Aaeon has launched a rugged tablet computer range for those that require lots of water and dust proofing.

We expect that it is the sort of gear for those who dream of using their tablet PC in the bath, but is also able to handle being dropped too. The first RTC product is called the RTC-840, which features an 8.4in TFT LCD display. The RTC-840 supports the Intel Core 2 Duo ULV 1.2GHz processor with 200-pin DDR II 533/667 SODIMM socket with up to 2GB system memory.

It is powered by the ULV processor, which is claimed to deliver high performance and low power consumption. The optional touch screen is controlled by an Intel 945GME LCD/CRT controller and the nine-cell smart lithium-ion high-capacity battery offers 6.5 hours battery life and the backlight MTBF is 20,000 hours.  This is enough to make sure you get very wrinkly while in the bath and can see even if the power is turned off.

The RTC-840 encased in touch magnesium alloy which can  be mounted on moving vehicles such as trucks, ships and aeroplanes.
It features built-in handwriting recognition, a numeric keypad and programmable function keys. The RTC-840 offers a communication function that supports one Gigabit Ethernet, one 56kbps V.92/K56 flex modem, WLAN IEEE 802.11 a/g and optional Bluetooth Class 2.

The RTC-840 adopts flexible I/O interfaces and expansion slots designed to provide users with cost-saving solutions to expand existing systems. It features one COM port, two USB 2.0 ports, one mini-USB, one docking port, two audio-in/out jacks for microphone/earphone, one PCMCIA slot, one Compactflash slot, and two internal mini card slots. The RTC-840 weighs 2.15kg.