Samsung's Galaxy gets tough with the Xcover 2 smartphone

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samsung-xcover-2.jpgSamsung’s Galaxy range gets a tough new addition today, with the South Korean tech firm making the Galaxy Xcover 2 official ahead of next month’s MWC 2013 event.

A ruggedised handset for the Bear Grylls outdoor enthusiasts amongst us (incidentally, I stood next to Grylls in a shop the other day. He’s surprisingly small), the handset is dust and sand proof, and can be dunked in water for up to 30 minutes thanks to its IP67 certification.

Sealed to prevent moisture and particles getting in towards its innards, the phone has a battery cover lock to further prevent any harmful liquid or grit getting inside.

A 5MP camera sits on the rear that’ll also work underwater, and if you want to put that waterproofing to the test there’s a small wrist strap included in case you should drop the device while submerged.

Other than that, it’s a fairly average device, specs wise. A 4-inch WVGA 800×480 display features, alongside a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage (with microSD expansion), Bluetooth 4.0, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean as the OS. GPS+ GLONASS satellite tracking should improve any map viewing though, offering 20% better satellite detection than standard GPS, which could be a lifesaver out in the wilderness.

No pricing or release information offered yet, but we’ll keep you posted if and when we hear it.

Gerald Lynch
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