interesting ruggedized QRP transceiver

 I've been shopping around for a waterproof (with an actual rating, and a test lab that will admit to having ever heard of them) shortwave / HF + broadcast (more bands would be nice, those are minimum) receiver.

 I haven't found one yet, but I did find this intriguing item:

https://swling.com/blog/2019/06/the-lab599-discovery-tx-500-ruggedized-portable-qrp-transceiver/

 The manufacturer's web page is here: https://lab599.com/

HRO's page is here: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-017255

 Some observations: 

• target price was announced as $700, HRO is listing them at $790 "after discounts & promotions".  Not available yet, HRO says units are expected "mid-September 2020". My guess is that they did not plan ahead for the delay and expense of FCC acceptance testing and are passing their costs on to the consumer because they are naive noobs with no startup money and no sense of how to run a business properly... but that's just a guess. ;)
  
• there is no mention of HOW "waterproof" the thing is: IP65? Needs to be tested to a standard, and if they don't state which lab did the testing, or brag about their certification, they are almost certainly lying.
• country of origin is conspicuously missing from all literature
  
• there is no contact information on the mfr's web page - how does the media ask questions?
• brand-new company with no history whatsoever, no info about company on web site - SKETCHY!
  
• the anodizing is described thus: "The case is also covered with a layer of black anodizing substance, to maintain an attractive appearance for a long time, even during extreme operation."  This is useless blather. If I am shelling out nearly $800, I want to know that it's "Type III Hard Coat" of whatever - I want details. Any damn fool knows that it's anodized if it has a colored coating and it's  made out of aluminum.  If they want to impress people who are shopping for ruggedized radios, this is the kind of detail that shoppers like me are looking for.  Hell, even FLASHLIGHT buyers care about the quailty of the anodizing! They didn't do much market research.
  
• the web page doesn't render properly in Firefox so I can't actually read half of the specifications.  Note that web sites which are browser-specific, or which haven't been tested with most of the common browsers in the wild, suggests an unprofessional operation
  

I'll be keeping my eye open for reviews, tests, and updates to the product website, but for now it's just an expensive and pretty toy for rich people who can afford to gamble on high-risk purchases.