Kent German,
Senior Editor
June 11, 2009
If you're tough on your cell phone, you know that many of today's handsets place more emphasis on design than on durability. But even in this age of cell phones as fashion, there are quite a few cell phones built for people who work in extreme environments, love adventure sports, or are just plain clumsy. Nextel has long had a hold on the rugged market with phones like the Motorola i576 and the Motorola i365. AT&T went a long time without offering rugged handsets, but it added two such models in the last six months, the Samsung SGH-A837 and the Motorola Tundra. Verizon has also gone durable in the last couple of years, thanks to a few tough Casio handsets. The latest are the Verizon Wireless G'zOne Boulder, which can take a swim and keep on ticking, and the
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| Price | Check Prices | $99.99 | Check Prices | $199.99 | $149.99 | $279.99 |
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| Review date | December 19, 2008 | September 25, 2008 | September 30, 2008 | January 26, 2009 | August 11, 2008 | June 10, 2009 |
| The Bottom Line | The Motorola i576 is a sturdy and functional Nextel phone. It's not glamorous, but it works. | If you're looking for a reliable, easy-to-use handset that's built like a tank, the Motorola i365 fits the bill. | The Samsung Rugby SGH-A837's could use a few improvements, but it remains a solid choice for a rugged, straight-forward phone with a loaded feature set. | The durable Motorola Tundra VA76r succeeds admirably at making calls, but its multimedia experience doesn't measure up. | The G'zOne Boulder is a beefy, rough-and-tumble cell phone with a rich suite of multimedia features beneath its tough exterior, but we were ultimately disappointed with the call quality. | If you don't mind its expensive cost, the Casio Exilim C721 is a sleek yet durable phone with a great megapixel camera and plenty of high-end features. |
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| Features | ||||||
| Cellular technology | iDEN | iDEN | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM | CDMA2000 1X | CDMA2000 1X |
| Weight | 4.2 oz | 6.7 oz | 4.7 oz | 4.9 oz | 3.9 oz | 4.5 oz |
| Talk time | Info unavailable | Up to 300 min | Up to 300 min | Up to 300 min | Up to 207 min | Up to 230 min |
| Wireless Interface | Bluetooth | Bluetooth | Bluetooth 2.0 | Bluetooth 2.0 | Bluetooth | Bluetooth |
| Service Provider | Sprint Nextel | Sprint Nextel | AT&T | AT&T | Verizon Wireless | Verizon Wireless |
| Band / mode | IDEN 800/900 | iDEN 800/900 (Dual Band) | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 | CDMA 850/1900 | CDMA 800/1900 (Dual Band) |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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