).

I want it all...

[Chope]

... as I often tell my wife.

You're asking for something that is at best impractical to manufacture, will have a comparitively very small market, and challenges available technology. Even if you could find a device, what about the batteries? (Ask anyone who's taken a camera on a ski trip more than once...)

Next you'll be wanting a frictionless ball bearing.... Sorry, it's not going to happen any time soon, if at all. Time to start compromising on the requirements.

Psion

[sql*kitten]

Try one of the these [psionteklogix.com]. StrongARM processor, 802.11b networking, operates from -30 to 50 degrees Celsius, backlit screen with temperature compensation.

Casio too

[Xunker]

Casio also has the EG-800 [casio.com] running Windows CE (A ruggedized version of the e-1xx), though they're only splashproof and not waterproof (for that you may want the Psion Freezer).

Another option if the OS realy isnt an issue is to get an old tablet PC from Dauphin off eBay. Most of them are waterproof but they're also only low-end 386's with mono displays.

Symbol

[IanO]

You can find some pretty durable stuff at Symbol [symbol.com]. It's mostly commercial stuff but they have Pocket PC and PalmOS models and they're really durable.

Sometimes older is better

[akepa]

I used to work as a wildlife biologist for a few years, and I used a P[-D]A that worked fine under any temperatures and conditions, and never needed a battery change: a notebook with water-resistant paper stored in a plastic bag, and a lead pencil. It never let me down.

More tough PDAs

[jageryager]

Panasonic has the toughbook 01 [panasonic.com], running wince 3.0

Intermec has the Model 70 [home.intermec.com] Pocket PC.

I believe I saw a somewhat industrialized iPaq recently, but I can't find it now. Probably not announced yet.