Olympus' tough-as-nails Stylus 1050 SW updates the 1030 SW with a tap-control feature that makes it easy to take pictures in extreme environments. While the specs are nearly identical to the 1030—10.1MP, 1.5 metre shockproof, 3 metres waterproof, -10°C freezeproof—the 1050 uses an accelerometer to allow button-free control. Tapping the top, back or sides of the camera cycle through different options, so you can make adjustments to your pictures even if you're wearing gloves. It'll be out in October, and for US$300, I'd tap that. The Stylus 1040, one of the best looking Olympus point-and-shoots we've seen, down below.

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Popular Mechanics has a great DIY feature, showing you how to build a waterproof video boombox for your iPod. Making use of an iPod touch, some old speakers, an 8" personal video player screen, video cables, gorilla tape and a hard camera case, Anthony Verducci has created a waterproof video case for the iPod that he believes is the first to float.

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I had the perfect backdrop to review this Pentax W60 waterproof camera while vacationing in Hawaii last week. It's 10mp, has a 5x zoom, and does HD level video, but the only reason to buy such a point and shoot is that it's rated to 4 metres of underwater depth for two hours, and is the smallest waterproof camera of its kind. It would prove to be a fortuitous addition to my travel gear, catching some great shots of some of my first surf lessons and some rare aquatic life while other tourists fumbled with crappy disposable film cams.

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The Air Force's Office of Scientific Research has funded a study that's found a novel waterproofing technique that could prevent ice formation and corrosion from damaging parts of an aircraft, like optical sensors. The transparent coating has a nanoporous surface that is superhydrophobic, which makes water droplets form and roll or bounce-off the aircraft's skin rather than collecting, which is how ice formations happen. Better still it can be crafted to send the droplets in particular pathways across the coating, meaning it may also work as a cheap and simple water-collection system for desert environments: this was inspired by the way the Namib Desert beetle gathers moisture. We wonder though... is it as good as Golden Shellback? [AirForceLink]

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Maybe I'm not a slope-wise skier, but when I'm hurtling down a mountain I love to hear wind sounds—not music from my iPod. Other people are different, and this waterproof MP3 player from Lancer certainly fits the "rugged enough for big snowboard crashes" bill. The Laqa3's design is a plain metal tube. And... well, that's it. There's a headphone connector, and presumably controls somewhere, but other than that it's a plain metal tube. You may dig its industrial-look, or not, but it weighs just 25g, has IPX7 waterproofing so it's good for swimming, and comes with IPX7 silicon ear buds. It plays MP3s and WMAs, has an eight-hour lithium battery. It's released July 25th in Japan for about US$185, which is lots considering it's 1GB. [AVWatch]

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I just got to play with a phone that had been waterproofed using the Golden Shellback technology, and it was pretty amazing, not to mention legit. In the video above, Golden Shellback inventor Sid Martin took a Golden Shellbacked BB Pearl, started a call, dropped it in a glass of ice water, and it all worked without a hitch.

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Garmin has just announced a new member of the Nuvi GPS range, the 500 series. In a first for Nuvi, the rugged, waterproof 500 units are specifically designed to be multipurpose, with maps for driving, walking, cycling and boating built in. For out-doorsy types, there's a shaded digital elevation map option, and a dedicated compass page and tracklog. Plus the battery is a swappable 8-hour Li-ion type, so you can carry a spare for extended trips away from a power source. The 500 comes with City Navigator, and topographic maps of the US, while the 550 has highway coverage of the US and Canada, but no topographic data. The units are on show at the British International Motor show in London form today, and go on sale soon in the US for US$499. Press release below.

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Golden Shellback is a coating that lets you spill, pour, or submerge your gadget in a liquid and have it survive. Golden Shellback says it will protect against oils, water-based liquids, synthetic fluids, dust and dirt. Tekzilla's Patrick Norton shot a segment on Golden Shellback and has footage of mobile phones and CB radios functioning normally under a foot of water (Golden Shellback claimed the CB sat underwater for 455 consecutive hours).

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The 57-inch Aquavision is a definitely a big waterproof television, but it falls well short of the 70-inch beast that MarineAV is packin'. Outside of its size and rugged exterior, the LCD70 also features full 1080p resolution, a 1,500:1 contrast ratio, 600cd/m2 brightness, 8ms response time, 178 degree viewing angle, and AV, S-Video, Component, HDMI, PC (VGA) inputs. Not bad...until you see the £27,995.95 ($58,000) price tag that is. [MarineAV via HDTV UK via Born Rich]

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This concept from designer Kong Fanwen lies somewhere between minimalist Apple keyboards, and projecting laser touch ones. The No-Key is very simple: just a light source, a camera and an etched sheet of glass, showing the key positions. You just type, the cam sees your contact with the glass and sends appropriate commands to your PC. It really is the antithesis of the clunky, complex steampunked one we showed the other day. And one image suggests it'd be waterproof, so... blogging from the bath? I want one please! [Yanko Design]

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