Verizon's Casio-sourced G'zOne Type-S ruggedized clamshell is now available in black and silver, a color combo seemingly befitting the phone's sporty image. This particular version happens to be among the G'zOnes that support push-to-talk, too, so if you can overlook the VGA cam or you just really need a phone that can tolerate absolutely every shred of abuse you can throw at it, well, here you go. Grab it now for a shade under $80 on contract after rebates.

[Thanks, Brian A.]

In what appears to be homage to old school iDEN cellphones everywhere, Samsung looks to be preparing its latest phone for Orange, a rugged little beast appropriately named "Solid." The important details are a little sparse at the moment, but we hear the device will sport a VGA camera and by the looks of the keypad, it will also have a speakerphone. If it's real -- and frankly, we have no good reason to suspect otherwise -- it should hit Orange come December.

Last we heard from Psion Teklogix, it was busy cranking out a handheld workhorse for those rough days in the field, but now the outfit is celebrating its 40th year in the biz by offering up the iKon. This PDA / smartphone features a 3.7-inch VGA display, an integrated camera, built-in GPS, GSM / GPRS / UMTS connectivity options, Bluetooth, WiFi, a barcode scanner and your choice of Windows Mobile 6 Classic / Professional or CE.net 5. Furthermore, this tough guy can withstand falls from five feet to polished concrete, and it'll also hold its own when faced with sandstorms and downpours. Sadly, Psion Teklogix isn't fessing up to what the iKon will cost, but you can certainly contact the firm directly when it goes on sale this December should you be interested.

It's been a tick since Motorola / Symbol's MC70 saw a notable refresh, but today Moto is announcing that the newest version of its rugged Enterprise Digital Assistant (EDA) will boast GPS capability. The firm claims that this addition will allow organizations with field-based employees to "track and manage dynamic, real-time tasking, as well as verify specific locations of activities and provide mobile workers with pinpoint navigation support to improve location-based productivity." Additionally, the device will still include barcode data and signature capture, WWAN, 802.11a/b/g and Bluetooth, and should be available for sale worldwide in Q1 of 2008.

Unlike the iPhone, some handsets will pack it in when they hit the curb or floor from waist height (sorry, we just couldn't resist). Sony's "Liquid Cushion" patent application works by placing your device in a sealed chamber within a second perforated chamber filled with fluid, surrounded by the outer housing. Drop the handset, and the liquid will squeeze out of the perforated chamber and absorb some of the impact. Clever idea, but we're thinking if people are worrying about battery replacement now, just wait til you have to deal with anti-shock goo.

[Via textually.org]

It seems anticipation is running pretty high for this one, so we thought it was in everyone's best interest to rush out additional deets just as quickly as they fell into our hands. We hear now that the G'zOne Type-S will lack VCAST; not necessarily a big deal for a large portion of its target demo, but more devastatingly, it lacks EV-DO data entirely. Rumors also now point to a lack of expandable memory, rendering any on-board media support of rather limited use in our books. On the plus side, though, it appears VZ Navigator is in the cards, as is Bluetooth and a healthy 2 megapixel cam. But why, Casio, hast thou forsaken us speedy data? Heck, "Type-S" even sounds fast.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Update: It seems the camera may be nothing more than a pedestrian VGA unit, despite a tip that we'd be seeing a full 2 megapixels. Eh, whatever. At least it's waterproof, right? [Thanks, everyone]

We've seen concept phones galore over the years, but a recent prototype spotted at the If Design Awards at this year's CeBIT convention piqued our interest a bit more than usual. Purportedly envisioned by Teague, the sure-to-be-renamed "Data Center Communications Vision of the Future Server" for HP looks to be a Pocket PC / rugged handheld hybrid with a slideout QWERTY keyboard, oversized touchscreen display, and quite a chunky motif. Of course, we doubt this will turn out to be your average PDA / phone, as it reportedly boasts "integrated hardware / software mobile technology to allow IT personnel to monitor data center equipment, diagnose and track problems, and perform system services" as well. Essentially, this presumably beastly device is intended to interface with HP servers and data centers rather than catering to the typical style-conscious consumer, as it even touts RFID / Bluetooth connectivity options to assist administrators in resolving outstanding issues sans wires. As with most products still stuck in the Photoshop stage, there's no word on whether this thing will actually hit the market, nor if it'll show up primarily through enterprise channels if it makes it that far, but it looks like the diagnostic handheld market is just starting to get interesting nonetheless.

Owners of Casio's G'zOne series of ruggedized handsets seem to be, by and large, pretty enthralled with their performance. Pretty, they're not -- but when it comes to cellphones you can toss in the pool without turning them into paperweights, beggars can't be choosers. It turns out that the original model released on Verizon probably won't be the last, either, with a picture surfacing of a new model being referred to as the "Type S." Besides seemingly improving by leaps and bounds in the looks department, the Type S should add Bluetooth and expandable memory (in the battery compartment to maintain water resistance), bringing some media capabilities to an otherwise all-work-and-no-play clamshell. No word on a release, but something tells us the G'zOnes out in the field should have no problem lasting long enough for this one to come out.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Ultra rugged or delicate, glossy white -- that is the question. Verizon has gone ahead and launched a couple of its more hotly anticipated handsets this week, the over-engineered G'zOne Type-V clamshell from Casio and the white variant of the LG VX8500 Chocolate slider. While neither phone is going to go easy on the wallet, the G'zOne is the budget buster of the two with a hefty $300 price tag (and not a rebate in sight, mind you). Then again, with water resistance top center on the list of the Casio's features, the phone might just pay for itself the first time it makes it through the wash.

[Thanks, reemusk]

At this point, it seems like Nokia has the procedure for relaunching aging S60 handsets down to a science: bundle them with some new goodies, maybe offer some new colors, and tack "______ Edition" onto the end of the model number. In this case, the lucky victim is the not-so-old, ruggedized 5500, which has undergone a magical metamorphosis of marketing to become the 5500 Sport Music Edition. Other than a bundled half gig of microSD (for, you know, music), a new carrying strap, and an "energetic new color," the Sport Music Edition looks to be a dead ringer for its predecessor -- and like the original, we don't expect to see it on these shores any time soon. Europeans, however, should be able to find these things on store shelves already for something in the neighborhood of €350 (about $450).

[Via Camera Phones Plaza]

She may not be pretty or pocketable (and "invincible" might be going a bit far), but unlike your typical consumer-grade Windows Mobile device, Symbol's beefy MC70 is probably going to handle the occasional drop, dunk, toss, or burn. The quad-band GSM / EDGE handheld comes equipped with your choice of Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Premium or Phone Edition, 802.11a / b / g plus "comprehensive VoIP support," Class II Bluetooth 1.2, and -- being that this is a Symbol device and all -- the obligatory barcode scanner, all sitting atop a crazy fast 624MHz PXA270. Of course, we're suspecting everything-proof smartphoning doesn't come cheap, but for the accident prone among us, it does have a certain strange appeal.

[Thanks, Cristian P.]

If push-to-talk isn't too sissy for you now that those Cingular kids can do it, Motorola is prepping a rugged version of their i870 iDEN phone, the i580. The phone has the same WiDEN connectivity, PTT (of course), Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel camera, and dual displays of the i870, though the external display on the i580 is a smaller grayscale one. The phone does lose the external MP3 controls, though it can still play your tunes off of the internal microSD slot. Of course, the main addition is the rubberized shell and military grade resistance to rain, dust, shock, and vibration that the new handset includes. The i580 should be available in Q2 of this year for an undetermined price.

[Thanks, Allen]