Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Top Rugged Cell Phones

So, right now everyone is into the smartphones with their big, glass touch screens, but we all know that smartphones just aren’t that durable. I have seen plenty of cracked iPhone and Droid touch screens. Haven’t you? Have you ever dropped your phone in the sink, the pool, or possibly even the toilet? I have dropped my different phones in all three!

Have any of you that have had phone problems or that work in high risk situations for phones ever thought about getting a rugged phone that would be able to handle quite a bit more than any smartphone or feature phone? If you work in a rough environment, are an outdoorsy kind of person, or simply are just accident prone, then you might want to check out some of these top-of-the-line rugged cell phones.

AT&T

Motorola Tundra VA76r
$179.99

Pros: The Tundra is rugged without giving up all elements of style. No, it’s not chic, but it features fantastic reception, top-notch keypad, web use, GPS options, and AT&T’s push-to-talk.

Cons: It’s rather large for a flip phone, has an external antenna, and features a pretty poor quality camera.

Samsung Rugby II SGH-A847
$119.99

Pros: The Rugby II is firmly constructed with excellent voice quality and a fantastic speakerphone.

Cons: The earpiece could definitely be much louder and there is too much bloatware.

Sprint

Motorola Brute i686
$119.99

Pros: The Brute features great voice quality and a fantastic speakerphone. It also comes with Sprint’s push-to-talk ability.

Cons: The Brute is a very rugged phone, but it feels like it could use a little updating. It looks and feels a little older than some of the others. The phone also has poor Web and video features.

Sanyo Taho
$99.99

Pros: The Taho features a super extra-rugged design that allows the phone to be run over by a car several times. It also features a very loud speakerphone.

Cons: The issue with this phone is that it has poor reception and to many people’s dismay, the Taho doesn’t feature push-to-talk.

T-Mobile

Motorola Defy
$99.99

Pros: The Defy from Motorola is the very first rugged smartphone to hit the market. The phone is waterproof and has a fantastic speakerphone.

Cons: Now there are definitely some issues with the Defy. The Motoblur does make the OS a bit sluggish at times. It also doesn’t have a hotspot mode or HSPA+.

Verizon Wireless

Casio G’zOne Ravine
$149.99

Pros: The Ravine is an extremely rugged phone that is nearly indestructible. It features good call quality, a long battery life, and great outdoorsy apps that can be downloaded.

Cons: The only big issue with this phone is that it has a very dated music player, but if that doesn’t matter to you, then this is a good rugged phone to consider.

Casio G’zOne Brigade
$99.99

Pros: The Brigade is built like a small tank. It has a good battery life, Verizon’s push-to-talk service, and a fantastic QWERTY keyboard.

Cons: The problem with the Brigade is that it can be fairly expensive if you decide to pile on the optional data service. Also, its multimedia performance is poor.

Motorola Barrage V860
$129.99

Pros: The Barrage is a pretty good phone if you’re looking for something rugged. It’s got good call quality, a long battery life, and it is waterproof.

Cons: However, compared to a lot of the phones on this list, it’s not super rugged. It also just has an average video and camera phone.

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