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When Panasonic, Fujifilm, and Canon announced rugged cameras this year, it was odd that Casio didn't pop one out, too, given its predilection for shock-resistant products. Well, I guess November isn't too late to join the market, as Wednesday the company added the Exilim EX-G1 to its digital camera lineup.

(Credit: Casio)

The $299 0.8-inch thick, ultracompact 12-megapixel camera can withstand a 7-foot drop because of a two-layer construction with a stainless steel outer casing, a resin ring protecting the lens, and a polycarbonate cover on the body side near the shutter. The wrist-strap holder is made of die-cast zinc and that little dial thingy sticking out the side seals and secures the external memory slot door.

Also included are two types of detachable shock-absorbing protectors. There's more, but let's just say the thing is built to take drops and significant abuse as well as dives down to 10 feet for up to an hour and is freezeproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit--all without impacting photo quality or shooting performance.

That said, the camera's regular features are less impressive, especially the internal 3x f3.9-5.4 38-114mm lens. There are plenty of Best Shot scene modes including Casio's chroma key Dynamic Photo mode. However, none of the high-speed shooting modes are available since it uses a CCD sensor and not the high-speed CMOS; the features are a logical fit for a rugged camera, though. For active shooters it does have Casio's Multi Motion option allowing you to take a series of shots and put them in one photo and interval shooting. Movies record at a wide-screen standard-def resolution of 848x480 at 30fps or 640x480 if you prefer a 4:3 aspect ratio, so no HD movies, either.

Of course, most of the camera's cost goes to its build quality, which allows you to take photos and video where you haven't been able to before or were simply afraid to use a regular camera. The G1 is pretty cool looking and incredibly small, too, and I'm confident it'll live up to--and probably beyond--Casio's durability claims. And, well, it's nice to have one more rugged camera option particularly from a company that knows how to do shockproof/waterproof devices.

Casio Exilim EX-G1 photos

The ATC3K is both shock-proof and waterproof.

(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)

The Oregon Scientific ATC3K Action Camera is a bit like the Jeep Wrangler of digital camcorders. On paper, the bare-bones digicam is only capable of capturing VGA video. In a civilized world filled with pocket HD camcorders, that's not a particularly impressive feat.

However, take the ATC3K into the rough and tumble great outdoors and you'll find that its rugged construction, waterproof design, and compact size allow it to be used in conditions that would instantly void the warranty of more complex and delicate pocket cameras.

Upping the feature set while maintaining its rough and tumble nature is the ATC5K, which adds a full-color LCD viewfinder, an IR remote, and the ability to capture still photos.

The ATC5K adds more features, including a full-color LCD.

(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)

The Oregon Scientific Action Cameras aren't as compact as our current favorite, the GoPro Hero Motorsports Wide, and don't have as broad of a selection of mounting options. But the Action Cameras are slightly easier to use--particularly the ATC5K with its color LCD.

Check out the full reviews of the ATC3K and ATC5K Action Cameras.

Worried about germs populating your peripherals? You may dream of giving them a nice bath now and then.

Go ahead, with the MW-2800 washable optical mouse from Cherry, a ZF Electronics brand.

Cherry's MW-2800 optical washable mouse

(Credit: Cherry)

The mouse is targeted at hospitals, clinics, schools, manufacturing lines, and other venues where many people tend to share workstations.

The MW-2800 is not the first washable mouse. Two years ago, Belkin introduced its F5L007 mouse with the scroll wheel replaced by a touch area that allows both vertical and horizontal scrolling.

On Cherry's new MW-2800, scrolling is done with sealed scroll-lock buttons. It's supposed to be submersible, whereas Belkin recommends cleaning its mouse with soap under a running faucet.

Another submersible mouse is the Waterproof USB Mouse from USB Geek, which retails at $17 compared with Cherry's $43 mouse. The one from USB Geek is heavier and has an optical tracking of only 800 dots per inch, vs. 1,200dpi for Cherry.

Even cheaper is the mouse from Belkin that retails at prices from $15 and also offers 1,200dpi.

The MW-2800 is available in black and light blue, and complements Cherry's washable J84-2800 keyboard, which is also submersible and sealed in a silicone rubber housing.

(Credit: Pentax)

There's been an explosion of waterproof and rugged cameras and camcorders this year, and Wednesday Pentax added one more to the list (though it's been making them since 2003). The Optio W80 is a water/dust/shock/freezeproof 12-megapixel camera with a 2.5-inch LCD selling for less than $300.

The W80 can apparently survive an impressive dunk: down to 16 feet for up to two hours. It'll also take a decent fall of up to 3.3 feet and keep working in temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

On top of its "proofing," the W80 has fairly good camera specs, too. The internal lens has a zoom range of 5x and is wide angle, too, at 28mm. It records 720p, HD-quality video at 30fps. It also has the expected convenience features such as face, smile, and blink detection; auto scene recognition; and a bunch of other automatic shooting options.

About the only thing missing is optical image stabilization; the W80 only has Pentax's digital Pixel Track SR, which though it's good, still degrades photo quality.

The Haier HLT71 7-Inch LCD TV is currently the bestselling TV on Amazon.

(Credit: Haier)

As most people are by now aware, on June 12, full-power broadcast TV stations in the U.S. will stop broadcasting their analog TV signals and will only broadcast TV signals digitally. Obviously, that impacts people who have older TVs and still use antennas to get a TV signal at home. But what's not talked about as much is the thousands of portable TVs that will stop receiving signals once analog signal disappears for good. For those who rely on such sets to tune into sporting events, such as the NBA Finals, the analog switch-off requires immediate action.

It's no wonder, then, that the top two bestselling TVs on Amazon are portable TVs with digital tuners. The Haier HLT71 7-Inch Portable LCD TV sells for $105.99, while the Axion AXN-8701 7-Inch Widescreen Portable Handheld TV is $119.99. Coby's 8-inch TF-TV891 Widescreen LCD TV isn't as popular, partially because of its higher $159.98 price tag, but it still sits in the top 15.

So far we really haven't seen any digital portable TVs from tier-one manufacturers, which explains why all the top-selling portable TVs are from budget brands. We're still waiting for Sony's waterproof Bravia XDV-W600 to show up. (The 4-incher turned up in blogs late last year, but hasn't been heard from since.)

Anybody looking for a new portable TV? (Let's hope that all the old ones don't end up in landfills.) As always, feel free to comment.

The waterproof Sony XDV-W600 may be the future of portable TVs--but we're still waiting for it.

(Credit: Sony)

Sounds like the future...

(Credit: ChinaVasion)

While all those pale suckers are indoors playing around with their videogames, you could be enjoying the summer heat, lounging in a pool and aquadancing to your favorite jams with Elima, a Bluetooth speaker designed to make your summer days even brighter.

This little orb packs in a pair of 2-watt speakers on both sides, providing you with stereo sound while it floats around in your pool. You can connect any Bluetooth device with A2DP/AVRCP and stream music from up to 30 feet away. If a call comes in while you're lounging, the Elima will automatically pause your track and pick up the call through the speakers, and all the controls you need to change tracks and lower/raise the volume are seated directly on top of the circle.

Get one now for $40 and don't forget to show off your golden tan to your milky roommates as you walk in the door.

More pics after the jump.

Waterproof Bluetooth speakers - check out these kooky promo pictures

It's always nice when a company is willing to put up its products against its marketing claims. In this case, the strengths of Olympus' Tough series of digital cameras.

Earlier in 2009, Olympus stopped designating its series of shock- and waterproof cameras with a mere SW and started calling them Tough, since the cameras were also dustproof, crushproof, and freezeproof. To prove just how much punishment they can take, it turned over a bunch of Tough-series cameras to some kids and let them have at 'em in a series of tests, which Olympus made videos of and posted to YouTube.

The "best of" video is above while the nine individual trials--including Tricycleproof and Icecreamproof--are after the break.

If money's tight, but you don't want to miss out on spring photo opportunities, Pentax is offering up some instant savings on three of its compact cameras and its entry-level digital SLR.

Starting Friday through April 11, the company is knocking $20 off the prices of its basic compact, the Optio E70, and its lightweight ultracompact Optio P70, as well as the waterproof Optio W60. Or if you want more than a point-and-shoot, the K2000 dSLR kit with DA L 18-55mm lens and AF200FG flash has a $50 instant rebate, bringing the price down below $550.

I recently reviewed both the E70 and P70, which are $119.95 and $179.95 after rebate, respectively. They are solid cameras, though certainly not perfect. The E70 is definitely geared toward beginners or anyone wanting a very simple but still attractive compact camera. The P70 has a lot more features than the E70, including a 28mm wide-angle lens with a 4x zoom, and is a fun camera to slip in a handbag or back pocket before heading out.

However, neither are particularly fast performers. And if you need really sharp photos in low-light conditions, well, you probably shouldn't be shopping for a compact camera at these prices. Photo quality for both of these under bright light/outdoors (up to ISO 200 or ISO 400) is very good for the price, however.

Read the full reviews of the Pentax Optio P70 and the Optio E70.

The SwiMP3 player is a waterproof MP3 player with 256MB internal memory. That's approximately 60 songs, and the player has a 10-hour lithium ion battery. The device charges via USB and can be synced with both Windows (98SE, 2000, ME, XP, Vista) and Mac-based PCs (OS 9, OS X, or higher), and it even works with iTunes. Supported audio formats include MP3 and WMA files. Here's a full list of technical information including iTunes and Windows Media setup.

(Credit: FINIS)

According to FINIS, the SwiMP3 "attaches easily to any swim goggle or snorkeling mask. For audio playback it relies on bone conduction of sound. When the device is placed on any bones of the skull (the cheekbones or the mastoid tip), it leads to vibration of the fluid in the inner ear. Thus swimmers can enjoy clarity of sound with the SwiMP3 device that was never before possible. Bone conduction is a safe, well-established hearing mechanism in humans that the SwiMP3 player leverages to enhance aquatic activity. FINIS' application of the technology brings an entirely new level of experience to swimmers of all abilities."

To be able to listen to the Jaws theme or any music underwater would be pretty cool. But at $149.99, I think they may take a bite out of you before you get wet.