Marine Electronics
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For those that need waterproof and drop proof computer devices, two products to look at include the IP67 LCD display and the new Toughbook 31. The IP67 LCD display, from American Industrial Systems (AIS), a designer and manufacturer of ruggedized display systems and PC tablets, conforms to the high waterproof and dust proof requirements of the IP67 standard. This gives the new monitor the ability to not only hold up to high pressure water jets, but allows it to keep working in even hurricanes and typhoons. Not only that, it is able to keep on doing its job even when immersed in over a meter of water. Besides being protected from the dust and water, the display is compliant with the Military 810F Environmental Engineering Standards, giving it the strength to stand up to all types of shock and vibrations.
However, probably more important to boaters is its waterproof and sealed touchscreen. Such a screen will free boaters from an everyday boating concern: damaging water-, mud- and dust-sensitive keyboards.
A touchscreen, as a result of requests from customers, is also included as part of Panasonic’s Toughbook 31, a new and tough laptop that was introduced recently on board the USS Intrepid in New York. There, company officials introduced the new Toughbook by dropping it off the flightdeck of the World War II aircraft carrier. As if that wasn’t enough, company executives also tossed the Toughbook onto the floor from the convention podium at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. As expected, both times, the Toughbook, which is certified to MIL-STD-810G shock and vibration standards, kept on booting.
Besides having a sunlight to night viewable 13.1 inch LCD touchscreen, the Toughbook includes a longer lasting and faster charging battery than previous Toughbooks. The 31’s battery is rated to have a battery life up to 11 hours and a charging time that is 47 percent faster than the Toughbook 30. For communications and navigation, the Toughbook features Wi-Fi 802.11 and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as an option for WiMAX and Gobi2000 mobile broadband. Add to this a GPS receiver and an ATI Radeon graphics card, boaters have all they need for one tough GIS system.
The Toughbook 31, which is IP65 rated for dust and water, also features a smartcard and fingerprint reader, giving you the power to securely privatize the over 250 Gigabytes of data that the 31 can store.
Priced from $3799, the magnesium alloy encased computer, weighs in at 7.9 pounds, has 2GB RAM memory and runs on the i5 processor from Intel. That processor has an operating frequency of 2.53GHz with turbo-boost capability up to 3.07 GHz.
