We're not sure how rugged a slim and sleek smartphone can be, but Motorola claims their latest device "has been designed to handle everything that life throws your way." Called the Motorola Defy, it's a semi-rugged Android phone with a specs list you typically don't see in handsets marketed for their durability.
While the pleasant 59 x 107 x 13.4 mm frame isn't rugged enough to survive hard drops onto concrete, it claims dust-proof and water-resistant qualities. The screen is scratch-proof, as well, so typical clumsy handling (read: your regular use) should leave it unscathed.
Details of the Defy include a 3.7-inch touchscreen (480 x 800 resolution), a 5.0 megapixel camera module with LED flash, aGPS, 3G (7.2Mbps HSDPA), WiFi, stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio jack, DLNA support, microSD card expansion (up to 32GB) and a 1540 mAh battery (rated at over 6.5 hours of talk time). It comes with Motorola's CrystalTalk Plus, which uses dual microphones to better drown out background noise. There's no word on the CPU, but it gets 512MB of RAM and a hefty 2GB of ROM.
It's running Android 2.1 (so, no full Flash for you), but it will feature Motoblur 1.5 on top. You'll get all the usual Android fare, including robust messaging, Google's suite of services and support for third-party apps. Honestly, this sounds pretty good, especially when you factor in the water resistance.
The Motorola Defy will debut in Europe sometime in the fourth quarter. No word on carrier, specific markets or pricing has been given.
