Smartphones can now be found everywhere. Gone are the days
when the prices of smartphone were so high that it made owning one almost
impossible. The advent of open source programs and operating systems like
Google’s Android has made it a reality for smartphones to be affordable to the
masses.
And as time passed by, a more diverse selection of
smartphones, specifically those that run on Android have surfaced. There are
dual-SIM phones, those with TV tuners, and lately those which are water and
shock resistant.
In this post, we’ll talking about those smartphones that
offer the smart functionality of a full-fledged mobile operating system and at
the same time providing users with a device that offer the brute ruggedness and
robustness of other outdoor gear.
SAMSUNG S5690 GALAXY
XCOVER – The Galaxy Xcover is one of two Samsung android phones that offer
IP67 certification. It is dust tight and waterproof up to a depth of 1m for 30
minutes. But just like any other smartphone in the company’s line up, the
Xcover features a moderately capable 800MHz Marvell MG2 processor, 512MB of
RAM, a 3.15MP camera with autofocus and LED flash, FM radio, A-GPS,
accelerometer, proximity sensor and compass.
The screen size is around 3.65 inches with a resolution of
320x480 pixels, which is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. The Xcover runs on
Android 2.3 Gingerbread and was released on October 2011.
SAMSUNG RUGBY SMART
I847 – The Rugby Smart is another rugged android phone from Samsung with an
IP67 certification. Just like the Xcover, the Rugby Smart is dust tight and
waterproof of up to 1m for 30 minutes. It also has MIL-STD-810F certification
which means that it is salt, dust, humidity, rain, vibration, solar radiation,
transport and thermal shock resistant.
The device features a Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
with a resolution of 480x800 pixels. It has a 5MP camera with autofocus and LED
flash, a 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor and Adreno 205 GPU. It has 512MB of RAM,
built in accelerometer, proximity sensor and compass. The Rugby Smart runs on
the latest release of Gingerbread – version 2.3.6 and is distributed by US
carrier AT&T.
MOTOROLA DEFY+ - The
Defy+ is the second generation of Motorola’s Defy series that has IP67
certification. The phone has a 3.7-inch screen with a resolution of 480x854
pixels which is protected by Gorilla glass. The Defy+ is powered by a 1GHz
Cortex A8 processor, PowerVR SGX530 GPU and 512MB of RAM.
The rear camera of the device has a resolution of 5MP with
autofocus, LED flash, geo-tagging and image stabilization. It also has active
noise cancellation features, an FM radio, A-GPS support, accelerometer,
proximity sensor and compass.
PANASONIC ELUGA DL1
– Panasonic may not be that popular for making smartphones in the Philippines,
but they do have a few android phones in their arsenal. The Eluga DL1 which was
released in February is an IP57 certified phone that is waterproof up to 1
meter for 30 minutes. It has an OLED 4.3-inch capacitive display with a
resolution of 540x960 pixels.
The DL1 has an 8MP snapper at the back with autofocus, touch
focus and geo-tagging. It has a dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a TI
OMAP 4430 chipset. And just like the other phones listed here, it has an
accelerometer, proximity sensor and compass.
PANASONIC ELUGA POWER
– If the DL1 still doesn’t satisfy your needs, Panasonic a beefed up version of
the Eluga DL1 – the Eluga Power. The phone runs on Android Ice Cream Sandwich
v4 and is powered by a 1.5GHz dual core Krait processor and has 1GB of RAM. It
has an Adreno 225 GPU and a Qualcomm MSM8270 Snapdragon chipset.
The Eluga power also boasts a bigger 5.0-inch screen with a
resolution of 720x1280 pixels. It’s rear camera (with autofocus, touch focus
and geo-tagging) takes photos at a maximum of 8MP. And just like the DL1 it’s
IP57 certified.
SONY XPERIA GO –
This phone is IP67 certified and features Sony’s Bravia Engine. Although not
Gorilla glass protected, the Xperia Go has a scratch resistant display. It has
a NovaThor U8500 chipset and is powered by a dual-core 1GHz Cortex A9 processor
with 512MB of RAM.
The screen is 3.5 inches and has a resolution of 320x480
pixels. It also has an accelerometer, FM radio, A-GPS support, proximity sensor
and a compass. The Xperia Go has a 5MP rear camera with autofocus, LED flash,
geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection and 3D sweep panorama.
Lastly, the phone runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread but an ICS
update is scheduled in the near future.
SONY XPERIA ACRO S
– The Xperia Acro S is the big brother of the Xperia Go. It has IP57 certification and features the same
scratch resistant screen shatter proof glass and Bravia Engine as the Xperia
Go. It sports a Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon chipset and is powered by a
dual-core 1.5GHz Scorpion processor. Graphics and display-wise, the screen of
the Acro S is a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 720x1280
pixels.
Aside from these features, the Acro S also has an
accelerometer, proximity sensor, compass, A-GPS support with GLONASS and an
Adreno 220 GPU. Its primary camera captures images at 12 megapixels with
autofocus, LED flash, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, touch focus, 3D sweep
panorama and image stabilization.
The Acro S would come with Android v4 Ice cream sandwich as
standard.
SONY XPERIA V – The
Xperia V on the other hand is the sleeker slightly powerful upgrade to the Acro
S. In terms of screen size and resolution, the two are practically identical.
They are also the same when it comes to their CPUs and GPUs.
Connectivity options as well as sensors are also the same on
both phones. And even the operating system version and IP57 certification are
the same. The thin line that separates
the two phones are their dimensions and the camera.
The Acro S has the overall dimensions of 126 x 66 x 11.9 mm
while the Xperia V has dimensions of 129 x 65 x 10.7 mm. The Xperia V is also
lighter at 120g compared to the Acro S at 147g. The former also has a more capable
camera which has a resolution of 13MP.
