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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Apple’s Co-Founder is Buying a Verizon iPhone

Lots of people are extremely excited about the announcement that Verizon Wireless made Tuesday, January 11 about featuring the iPhone at their stores and online. Everyone has been waiting for quite some time for Verizon to finally make this announcement. AT&T’s exclusive iPhone contract made things a little difficult, so there were a lot of things that had to be worked around. Fortunately, the wait is now almost over, and you’re not the only one who is excited about the iPhone from Verizon.

When Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak was questioned about whether he would be getting the Verizon iPhone at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View on Jan. 11 after the announcement was made by Verizon, he responded, “A VeriPhone? Of Course.”

"I'm definitely going to get one," Wozniak said. "I always have at least one Verizon phone on me at all times, just in case I'm in one of those bad areas. You can find those areas where Verizon doesn't work and AT&T does, but in truth, it's usually the opposite."

"And I also love the mobile hotspot," Wozniak added. "I hope it's the standard $30 a month. I wish it was free like the Palm Pre because that made the Pre a cheaper Mi-Fi. Anyway, so I'm expecting that it's no big new iPhone, not even a new color. It's just going to be on the Verizon network."

The Verizon iPhone has been rumored for years, and the rumors have escalated and really started flying around in the past few months. Well, Verizon has finally officially launched the Verizon iPhone. Verizon says that they will offer a CDMA EVDO version of the iPhone 4 as of February 10. Any exsisting Verizon customers will be able to pre-order the smartphone as early as February 3. The 16GB iPhone will cost customers $199 with a two-year contract, and the 32GB iPhone will cost $299 with a two-year contract.

Wozinak went on saying, “I'm actually playing games in my head about which phones I want to keep. I actually want to keep at least one Android phone."

All this talk about the multiple phones that Wozinak has had me wondering exactly how many phones the guy has.

"I came to the conclusion last night that I'll have three activated AT&T iPhones, so if the battery runs down I have a spare," Wozniak said. "And I'm in Europe a lot of times, so maybe one of them will be Verizon, one of them will be AT&T. So I'll have two AT&T, one AT&T with the international plan, and one Verizon if I need it. Although the tethering's only to a computer. Although maybe I can give one number up and give it to Verizon. And I'll keep the Droid X. And I'll probably give up the Palm Pre because I now have another Mi-Fi."

Wozinak also added, though, that data plans are always an issue.

"I have those grandfathered [data] plans," Wozniak added. "I love those grandfathered plans, but you have to watch them [carriers] like a hawk."

I’m so excited that Verizon has finally worked things out so that they can carry the Apple iPhone. We’ve all been waiting for a very long time, but now we finally have an end date to the wait. I think we can all definitely make it until February. Many people suspected that the “event” that Verizon was holding in New York on Januray 11 had to do with the announcement of a Verizon iPhone, and all of those people were correct. I’m glad the cat is finally out of the bag, and everyone can start making their plans concerning Verizon’s iPhone.

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Verizon's New York Event Concerning the "Latest News"

Verizon has invited reporters to an event in New York on January 11 where the company will share what they have dubbed “the latest news.” Everyone is speculating…could this be an announcement about a Verizon version of the iPhone?

The announcement by Verizon really seemed to confuse many of the people that were at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This is probably because Verizon had already made a ton of announcements at the CES. Most of the announcements concerned the release of its high-speed LTE network. This included the introduction of ten of its LTE devices, including the highly-anticipated HTC Thunderbolt.

It’s possible that the event in New York that Verizon is holding, which is being held at the Frederick P. Rose Hall at the Lincoln Center, is simply a recap of everything that they announced at the CES for the reporters who missed the announcements, but who knows?

Based on reports of conversations with a source that is close to the company, it seems as though the announcement will be about a device.

Many people believe that this announcement simply has to be concerning the rumors about the Verizon version of the iPhone. The rumors have been that the smartphone would be released sometime in 2011.

It appears as though Apple has been working overtime recently. The company has reportedly limited the vacation time of lower-level employees and have also kept on their holiday staff. Other reports (that are complete with drawings) are suggesting that this announcement could be about a next generation iPhone (or a Verizon iPhone) that would be delivered by late February.

Based on the information from a source that is close to Verizon, this announcement could also be about some sort of tablet. Verizon didn’t just focus on phones at the CES. They also discussed hotspots and notebooks, so it is very possible that they want to discuss tablets and how they will be the leading service provider in the tablet industry.

Who knows what Verizon will be announcing? Hopefully, we will be seeing an announcement concerning the iPhone, but for now we’re just going to have to sit around and wait to find out.

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Free Smartphones at Best Buy All December

Best Buy is offering an absolutely amazing deal right now. On Friday, December 3rd, they kicked off their latest smartphone promotion. They said that they will be offering at least four free smartphones every single day through the month of December.

Best Buy will be offering a phone from each of the four major U.S. wireless providers. On Friday Best Buy's deals consisted of Verizon’s HTC Droid Incredible, AT&T’s Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, Sprint’s LG Optimus S, and T-Mobile’s LG Optimus T.

To get the deal from Best Buy, customers have to sign up for a new two-year contract, or they must upgrade their existing account for another two years. Best Buy says that they will only have a limited number of devices in their stores for the promotion. The offer is also not retroactive.

These free smartphones will be available from all of the Best Buy stores, all 157 Best Buy Mobile specialty stores, and on Best Buy’s website.

"We were excited by the amount of consumer interest we received around our 'Free Phone Fridays' promotion in October, so we wanted to do it again only bigger," President of Best Buy Shawn Score said in a statement. "People want smartphones and we couldn't think of a better way to end the year for our customers than to offer free devices every day in December."

Best Buy did something similar to this in October where they offered free smartphones on every Friday of the month, and luckily for those who are looking to upgrade their phones, the retailer expanded it to every day of the month in December.

This is a great deal that anyone who is a customer of the top four U.S. wireless service providers can take advantage of. I know that I definitely need a phone upgrade and will definitely be looking into the deals that Best Buy is offering. If you need a new phone, be sure to check out Best Buy.

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Newest Adition to the Rugged Line of G'zOne Phones: The Ravine

On Monday October 4th, Casio announced the newest addition to their rugged G’zOne line of phones for outdoor enthusiasts, the G’zOne Ravine. Casio’s G’zOne line of phones from Verizon are waterproof, rustproof, and shockproof. These phones are not only for individuals with hard hat jobs, but also for people who simply would like a phone that can withstand a dunk in the pool or a drop in the sink.

The design of the Ravine is very similar to other phones found in the G’zOne line. The phone is made of a sturdy black plastic and is a little slimmer than previous G’zOne models. It certainly is no smartphone but the Ravine is much sleeker and not as “outdoorsy” looking as some of the other G’zOne phones.

The Ravine not only has all the basic features found on most cell phones, but also includes tons of outdoorsy apps including a compass, a thermometer, a pedometer, a tide chart, a sunrise/sunset list, and an astronomy app. The astronomy app allows you to figure out and name constellations and shows local star charts. Whether you’re outdoorsy or not, these apps are cool. Several of these apps can even be accessed from the external display so that you don’t have to open the phone. There is also a flashlight on the back of the phone. The Ravine definitely has some very unique features to offer consumers.

Inside of the Ravine, there is a lot of Bing to be found. Verizon began promoting Bing hot and heavy with Samsung’s Fascinate. The Ravine features a Bing icon and a Bing home page in the phone’s basic browser.

Besides being waterproof, rustproof, and shockproof and featuring some unique apps, the Ravine includes a 3.2 megapixel camera and camcorder with flash, VZ Navigator GPS software, and voice dictation that allows you to text hands-free. The phone also is capable of running Verizon’s usual feature phone e-mail and IM apps.

The big question at hand about the Ravine is how it will perform. The other G’zOne phones from Casio have been all over the boards. Some feature amazing voice quality for your calls, while others have been absolutely terrible. The Type-V phone was excellent on voice quality, but the Type-S and Boulder that followed were certainly not the best on quality. Casio claimed in their press release that the Ravine would have noise cancelling abilities, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee good voice quality.

Verizon has said that the Casio G’zOne Ravine will be available with a two year contract for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. As of right now, there is not a release date, but Verizon says that it will be “coming soon.”

This is a very intriguing cell phone. Whether you’re an adventurous outdoorsy type of person or simply don’t want to take the chance of having your phone damaged by the elements, this phone can serve all of your needs plus more. No it’s not the iPhone or Droid X, but this is definitely a phone that offers something new and unique to the cell phone market.

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Motorola Droid X Finally Available

Finally after all the talk and the hype, the Motorola Droid X is available from Verizon. The X is considered by many to be the best phone currently offered through Verizon. It has a lightening fast processor, Wi-Fi hotspot mode, great reception and noise cancellation, and Bluetooth voice dialing.

The Droid X is going for $199.99 with a two year Verizon contract and a $100 mail-in rebate. Any current Verizon customer who's contract is up in 2010 is also eligible for the $199.99 price after rebate.

The Droid X is set to be one of the best smartphones of the summer. Now if Droid just doesn’t fit your needs or you just want to check out some of the other great smartphones available, the HTC EVO 4G or a variety of different Android phones are great choices as well.

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