Samsung Galaxy S4 Active announced

[R13...]

QFT.

I'm perfectly happy with my scratch free plastic phone thank you very much. A year from now most of the "premium" metal phones will look like it went through a war except if the user puts it in a protective case which defeats the purpose in any way.

All the S4/S3s I see are encased in protective pouches.

 

[BeVonk!]

All the S4/S3s I see are encased in protective pouches.

But they don't really have to be. My S2, Note 1 and Note 2 are damage-free with no covers on them whatsoever. People do it because they are concerned. Metal phones must be protected as they will show marks when hitting hard surfaces ... especially when the metal has been coloured.

 

[Sl8er]

All the S4/S3s I see are encased in protective pouches.

That's just folks being careful. It's plastic, it doesn't have to be shown off like metal phones. There is no purpose to defeat by placing a plastic phone in a cover...in contrast...you're defeating the purpose completely by placing your awesome looking, but scratch/ding prone, metal phone in a case. That's the difference.

 

[Allin]

I wonder what excuses repair centres will use now when they want you to buy a new phone. Way back I was told on two occasions that my phone suffered "liquid damage" which was not covered under VC's 24-month warranty. The one was fixed by a young guy in a little shop and the other one needed a spray of some muti and it worked until it was stolen.

 

[dualmeister]

Played with one while in Sweden, but the Handheld Nautiz X1 is a "true" ultra-rugged smartphone and can operate at -20 °C to 60 °C.