Is there a wider need for an industrial spec, hard cased, scratch and bump resistant iPad and iPhone? (one that is more robust to outdoors and an engineering environment.

Question

Is there a wider need for an industrial spec, hard cased, scratch and bump resistant iPad and iPhone? (ones that are more robust in the outdoors and an engineering environment.) With the acceptance of app based problem solving in industry, the only obstacle to purchasing apple products seems to be their emphasis on providing an asthetic product that looks cool. Industry however, needs something that is harder wearing, splashproof/showerproof, work in the cold and dirt and is fully wipeable. If such an apple product existed I believe they would move units.

Answer 1

I use the ipad in a hydrometallurgical plant.  Lots of dust, harsh chemicals, and where equipment come to die.
I've used laptops/ tablet pcs.  All having a very bad problem of sucking in air to cool the computer.  The slight acid mist in the air corrodes the contacts in the computer and they last ~ 4 months. 
I have moved on to using a ipad currently in a glorified zip lock bag from the internet that has been working for the last year.   I haven't dropped it yet so that's great.  Most of my applications are done in a virtualized environment where i connect in to using RDP. 
It works flawlessly.  When the zip lock bag i'm usign gets too scratched up to read easily, I just replace the 10$ bag. 
I do want another case.  I am waiting on the lifeproof case coming out for the ipad2.  Shockproof, dustproof, and waterproof.   Much classier than my zip lock bag solution.
Within my plant, there is 4 ipads.  
they have fit the bill so far.  Only downfall of ipad for our windows enterprise system is the lack of sharepoint browsing natively within the ipad.  I can do it with RDP but come on. . .