Tough Technology: The Most Rugged Laptops, Phones, Mice, Drives and More

If you imagine that a computer is built tough because it can fall off a desk without breaking, think again. Rugged computers, USB flash drives, mice, phones and other tough tech are designed to comfortably survive unreasonable environments.

By Lisa Nadile
Tue, October 16, 2007

Page 6

Do-It-Yourself Rugged—Otterbox.com

The Good: Otter Products LLC has specialized in making cases for delicate equipment for the past 25 years. The cases are so strong you can stand on them, claims the company.

Named for a certain mammal with waterproof fur, Fort Collins, Colo.-based Otterbox makes cases for everything from tablet or laptop computers, to PDAs, to cigar humidors (a great gift for the executive who has everything). Waterproof headphones are also on the menu if you often find yourself getting caught in the rain when jogging.

More on the Iphone

A Tech Chief Reviews the Apple iPhone

The Ugly: One case study describes a Treo that survived being dropped on a crosswalk and run over by a semi tractor trailer. If you were one of the unfortunate people to pay $699 for an iPhone and have to squeeze that extra $200 out of its life span, for about $50 you can purchase a semirugged case that is water resistant, covers all surfaces and still allows you to use all the buttons and features. A waterproof version is coming soon.

The Bad: Did I mention rugged products aren't all that attractive? However, pretty iPhone versus dead iPhone... hmmm... decisions, decisions.

Lisa Nadile is a Boston-based writer and editor who has dropped, dunked, lost and exploded far more electronics than those wimpy military standards research facilities, albeit unintentionally.

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