Foolproof: choose a secure phone

A couple of years ago we did an interesting selection of rugged mobile phones and smartphones. Their range, as the demand is much lower than the “normal” models and every few months update the article makes no sense, but every couple of years — completely. To repeat the text of the first article makes no sense, everything can be read in the original article, but to guide the choice we will be approximately the same core criteria and classes of devices, and at the bottom of the article is the same “cheat sheet” with a breakdown of protection classes for the convenience of readers. Specialised range of protected vehicles in its number of available models remained the same: the model is new, but their number is approximately. At the same time, over the last couple of years manufacturers of “conventional” smartphone, A-brands in the first place, decided that their flagship smartphone should be protected from dust and water. This applies to Samsung, Apple, LG, Sony (first to start this tradition), and even began to catch up with the Chinese, Xiaomi in particular. It can not but rejoice: more choice is always good.

Many of the manufacturers that spetsializiruyutsya on secure models, naturally increasing capacity and resolution of the screens of their smartphones (which is good, of course), but for some reason rarely do design with physical protection of the screen (all sorts of plastic and rubber bumpers above the screen reduce the chance of it to break the fall). Otherwise, everything is unchanged and we tried to fit a variety of models from different price range and with different features (push-button phones, smartphones, models with a Walkie-Talkie and so on). Studying the question and the range I began to be dazzled because of the abundance of various Chinese “nouneym”-models, including a very epic under the brands of cars and the same model under different brands (OEM production). Please share your impressions in the comments if there is a personal positive or negative experience with any similar devices. I’m sure it will be useful for those who just choose something similar.

Conquest S8

Judging by the abundance of search queries and online reviews, is quite interesting to have a Chinese Conquest S8. He is in different versions with different fillings, top Pro costs about 16 000 UAH, a base of about 11 000 UAH. Different fillings, in particular amounts of memory. Of course, the smartphone is very thick, aggressive rubberized plastic casing on the ends of the metal insert, and weigh more than 300 g Smartphone is interesting because it features almost to the max, if judged from the point of view of such devices: in addition to the armored hull it boasts a dustproof, waterproof according to the IP68 standard, all the connectors are closed with plugs, there is a separate transmitter with a range from 400 to 480 MHz and connect an antenna (not Zello), accelerometer, compass, temperature sensor, pedometer, support for GLONASS, GPS, aGPS, Beidou, module NFC, infrared port to control electronics and battery 6,000 mAh. Included cable for charging other gadgets from the smartphone. Promise very fast search of satellites and a very loud external speaker.

The smartphone has a 5 inch IPS 1280×720 screen, it is protected by Gorilla Glass 4 with a thickness of 1.5 mm, inside — MTK6735 processor at 1.3 GHz, 2, 3 or 4 GB of RAM (in different variants) and 16/32/64 GB internal plus MicroSD up to 128GB, there are two slots for MicroSIM-cards. Cameras on 13 and 5 megapixels. There is Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. Powered smartphone on Android OS 5.1 Lollipop. Dimensions: 83x159x17 mm, weight: 306 g. interestingly, the official website could not be found, and characteristics on different third party sites otlichayutsya, so you should clarify.

Sigma mobile X-treme PQ35

Previous smartphone, as many of his compatriots exotic we sell, but service is a big question (and if there is any). If this issue really care about, you should pay attention to Sigma-mobile, whose chief office and official service in Kiev, plus representatives of the company actively respond to user comments in the reviews on the websites of the shops and from time to time issued software updates for smartphones. Of course, it’s — branded smartphones (phones and tablets) one of the Chinese OEMs, but nothing wrong with that, that’s a huge number of brands. At the moment the most relevant and “top” model Sigma mobile X — treme PQ35. This is a less hardcore model, which is closer to the usual smartphones.

The smartphone looks more restrained, although the size is also impressive. The heel is stylized carbon fiber, rim to protect the screen from drops, there is hope that the very thick glass. The smartphone is protected by standard IP68, the manufacturer promises that the smartphone can withstand immersion in water to a depth of 3 meters up to 60 minutes and can operate in water. The smartphone has 5,46-inch IPS screen with 1920×1080 resolution and Gorilla Glass 3-th generation. Inside, the 8 — core processor MediaTek Helio P10 with a clock frequency of 2.0 GHz, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory with the ability to set MicroSD. The manufacturer specifies up to 32GB, although, judging by the reviews, card more smartphone also able to use. There are two slots for SIM-cards (2 x microSIM). The main camera on the 13 megapixel (Sony IMX214), front — 5 MP. There is Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS and NFC. The price tag of 10 000 UAH.

Blackview BV6000s

Significantly cheaper is the Blackview BV6000s, of course, also comes from China. This is one of numerous Chinese C (or D) of the brands that recently we have quite an actively began to sell online shopping. Apparently, the demand really is due to the low price tags. About the quality and defect rate won’t write anything, I think that in the comments owners write about your experience. This is the most expensive protected model: Blackview is still BV7000 Pro. It’s more powerful, thinner and equipped with a thumbprint scanner, but all this is not unequivocal advantages in the case of a protected smartphone: fingerprint scanners (most of them) do not work well with wet fingers, and thickness reduction resulted in a decrease in battery: 3,500 mAh, which is somehow not enough by the standards of its class of devices. In BV6000s protected by standard IP68, the frame is made from metal, the outside is rubberized plastic and metal inserts at the sides with large metal buttons.

The smartphone features a 4.7-inch IPS-screen with HD resolution and Gorilla glass third generation, the work meets a 4-core MediaTek MT6735 with a clock frequency of 1.3 GHz, 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of internal memory, a slot for MicroSD up to 32 GB. Set of wireless modules standard: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS, GLONASS, nice bonus features NFC. Cameras on 8 and 2 megapixels. The massive smartphone: dimensions: 81х152.3х16.6 mm weight: 247 g OS Android 6.0 Lollipop. Well the battery is bigger than the 7000-th model: 4500 mAh. Price 4000 UAH.

CAT S60

CAT S60 – expensive and to some extent unique: it is the only smartphone with built-in thermal imager. Accordingly, it will be of interest primarily to specialists. The full review can be read in our site. In a nutshell, smartphone safely withstand a lot of drops from different heights on the ground and escaped with only scratches on the metal frame, the claimed compliance to military standard MIL-STD-810G, shock resistance when dropped from a height of up to 1.8 m, operating temperature from -25°C to 55°C. we also Drown him failed, the smartphone worked well, and when immersed, and after it, and the manufacturer claims that the smartphone can withstand depths up to 5 meters. The integrated thermal imager manufacturing company FLIR has (as standard) low resolution of 640×480, but resize those specific features of cameras it quite adequate. Imager really works and will be useful for all sorts of manufacturing, at repair, for the detection of cracks and different kind of leaks.

With the smartphone point of view is more mundane: a-Si AHVA screen (visually close to IPS) with a diagonal of 4.7 inches, 1280×720 resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 4. As shown by measurement with a colorimeter, the screen has a very wide range of brightness: 600 CD/m², which is not excessive for this class of devices. Inside is a 64 — bit OCTA-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor 617, the RAM is 3 GB, 32 GB internal, MicroSD slot up to 128 GB USB OTG. The “ordinary” camera 13 MP and 5 MP, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, FM, GLONASS, GPS, aGPS, and Beidou. There is a SOS button, battery, 3800 mAh, OS Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The price tag is high: about 17 000 UAH.

Sigma mobile X-treme 3SIM/3GSM

Now for the push button models. Apparently, most of the “armored” push-button models are manufactured at the same factory, just different logos molded to the customer. The same models produced under the brand Land Rover, Suppu, Sigma and so on. Based on this, the most logical choice would be the Sigma because of the availability of warranties and (in theory) service. Sigma mobile X-treme 3SIM/3GSM — similar model, both support 3 SIM card, the only difference is that the model 3SIM works with both GSM and CDMA networks and costs UAH 2160, the GSM version is cheaper: 1600 UAH. Case made of rubberized plastic with metal frame members. The phone is protected by standard IP68, according to information on the official website, survival after immersion in water to a depth of 3 meters in an hour. The screen is 2.4 inches 320×240, has a camera of 1.2 mega pixels, FM tuner, MP3 player (supports MicroSD up to 32 GB). One of the interesting unusual shape antenna at the top of the housing, there is a flashlight, which has a separate hardware button and standard USB port for charging mobile devices. The phone is powered from the battery at 3000 mAh, which is for “dialer” is very impressive.

Sigma mobile X-treme DZ67

Previous button “dialer” has one function, which is important to a number of users of secure phones. Namely, Walkie-Talkie. It is in the model Sigma mobile X-treme DZ67 (and similar with other logos on the case). The phone has a removable antenna and has a range of 446-446,1 MHz, power 0.5 W, the maximum radius of 2 km from the Casing can be protected by standard IP67 and is not afraid of short-term immersion in water to a depth of 1 meter. On the upper end (in addition to the slot antenna) to have a flashlight. The phone has a 2.4 inch screen, 240×320 camera at 2.0 megapixels and the battery 1700 mAh. There is FM radio, two SIM card slots, slot for MicroSD up to 32 GB and Bluetooth 3.0. Dimensions: 129.2х58.2h22.3 mm, weight: 162 g (without antenna). The price tag — about 1900 UAH.

LG G6 (and models)

At the time of writing the previous article protected from dust and water smartphone brands A-almost was not. In fact, practiced at the time, only Sony. Now most A-brands have released flagship with dust and moisture protection, and if you don’t need the “armored” option, then there are plenty to choose, everything depends on personal preferences and wallet. There’s a safe line of Samsung Galaxy A 2017 Sony Xperia XZ, LG G6 c additional certification MIL-STD-810G (though the glass front and back panel to break is not difficult), Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ and an iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. These are links for reviews of these models with detailed specifications.

Standard IP (Ingress Protection Rating) — enclosure protection of electrical equipment against penetration by solid objects and liquids. First digit — protection level against ingress of solid objects, the second fluid:

The degree of protection against liquid ingress:

Military standard MIL-STD-810: resilience to shocks, drops, gravitational overloads, low and high temperature, noise, vibration, exposure to liquids, mildew, solar radiation and so on, more details you can read in Wikipedia.

This all is to understand all these degrees of protection and certificates do not guarantee that your mobile phone or smartphone that can withstand any tests or going to work forever. You should not have any illusions, there is nothing eternal and unbreakable.

For those who want to know more: