Here is good news for those who are searching for a new rugged cell phone. Sonim will launch the new XP1300 Core at the beginning of October this year. The XP1300 Core is IP68 certified, which means it provides complete protection against dust, and can be submerged in water at depths greater than 1 meter. The handset also features a GPRS/EDGE connectivity, Bluetooth, a media player, and a web browser. Word has it that the Sonim XP1300 Core is priced at around $500. Stay tuned for more updates. [UnwiredView]
The Samsung Xcover 271 rugged handset is certified with IP67 rating, which is the highest ever a Samsung phone has received. The phone is shock-, dust- and water resistant that can work even after being submerged in the 1 meter deep water for up to 30 minutes. The phone also features a light torch, 3G support with video calling, a 2-inch display, GPS, Google Maps support, a digital compass, a pedometer, an FM Radio, a built-in loudspeaker, a large keypad, a music player, a 30MB internal memory and a microSD card slot for storage expansion. Its battery provides up to 19-hour of talk time in 2G network or up to 7-hour of talk time in 3G network. Folks in Sweden will be able to purchase the Samsung Xcover 271 in October for about 1,700 Kronor ($241). [SamsungHub]
Motorola UK has recently unveiled their second rugged Android smartphone namely the Motorola Defy. This waterproof and dustproof handset boasts a 3.7-inch 480 x 854 Corning Gorilla Glass display, a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with image stabilization, video recording and LED flash, MotoBlur 1.5, a 512MB RAM, a 2GB ROM, a microSD card slot (up to 32GB), A-GPS, WiFi, Stereo Bluetooth, a 3.5mm headset jack and runs on Android 2.1 OS. The Motorola Defy will go on sale in Europe in the fourth quarter of the year for unannounced price yet. More
Designed by Benjamin Lotte, the LG EXO is claimed to be the world’s first curved cell phone. The smartphone is able to withstand any kind of damage, thanks to its external shell, always kept in pristine conditions. It has a rugged internal exoskeleton, which protects the inner technology. The Exo also features a 1.5GHz Snapdragon CPU, a 5-megapixel wide angle camera, a high capacity Lithium Ion battery and a 3.8-inch flexible OLED display, making the phone even more resilient to shocks and interactions. Sadly, it is only a concept at this time. Find out more pictures after the jump to get more details. More
Samsung’s rugged E2370 a.k.a. Xcover is now available in Sweden. The phone is certified with IP54 rating, which means it can withstand dust, water and drops with ease. This rugged handset also features a 2000mAh battery that provides a standby time of up to 67 days (or 1,600 hours) and talk time of up to 22 hours. Additional specs include an FM radio, a music player, Bluetooth, loudspeaker, a flashlight with a dedicated button, a VGA camera, a 5MB internal memory and a microSD card slot (up to 2GB). [SamsungHub]
AT&T is ready to launch the Samsung Rugby II as a successor to the Samsung Rugby rugged clamshell. The new model features Push to Talk, dual-band HSDPA 7.2 support, a 2.0-megapixel camera with video recorder, Video Share support, Audience noise reduction software, Bluetooth with stereo audio support, a microSD expansion slot (up to 16GB) and a high-volume stereo speakerphone. AT&T’s Samsung Rugby II will be available on June 6th, 2010 for $130 bundled together with a two-year contract after a $50 mail-in rebate. [PhoneNews]
