So after tons of impressive hardware specs, tech giants now seem to be pursuing a different fetish now- doling out ‘rugged’ smartphones. On the very same day when Google acquired Motorola Mobility, the tablet and phone-maker announced Defy+, the rugged successor of its earlier Defy handset. Today, Samsung has announced that it is going to update its ubiquitous Galaxy lineup with a rugged Android handset called Samsung Galaxy Xcover. The IP67-certified dust- and waterproof 3.65-inch device is poised to give its other counterparts a tough competition.

Things that speak of its ‘rugged’ attire is the LCD screen made of scratch-resistant, tempered glass and claims to be 4-5 times tougher than the regular ones. You can soak this thing in water upto 1 meter dept for as much 30 minutes. The point Samsung was trying to make here is that phone will stay well guarded from accidental splashes. Other specs include 800MHz CPU, 3-megapixel LED flash-equipped camera with 30fps VGA video recording, 150MB of built-in storage, micro SD card reader (up to 32GB), 1500 mAh battery Bluetooth 3.0 +HS, USB 2.0 and WiFi 802.11 b/g/n among others. It will first arrive in Germany this October and UK release might be sometime later. Rumors suggest that it might be available in Sweden and Finland in this November for US$437 and US$430 equivalent respectively.

[Gizmag]