Google’s proposed acquisition of Motorola on Monday nearly overshadowed Motorola’s latest Android smartphone, the DEFY+. Like the original DEFY, the DEFY+ is water resistant, scratch resistant and dust proof. It is equipped with a 1GHz processor, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with MOTOBLUR, a 3.7-inch screen, a 5-megapixel camera, 2GB of internal storage and a 1,700 mAh battery. Motorola says the DEFY+ will be available in Asia, Europe and Latin America beginning in early fall, but we also suspect we’ll see a variant land on T-Mobile to replace the DEFY. Read on for the full press release.

Motorola Mobility Reveals Motorola DEFY™+

It’s faster, smarter and richer – Motorola DEFY+ is now equipped with faster Web-browsing and the social networking tools you crave to stay connected wherever you go

Aug. 15, 2011

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – Aug. 15, 2011 – Live life to the fullest with the latest life proof smartphone from Motorola Mobility, Inc., Motorola DEFY^™+. Building on the Motorola DEFY’s life proof heritage, Motorola DEFY+ offers exceptional protection from whatever life throws your way with its water resistant, scratch resistant and dust proof design (IP67). In addition, Motorola DEFY+ has a 1GHz processor that runs 25 percent faster and is more fun with the latest version of Android^™ 2.3 (Gingerbread) delivering a smarter operating system and better battery life to fully enjoy your experiences. Motorola DEFY+ will be available in Asia, Europe and Latin America starting in early fall.

Water resistant, dust proof, and featuring scratch resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass, Motorola DEFY+ can survive a sudden rain shower, a day on the beach, an all-night party – or even a tough workout with the pre-loaded CardioTrainer application, which transforms the device into the perfect running mate. Its brilliant 3.7-inch high-resolution touch-screen display enables you to easily view and track your workout progress. Wherever your days – or nights – take you, Motorola DEFY+ is the life proof device that can keep up with your toughest demands and wildest adventures.

Motorola DEFY+ is faster than ever, keeping up with your on-the-go lifestyles so you can effortlessly browse the Web, stay updated with social networking sites on your homes screens and stream and download rich media content more quickly than before. Motorola DEFY+ offers an Adobe^® Flash^® 10-enabled browser for a rich web experience that allows users to watch their favorite movies or view videos on the Web.

Powered by Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), Motorola DEFY+ is smarter than ever. This new version of Android boasts a better battery life, a more intuitive user interface and improvements on the features you use most – including enhanced calendar and email features and home screen options. Users can make Motorola DEFY+ their own by organizing and personalizing their Application trays for easy and quick access to their most used tools, games and content.

Boredom proof your life; the richest experiences in entertainment and social media are always within reach with Motorola DEFY+. The Music Player lets you access and share your favorite music. You can also stream your favorite music straight from your desktops at home or work, with Motorola Media Link. Motorola DEFY+ also features Google Talk^™ to keep you connected with friends and colleagues, while built in apps like the *Zinio™ e-magazine service allow you to keep up with favourite publications on-the-go. Entertainment doesn’t stop there: Motorola DEFY+ also features a 5MP camera with flash, digital zoom and auto focus, letting users capture the best of their social life and create their very own entertainment whatever the conditions.

“Motorola DEFY+, our latest life proof smartphone, delivers the endurance and design strength to keep up with even the most demanding lifestyles, along with the social and entertainment capabilities that put friends and fun in easy reach,” said Alain Mutricy, senior vice president, portfolio and device product management, Motorola Mobility. “We designed Motorola DEFY+ with all the smartphone features you need for a demanding lifestyle.”

Smart Accessories

A suite of smart accessories ensures users get the most from the Motorola DEFY+. Available accessories include Vehicle Dock, Bluetooth Headset, Bluetooth Car Kit, Portable Power, and Car Charger.

Key Features and Specifications:

• Powered by Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and features more than 250,000 apps from Android Market™
• 1GHz processor that runs 25 percent faster for efficient Web browsing and multitasking
• Water resistant, scratch resistant and dust proof to withstand all that life throws your way
• Features scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass
• 3.7-inch high-resolution touch screen display
• Music Player connects you to all your favorite artists
• MOTOBLUR lets users stay in touch with friends, providing quick access to social media accounts and live widgets directly from the home screen
• Motorola Media Link allows users to sync their media content from their desktops at home or work
• Loaded with the ability to create group emails and communication to stay in touch with friends
• Adobe Flash Player 10 for uncompromised viewing of applications, content and videos
• 5MP camera with auto focus, flash and digital zoom
• 2GB internal; *2GB microSD card in box, expandable up to 32GB
• Access to Google™ Apps (Google Maps™ 5.0 with Navigation, Google Talk™, Browsing)
• 1700mAH battery for 7.1 hours of talk time and 16 days in standby

Availability

Motorola DEFY+ will be available in Asia, Europe and Latin America starting in early fall.

We’re big fans of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform here at BGR, but we have to admit that the OS is seriously lacking when it comes to top-notch hardware. Even the 4.3-inch display touting HTC HD7, which we thoroughly enjoyed in our review, felt a bit light and plasticky for our taste. Right now the Dell Venue Pro is easily the most solid Windows Phone available, but that will soon change thanks to a little deal Nokia announced earlier this month. Nokia has a laundry list of strengths and hardware is definitely somewhere near the top, as any Nokia fan will attest to. If you haven’t had the chance to play with a recent Symbian phone to see for yourself, which is pretty like if you live in the U.S., Russian site hi-tech.mail.ru put together an N8 torture test video that should help convince you. We can’t say we approve of this Russian Nokia fan’s choice of swimwear  — you’ve been warned, readers — but he definitely helps stress just how solid and durable Nokia handset are. The N8 laughs in the face of a key, a blade, snow, ice and even sand before finally dying after being submerged in seawater. Of course, Nokia’s N8 isn’t a waterproof phone, so we’re not sure why this smartphone sadist chose to submerge it in the first place. Hit the jump for the full video.

Boasting of “the power of Sprint 3G and military-grade toughness,” Sprint announced Thursday the launch of its first sub-$100 submersible handset, the Sanyo Taho. Featuring a ruggedized housing and a non-slip grip, the Taho is an ideal device for a variety of labor industries. Sanyo’s Taho is built to military 810G spec and can withstand dust, shock, vibration, extreme temperatures, blowing rain and even water immersion. It also features a clamshell form factor, a 2-megapixel camera with LED flash and video capture support, GPS, Bluetooth, microSDHC support and more. The Sanyo Taho is available immediately online and in Sprint stores for $99.99 after rebate with a two-year contract. Hit the break for Sprint’s press release.

Ruggedized, Water Resistant Sanyo Taho by Kyocera Gives New Meaning to Term ‘Tough Talk,’ Becomes Sprint’s First Fully Submersible Phone Available for Less Than $100

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mother Nature has met her match with the new Sanyo Taho by Kyocera, a ruggedized handset that, despite its good looks, can withstand some of the harshest elements and 30 minutes of full immersion in water up to one meter (3.28 feet) deep. Kyocera Communications Inc., provider of Kyocera- and Sanyo-branded wireless devices, announced Sprint’s (NYSE: S) launch of the new handset today, making it Sprint’s first fully submersible device available for less than $100. Sanyo Taho is available beginning today through direct-ship sales channels, including Sprint stores, Web sales (www.sprint.com) and Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate.* It will be available in all remaining Sprint sales channels beginning Jan. 9, 2011.

“This is our first handset that pairs a tough, military-grade design with features to stand up to the rigors and demands of extreme jobs and lifestyles”

Sanyo Taho’s rugged exterior and non-slip grip make it right at home on construction sites, security beats, delivery routes—anywhere you need (or want) to be. Being “military tough” (military standard 810G) means it can stand up to dust, shock, vibration, extreme temperatures, blowing rain and water immersion. But Sanyo Taho doesn’t scrimp on features; the clamshell handset supports applications including Sprint Navigation and Sprint Family Locator, and includes a robust front-ported speaker phone and a 2 megapixel camera with flash and camcorder.

“This is our first handset that pairs a tough, military-grade design with features to stand up to the rigors and demands of extreme jobs and lifestyles,” said Yasuhiro Ohishi, vice president of sales and marketing at Kyocera Communications Inc. “This is the answer for people who are rough on phones or, for whatever reason, regularly find themselves around water. Between outdoor sports and jobs that routinely involve harsh environments, Sanyo Taho will help make sure its users are always connected. Anyone who has lost a phone to the elements will understand its value.”

Sanyo Taho’s ergonomic shape is covered in a non-slip Dura-Grip® texture to ensure a solid grip. It has a 2-inch QVGA TFT internal display and 1-inch monochrome external display. The phone includes 256 MB of internal memory, a 1 GB microSD memory card (provided with handset) and support for memory cards up to 32GB. Sanyo Taho uses CDMA 1xEV-DO network technology, supporting autonomous GPS and Java Multitasking for third-party location-based services. For workplace or family settings, Sanyo Taho can restrict incoming and outgoing voice calls with password protection, disable both the camera and Web access, and lock the phone’s GPS functionality on so the phone’s location can always be tracked. Sanyo Taho offers a robust talk time of up to 6.1 hours.

Kyocera’s full line of Kyocera- and Sanyo-branded devices can be seen at www.kyocera-wireless.com.

Read

As much success as Nokia has had — and still has — in emerging markets, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume the Finnish company’s lineup is already jam-packed full of durable handsets. That assumption, at it were, would be wrong. Say hello to the company’s first water and dust resistant handset, the Nokia 3720. With IP54 certification, the 3720 will also be shock resistant if and when it drops (wink, wink) some time in September. Beyond that, our guess is that we’re looking at a pretty inexpensive handset that will run S40 and never make it to this side of the pond. Tears of indignation or shrugs of indifference?

[Via IntoMobile]

Read

Back in the day, beer makers were faced with a marketing conundrum: How do you draw attention to your product when there really isn’t anything to differentiate it from every other competitive product out there? The answer they came up with… Naked women. These days, scantily clad females are less common in TV commercials here in the US, having been replaced by stupid guys doing funny stuff in beer ads, but that hardly means the spirit of “sex sells” doesn’t still rear its head from time to time. Take Casio’s new online ad for its upcoming Exilim C721. In the eyes of the general consumer there are really only two things that differentiate this handset from any other: a swiveling display and a water resistant case. With that in mind, how can Casio draw attention to its upcoming handset headed to Verizon Wireless? Hit the jump for the answer. On a related note, we hear Casio’s next ad run could be titled Debbie Does Digital.

[Via Engadget]

Read

The Sonim XP3 is dead and we have killed it. Thus begins our hands on review and the results of our torture test of the Sonim XP3 Enduro. Before we begin we wanted to give a big thanks to all of the BGR readers who posted suggestions. They were excellent! As for the tests we ended up choosing, we tried to stick to those that reflected what potential Sonim owners would encounter on a daily basis. Knowing that an elephant can step on it is one thing but it doesn’t help the folks who work (or play) outside in the rain and snow all day or those who are crazy adventurous enough to ride their motorcycle in the rain. Before we get to the results of the torture tests and how the Sonim stands up to its claim of being the worlds’ toughest phone, we wanted to give our overall impressions of the phone from a phone point of view. Hit the jump to see how the Sonim stacks up both as a phone and the world’s most durable device.

We know that most Sonim owners buy an XP3 because of its ruggedness and that quality is obvious from the moment you pick it up. It is a durable, solidly made phone – no question. The rubberized exterior resists scratching and provides the phone with a very “grip-able” feel. This is not a slippery phone by any means. The keypad and the D-pad on the front are responsive and have a nice feel to them. They are well constructed, not too stiff and not too loose. You would think the mechanism needed to create a waterproof seal would impact the functions of the keys but it surprisingly does not. The buttons on the sides are a tad bit harder to press, especially the push to talk button, but we don’t think they would be a hindrance for the more burly types. The display is color with a fairly low resolution (128×160) and the XP3 has a simple user interface with a home screen that changes depending on the theme that you select. The main menu screen has 9 icons arranged in three rows that give you access to the basic functions of the phone such as the call history, files, settings, and contacts.

The phone comes with all the standard features that you would expect to find on a feature phone, and even a few extra goodies thrown in. One such goodie is a built-in voice recorder that allows you to record both notes and phone calls. When you are on the phone, a few quick key presses and you can choose to record your side of the conversation, the other person’s side of the conversation or both sides of the conversation – a very handy feature if you need it. Unfortunately, the internal memory is limited and without MMS (more on that later) it is difficult to get the recordings off the phone. Sonim does provide PC sync software for this purpose but having to connect your phone to a computer is a bit of an inconvenience. If you wanted to store the recordings on your phone instead, the voice recordings were loud and clear when played through the Sonim’s speakerphone. One other extra is a built-in LED flashlight with a dedicated on/off button. With the press of a button, you have access to a fairly bright and infinitely useful flashlight.

The call quality on the phone was surprisingly good. The model we demoed was a European model that lacked the 850MHz band. We did not expect to get a good signal but as it turns out, we were presently surprised. We were able to hold on to the signal in areas where coverage was sparse and didn’t experience any difficulty at all when placing calls. Considering the handset was demoed in an area where GSM coverage is spotty at best, this is an impressive feat. The Sonim has a nice loud speakerphone and supports Bluetooth 1.1 so you can use it with a bluetooth headset. We successfully paired the Sonim with a Plantronics Voyager 510 (oldie but goody) and a BlueAnt Supertooth Lite Bluetooth speakerphone. As mentioned briefly above, the Sonim supports SMS but not MMS. We assume it was not included as the model we tested did not have an integrated camera but camera or no camera, it would have been nice to have MMS support to send along any voice recordings that we made or to receive multimedia files.

The XP3 also ships with Opera Mini installed which, in our opinion, may be fine for a quick search for a phone number or a person’s name but is not good for any type of extensive web browsing. You have a low resolution screen and a GPRS data connection, both of which preclude you from having even a moderately good browsing experience. Keep in mind that the Sonim XP3 Enduro that we demoed was a foreshadow of the US model that is slated to arrive in March 2009. The US model will rock a 3 megapixel camera and integrated GPS, both of which were lacking in the Enduro European Model that we tested. The upcoming Sonim will also have the US 850/1900 GSM bands with EDGE support. These additional features are like icing on the cake and will make the Sonim XP3 an awesome phone for anyone who demands a lot from a phone.

So ends our impressions of the phone side of the Sonim and brings us to the company’s claims of durability… Does it live up to its hype? We would have to answer with an unequivocal yes! The Sonim withstood tests that would have killed any other standard phone and even most ruggedized handsets. We shudder to think what would have become of a standard handset if it were to be so carelessly tossed into the washing machine like the Sonim.

The Sonim was on when it went into the wash and was still on when we pulled it out 40 minutes later. It also battled the elements and survived a freezing night of 18 degree weather and 16 hours being battered by the snow, sleet, and rain.

It then took a 30 minute swim in Mountain Dew, an idea that came to us after some Dew was spilled on an old BlackBerry Curve, which did not fare as well as the Sonim. The Sonim came out a bit sticky but fully functioning while the Curve still has a sticky “0″ key to this day.

Last but not the least the Sonim somehow managed to survive its battle with our 5,000-pound Chevy Suburban – almost. The first attempt to crush the Sonim with the SUV was not successful. The Sonim survived the weight of that behemoth not once but twice! A second attempt to get better footage of the SUV tires hitting the phone however, proved to be too much for it to bear. A much slower rollover of the phone caused the internal LCD to crack. The phone still worked flawlessly but the LCD, not so good.

Ultimately, the Sonim died an untimely death and the Achilles heel was not the Sonim’s construction per se, but user error. We washed the phone off by letting it soak for a few minutes in a bucket of water (how liberating it is to be able to do that) but failed to completely close the bottom flap that covers the charging port and headphone jack. With the flap only loosely closed, water seeped inside the phone and it has failed to work ever since. We would love to be able to tell you that we revived the phone after careful drying in front of a fire but it is too far gone and now sits lifeless in our office. Our final impression of the Sonim is that it is far and away one of the most rugged phones currently on the market and does indeed live up to its claim of being waterproof and able to withstand high impact drops. Though extremely durable, it is not infallible. It does have its limits and does require some diligence from its owner. If you want it to be waterproof for example, be sure to close that rubber flap tightly; check it and check it again. The one time you don’t will be the one time it falls overboard.

Sonim XP3 product page