IP67
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Marshall's Middleton Bluetooth speaker is the company's new weatherproof flagship
Marshall's new portable Bluetooth boombox is rugged, IP67 rated and offers 360-degree sound.
With this rugged speaker, sound takes a backseat to accessories
It takes a lot to get me excited about a Bluetooth speaker these days. Although subpar sound quality plagued early devices, newer models offer both good looks and solid audio. Even so, most of the current offerings are same-y; unremarkable. Now, a company called Braven has found a way to evolve the Bluetooth speaker even further, with a large selection of rugged wireless speakers. The BRV-PRO was unveiled earlier this year at CES, and while it certainly looks the part of a weatherproof speaker, it's the optional accessories that make it most compelling -- everything from a solar charging panel to a mount for your action camera. As you can imagine, though, those extras add up quickly. I spent some time with the $150 speaker and the various extras to find out if Braven's latest is worth it.
Kobo's Aura H20 lets you read in the bath
With Barnes and Noble reduced to borrowing Samsung tablets and Sony giving up altogether, only Kobo stands in the way of Amazon's total e-book domination. Now, the company is hoping to steal a march on its rival by introducing the first waterproof e-reader, the Aura H2O (assuming you don't count Waterfi, and we aren't). It's the first such device that's IP67 certified, meaning that it'll last under a meter of water for up to half an hour if the port cover is closed. The display is the same size as the Aura HD, offering a 6.8-inch touch-enabled e-ink display with ComfortLight tech, offering a resolution of 1,430 x 1,080 and a pixel density of 265 dpi. Like its brethren, it does come with Pocket integration, enabling you to read long form web content away from your tablet or smartphone. There's 4GB of on-board storage and a microSD slot if you want to add in a 32GB card, as well as a battery that's rated for two months of use -- if you only use it for 30 minutes a day, of course. The Kobo Aura H2O will be available on October 1st, priced at $180 in the US/Canada, £140 in the UK and €180 in Spain, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active coming to AT&T June 21st for $199.99, pre-orders begin tomorrow
It appears that we were spot-on about yesterday's teaser, as AT&T has officially unveiled the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active this morning. Available in stores or online starting June 21st, you'll be able to grab one of your very own for $199.99 on a two-year commitment. As we mentioned yesterday, the "life-proof" IP67-certified handset will come in Dive Blue (pictured above) and Urban Gray; there's no mention of Flame Orange, sadly. As a recap, the Active features Android 4.2, a 1.9GHz quad-core processor, a 5-inch 1080p TFT LCD panel, microSD slot with support for up to 64GB, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage (no word on how much is user-accessible), a 2,600mAh battery and an 8MP rear camera with 2MP front-facing cam. Dimension-wise, the Active measures at 139.65 x 71.25 x 9.1mm and weighs 5.29 ounces (150g) -- not too shabby for a tough device. While AT&T acknowledged that the device shouldn't be considered "rugged," it's still technically a durable smartphone that takes advantage of a sealed water-resistant cover which will protect the phone in up to one meter of H2O for thirty minutes, and even features a special camera setting called Aqua Mode which is designed to let you take some nifty underwater shots. If you're eager to get the sales process started as soon as possible, AT&T will be offering pre-orders of the device beginning tomorrow.
Honeywell unveils Dolphin 70e Black: a ruggedized smartphone that can take a wallop
Honeywell's pulled back the curtains on its Dolphin 70e Black smartphone for folks in jobs where hardware needs to endure some rough and tumble. Pricing or detailed specs weren't revealed, but the handset packs a 4.4-inch capacitive touch screen, an area-imaging scanner, up to 12 hours of battery life, weighs in at 7 ounces and measures up at 0.75-inches thick. Boasting an IP67 rating on its resume, the phone is dust-proof and can survive a dunk in water. When the ruggedized device ships in February, it'll come pre-loaded with your choice of unspecified versions of Windows or Android.
Lenovo outs dual-SIM waterproof A660 ICS smartphone, likely for China only
Lenovo is burning up the Chinese smartphone market, and it's just announced a new midrange 4-inch ICS model, the A660, with two twists: dual-SIM slots and a waterproof case. The IP67 certification and Gorilla Glass also make it dustproof, but apart from that, the device carries pedestrian specs: Android 4.0, 1GHz dual-core processor, 800 x 480 screen and 5-megapixel rear camera. As with other recent models in China aiming down the middle of the road, the A660 boasts several colors, and supports WCDMA + GSM networks with dual-SIM / dual-standby capability. There's no word yet on how much or when, but don't start shopping for lime green or burnt orange furniture to match just yet -- few of Lenovo's smartphones have crossed the Great Wall.
EmporiaSOLIDplus at CES 2012 hands-on (video)
Emporia Telecom is looking to come to the Americas this Spring, and it's bringing a rugged beauty with it -- as long as you're not dead set on getting yourself one of them fancy smartphones. If so, keep on lookin', as Emporia's focusing on winning the hearts of basic / budget phone users all over. One of its first phones the company's bringing overseas with it is the EmporiaSOLIDplus, an IP67-certified candybar that can handle most things you throw at it -- heck, it could probably handle it when you're throwing the phone itself, though we certainly don't recommend you give it a test run anytime soon. The basic device is capable of calling, sending messages and that's ultimately about it. The phone will come as an unlocked GSM phone and is going to be available this Spring for an undetermined price. Pictures and video? Yeah, we have 'em below.
Motorola Defy+ leaves the gym, coming this fall with slightly more muscle
You'd be hard-pressed to find many phones that look relatively stylish, are thin and light enough to carry comfortably in your pocket, and can hang out underwater for ten minutes. That's why, we suppose, the Motorola Defy became popular worldwide; it's difficult to build a device to be a tank without looking like one, and it's even more tough to do it right. Naturally, when you've got a good thing going, it's ideal to improve upon that model. The Motorola Defy+ aims to do just that -- keep the form factor, Gorilla Glass and IP67 certification, but beef up the internal components and throw in better firmware. The new iteration -- slated for a Q3 release -- will house a single-core 1GHz TI OMAP 3620, Android 2.3.4 with Moto's latest UI skin (still curiously referred to as MotoBlur) on top, and a 1700mAh battery while the rest of the specs remain the same as its predecessor. No word on specific carrier availability was given, though HelloMoto aims to launch it in Asia, Latin America, and Europe in the fall. Full press release can be found after the break.
Samsung Galaxy XCover gets uncovered in Germany, dares us to drop it in mud (update)
The Samsung Galaxy lineup has become so diverse that nearly every demographic has at least one selection to choose from, with one clear exception: we haven't seen a rugged version. Samsung's hoping to fill that gaping hole by announcing the Galaxy Xcover, the world's first Android device with IP67 certification -- which means it can be submerged in water up to 1 meter deep and can hold its own against a continual onslaught of dirt and dust. The Xcover will offer Gingerbread out-of-box, and features a 3.6-inch scratch-resistant display, a 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, and 7.2Mbps HSDPA. The company's still vague on the other details, such as pricing and availability; the only country announced so far is Germany, which should see the device sometime in October. We hope the device will have a wider distribution; we know for a fact Germans aren't the only folks on this Earth that are hard on their phones. Translated press release after the break. Update: The Galaxy Xcover isn't actually the world's first Android device with IP67 certification; we've been told by Motorola that this honor belongs to the Motorola Defy instead.
