Originally posted by LaurenOE Ricoh has zero "rugged" history in cameras.
My guess?
All GXR and Ricoh camera projects are dead.
Quite the contrary, the only two product lines where the Pentax and Ricoh merger overlaps is the Optio/CX compacts and the WG/PX(previously G700) shock/waterproof models so both of these would have to be consolidated.
It seems from this article that it's the WG and Optio lines which will merge into the Ricoh CX and PX. And everything else will remain the same, Pentax = the three ILCs: Q, DSLR and MF. Ricoh = compacts and niche, including the GRD and GXR.
I'm assuming they'll combine the names as well as the tech, eg the Ricoh Optio CX7 and Ricoh WG3 and so on. Ricoh actually tried to build their own 'Caplio' name for compacts (eg Ricoh Caplio R7), copying the Optio name judging by the similarity.