Ultra-mobile PC specialist TabletKiosk has unveiled the TufTab, a UMPC hardened against the conditions often found in construction work or simply by everyday users who regularly travel with the handheld. The rubberized case is resistant to dust, rain, and vibration and includes a fingerprint reader for security-conscious owners.

A single model will be available, the company says. The v7112XT will emphasize longevity with a 1.2GHz ultra-low voltage Via C7 processor and 1GB of RAM to reduce disk access. A 40GB hard drive and 802.11g Wi-Fi are also built-in. TabletKiosk hopes to ship in mid-April at a base $1,699 price with Windows XP. Choosing openSUSE Linux, a relatively rare option for UMPCs, drops the price by $75.