It may not look all that different from its previous xTablet T8600, but MobileDemand still seems to have found plenty to brag about its new xTablet T8700 rugged tablet PC, which it says offers the “industry’s highest performance” in addition to “superior ruggedness.” That performance is centered around a 1.2GHz Core Duo processor and a standard 2GB of RAM, which certainly isn’t much compared to consumer laptops and tablet PCs, but is pretty uncommon in a rugged tablet of this class, which are usually saddled with a Celeron or the like. On that other, even more important matter (at least for anyone in the market for one of these), you can expect an MIL-STD 810F rating for ruggedness and an IP 65 rating for sealing, which you can see put to the test in video form on MobileDemand’s website. Needless to say, none of this exactly comes cheap, with a hefty $3,795 required to call this one your own.

There’s certainly no shortage of rugged tablet PCs out there, but those still undecided computing options for their next trek through the wilderness now have yet another possibility to consider, with Roper Mobile Technology introducing its new Duros tablet. On the ruggedness front, this one is sealed to IP-65 levels for dust and water protection and tested to MIL STD 810F standards for vibration, shock, high/low temperatures and the inevitable drops. Of course, all that comes with a slight compromise in computing power, with your only processor options being a 1.0GHz Celeron M processor or AMD Geode LX800, along with a max 1GB of RAM. The optional 64GB SSD hard drive is decidedly not low end, however, and neither is the tablet’s connectivity options, including optional GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS and, of course, built-in GPS. No word on a price but, like most things excessively rugged, that’s probably best kept on a need to know basis.

[Via I4U News]