Samsung plops out waterproof smartphone
In preparation for a wet autumn, or perhaps to cater for those escaping the Blighty weather for sandy shores, Samsung has unveiled a waterproof smartphone with touchscreen capabilities. The Samsung Galaxy Xcover runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread with an 800MHz processor. It packs a 3.6in reinforced touchscreen display made from …
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They could have done better...
All you need to do is remove all the input holes - headphone jack can be replaced with bluetooth, charging port can be replaced with a 'wireless charger' like HP-used-to-be-Palm's Touchstone. Then it would be completely sealed; waterproof to a depth of pressure-smashes-the-screen-in.
Was it really necessary...
...to use the term 'plops out' and a picture of a phone smeared with brown stuff on an article published just before lunch? Ewwwww.
That said it's not a bad idea, the only concern I have with my HTC Desire is that it might not be rugged enough to stand up to the knocks and splashes of great outdoors. Everything else about it is great.
re: Was it really necessary
Ah, but this wee phone is the limited Gillian McKeith edition!
HTC are ROCK hard
I have a magic.
I have fallen on it while drunk.
dropped it in a river.
Punch my mate with some force while holding it.
dropped it down a metel fligh of stairs.
dropped it down a carpeted fligh of stairs.
dropped it of my desk. MANY times.
placed in a pool of tea.
sat on it..
Dropped it in the mud along the canal, dragged it along by my headphones for a foot, reeled it in and contined running(damned if I was going to let it effect my pace)
dropped it from chest hieght onto a wooden floor.
the last instance was in an orange shop while talking to a windows phone promoter. the look of utter horror as the phone fell hard enough yo scatter the battery followied by awe as i turned it back on without a worry, is somthing I will remeber for a long time
Its VERY well worn but works perfectly.
as you can see i'm pretty clumbsy(i broke the previous phone in 24hrs)
If your is as solid as the magic you have nothing to fear.
My dear M man...
Your handset seems indestructible but I fear _your_ days are numbered. I urge you to seek medical attention.
A concerned citizen.
GPS?
Would be the perfect sports tracking app - save having to risk the DesireZ in an Overboard pouch everytime I'm on the roads
Finally...
This is what I've been waiting for since the iPhone.
Is it feasible to do away with cables (and their ports) entirely, now we have inductive charging and drag-and-drop file transfer over wifi?
I'd love one but...
I'd love a phone similar to this, but why do they have to give it such rubbish specs. Why not give it some innards that are worth protecting.
I'm looking for a replacement for my HTC desire. All of the top end phone's look like you'll be shoving something akin to a flatscreen tv in your pocket. I think 3.7 inches is plenty big enough. Just give me a decent resolution screen, 5mp+ camera, dual core processor and a decent battery. If it all comes wrapped in a tough waterproof case, even better.
Pint glass as it should be able to survive all manners of random drinking related injury.
@swisstoni
"I think 3.7 inches is plenty big enough."
What does your missus think?
Picture
And what did that drop that one in to prove the point?
I was trying to have my lunch.
Title
Excellent phone for surfing the interwebs in the bath
bath usage
Unfortunately capacitive screens don't seem to work too well when wet.. Drops of water on the screen can trigger clicks and stuff and forget about using the touchscreen underwater. (Well, if my defy is anything to go by but I don't see why it would be any different)
That headline was definitely your number one's effort.
No typo. That is all.
plop
I didn't think they would actually plop one out.
God thats put me off my sausage bap :P
Does it cope with the...
...rough texture of the mud (as shown in the pic) being wiped off the screen by someone trying to see the screen without getting scratched to buggery?
Are the charging and headphone sockets covered by a little rubbery plug that will come off with several months use or are they sealed and just need a rinse under the tap to clean?
Waterproofing aside
Looks like quite a neat phone, if it's about the same sort of size as the Wildfire. Pretty reasonable specs as well but I guess the price will make all the difference.
I really don't want to know where that phone has been
Maybe Kevin Warwick was using it in another attempt to become a 'cyborg'....
Vs. Motorola Defy
Let's see how it compares to the Motorola Defy, which was a nice piece of hardware, let down by grotty and old software.
First thing....
The Defy has a higher spec camera, and as I read it the Defy is rugged while this is just waterproof - so both are droppable but you have to be selective about where you drop the Samsung.
Now, if only someone would make a rugged non-smart phone with a decent camera...
Who cares about the software?
It's Android - root it, flash a new ROM etc. MotoBlur went off mine in like a millisecond ;)
I am currently running Cyanagenmod 7 on mine - loving the Gingerbread!
The Defy is great and i suspect this phone will probably be just as good - just don't believe the hype about the scratch proofing and get a screen protector.
scratch proof
Also on Defy with Cyanogenmod 7 but don't think you need a screen protector for it - I'm reasonably careful with it but it really is hard to scratch Gorilla Glass screens.
Locked bootloaders?
I liked the idea of the Motorola Defy, but the utter lack of post-purchase upgradability discourages me from ever buying Motorola gear. Samsung seem to be a little better.
-1
More importantly, how does it cope with falling out of your pocket onto concrete? Is it still IP67?
Cheaper than an Apple warranty?
Considering the Apple's warranty has a habit of becoming invalid in any country where it rains, maybe this can be had for chepaer than a warranty that covers an 'iPhone accidently used on a misty day.
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