OT Rugged smartphones

[Happyoldgit]

I've had one or two rugged phones in the past but having just busted the screen and digitiser of my current, cased and screen protected 5 month old ordinary smartphone I'm thinking of going back to something a bit more durable. Does anyone have any recommendations [apart from be more careful, don't drop your phone etc] with regard to a good current, or recent model, unlocked, ruggedised smartphone that won't break the bank?

I don't want to know about cases for ordinary phones - been there - done that etc I want a phone that's built to withstand use that's a bit more than the daily commute or sat at a desk, something that won't throw a wobbly when used out in the wilds and workshop.

[Ed Poore]

Only had it since mid January but been suitable impressed by the Ulefone Armor X8. Dropped it a fair few times and from height and not suffered, it's got the case built into it. Waterproof (even a submersible mode for the camera). Think it was £124 from Amazon when I bought it.

Battery life is decent and also seems to be far far far better at picking up signal than my old Sony Xperia. There's pretty much no-where at my parents farm where I can't get a signal now which considering before there were only a couple of places I could get signal. And no there's no new masts that have gone up.

[miketomcat]

Curve ball not rugged as such but I've got a fairphone 3. I've dropped mine several times and I work in a boat yard with it in my pocket. The reason I bought it was a couldn't find a rugged phone I liked/could afford and every part is easily replaceable so if I break it I can fix it.

Mike

[landroversforever]

What kind of case was it Steve? 

My iPhone lead a much harder life when it was in the machine shop every day, even had a machine vice dropped on it once. Numerous dousings in coolant too when it has been used for the trig calcs while setting up and then left in there under flood coolant . That particular phone lived in a Griffin Survivor case. 

[Turnips]

I had a 'Tuff' smartphone as my previous phone. In hindsight it was good, smartphone features in a tough housing, just slightly slower than a recognised model and a poorer camera. You don't realise until you switch back to a smartphone just how frequently you drop, douse, and generally abuse the bloody things.

The only benefit of having a 'proper' smartphone is that I leave it in the house when I go play at the workshop/farm/yard. SWMBO maybe doesn't recognise this a a benefit though...

[simonr]

Another vote for Ulefone Armor X8.  I have one as a backup for my S10 for when I'm working outdoors or abroad.

It's a pretty good phone, all things considered - and cheap too.

Camera is OK, it's reasonably fast, screen is good - though any screen is better than a broken one.

I know you're not interested in cases - but I used to use Otter Boxes for my phones.  One of them survived being dropped on a busy road and driven over by dozens of cars before I could retrieve it.  It was badly scuffed - but inside it was fine.  Unfortunately, they are only available for a small selection of phones - and a rugged phone doesn't cost much more than the box, so that's the way I've gone.

Si

[zardos]

There are a couple of brands like the Ulefone, managed to get a number of Doogee S40 phones for about £50 each, they no longer produce the version we got for £50 but there are updated models to replace it.

Not used these as an actual phone but as a portage computing device with NFC, and for this they are great, might not be the faster or best screen but they have good battery life.

One downside as a normal phone is that there has been no security updates for them.

[Blanco]

This is something I struggle with too, ... currently nursing a Nokia 7 plus along while I can still charge it, it used to live in an armoured case but got dust and grit in the charging port USB C connection, which wasn't sealed, the local phone shop charged €90 to replace the USB C port (apparently it is one of the more difficult phones to take apart) and managed to mess up the microphones while they were in there. That was over a year ago and the replacement USB C port is now tricky to get successfully connected, I often come back to the phone to find it no more charged than when I plugged it in.

I 'manage' the drop risk by always wearing a small paracord lanyard and clip and wearing the phone in my shirt pocket, (don't need to unclip to use or answer) I have even altered a couple of my everday shirts to enlarge the pocket to improve security.

I have been looking at the Techradar site and the like to see what comes next, there seem to be three regular players Blackview, Doogee and Ulefone, and occasionally a CAT phone in the top 10 if the price doesn't put you off. My current Nokia is on the generic Android OS and has been updated regularly and I had assumed that these phones would too?

[Bowie69]

For the USB-C port problem, I have found the need to get a small splinter of wood(a snapped/torn cocktail stick works well) in there to pick out dust and debris from the port, probably every six months, or the charging lead won't stay in reliably. 

Also a Nokia, but an 8.

[Nonimouse]

Oukitel. I have a WP8 Pro, which is more like a Phablet - but I like that.

Oukitel have been making site equipemnt for years, so know all about robust. Some say Ulefone is better - personally I couldn't see the diffference and Amazon had a deal on the WP8, so I bought it and I'm hooked. Massive battery life, water resistant and robust, with some useful tools.

[Happyoldgit]

Admittedly I am not firing on all cylinders at present and am currently waiting for an appointment for a scan which will hopefully show what the last few months of chemotherapy has achieved, but it is amazing how much time can be spent sorting out a sudden accidental phone breakage! Fortunately I had my old phone to hand so was able to transfer some of the stuff but even with backups of the new phone to hand it all takes time and frustration! 

Replacements for the screen and digitiser are expensive and not available that quickly but I did find a place that can supply at a reasonable cost sk I will have a go at a DIY replacement. Getting it repaired elsewhere will be a sizeable amount of money that could be put toward a more durable phone. Even with my currently often shaky hands having a bash at repairing has to be worth a gamble, there is some data on the device I would like to retrieve but cannot do so without a working touchscreen.

I have used Otterboxes in the past but not this time. I've also had C port issues and spent time with a wooden toothpick and airline picking out bits of stuff that have somehow found their way in there.

Thanks for all the much appreciated comments and suggestions chaps. I did spend a chunk of time looking at the Techradar and other comparison  / review sites beforehand but my head began to hurt after a while. My wallet was also getting jittery over the prices of the latest model trendy normal phones - scary stuff. The poor old thing has only just stopped shaking from shock after forking out on a spanking Macbook Pro recently too!

[Blanco]

Just re-visited Techradar et al this morning and my vote goes to the Doogee S96 Pro FWIW. Good luck with your repair, I see they nearly always use a hotplate now to soften adhesives before attempting to take things apart. 

[L19MUD]

Topical as my supposedly rugged Land Rover explore phone has all the hallmarks of dust being in the speaker. I like the idea of the Cat s62 Pro but the price...has anyone had any experience?

[Ed Poore]

The Ulefone X8 has rubber caps (attached) for all the ports so you don't get dust in them. Or as I found with my old one hat and straw from bedding lambs down at the farm. 

[Arjan]

Crosscall X3 or X4

Known as "the builders phone" and has survived trains, plains, cars and all that.

Very, very rugged, long battery life and does what is says on the tin

[elbekko]

1 hour ago, Ed Poore said:

rubber caps (attached) for all the ports

My old S4 Active had that too. Then it broke off.

Come to think of it, the same thing happened with the charge port cover on my Toughpad recently.

[Happyoldgit]

A Doogee S96 it is. 

New or newishish models from Blackview, Ulefone and others were in the running too but I didn't want to chuck chunks of money at something that often looked like it would be coming direct from CH or HK and thus attract import duties and VAT. While the Doogee S96 has lesser specifications in some respects than the phone that just went mammaries up it's always swings and roundabouts with this stuff. Direct comparisons of specs on paper don't always equate to real life performance and experience ...but I will see.

I dare say someone could very well be taking a sharp intake of breath right now and be ready to type "I wouldn't have chosen that if I were you, blooming' awful thing! You should have gone for one of these [insert much higher spec phone for the same money on offer for just today] instead"  but that's just what I expect knowing my luck just recently 🤣🤣🤣

[Ed Poore]

Your choice is your choice but does appear to be double the price of the X8 we've recommended?  and that's direct from Amazon so no import duties to worry about.

[Happyoldgit]

2 hours ago, Ed Poore said:

Your choice is your choice but does appear to be double the price of the X8 we've recommended?  and that's direct from Amazon so no import duties to worry about.

Quite so (I was referring to the Armor 9 or 10, apologies for not specifying) but among other things the camera specs are a bit higher although not as good as the busted phone. I think I stated somewhere that a reasonable camera is one criteria. The infra red aspect will be a novel, and if good, useful too. 

PAX 🙂

[Ed Poore]

Fair enough, as I say it was your choice. A phone for me is mainly a phone so have different requirements.

[zardos]

Nice, the Doogee S96 has wireless charging as a benefit over the Ulefone X8, which means you don't have to pull out the rubber stopper and plug in a lead to charge and be a source of physical wear (the usb socket is what is going wrong on my current phone)

Let us know what it's like once you get it.

[Happyoldgit]

36 minutes ago, Ed Poore said:

Fair enough, as I say it was your choice. A phone for me is mainly a phone so have different requirements.

That's right. I may not have chosen the one you recommended but that is not to say I did not appreciate the advice. Thank you 🙂

[reb78]

Interesting thread this. 

I hate iphones, but inherit my other half's cast offs when she upgrades, so beggars cant be choosers and all that. BUT I still hate the thing! Despite trying I cant get her to get an Android phone that I can inherit.

The prices of the ones here dont seem too bad really. Is there anything suggested in this thread that would be fairly equivalent to the iphone7? I realise its a bit Apples and Pears, but what comes closest to my current cast off?

[zardos]

8 minutes ago, reb78 said:

Is there anything suggested in this thread that would be fairly equivalent to the iphone7? I realise its a bit Apples and Pears, but what comes closest to my current cast off?

I think that all these would beat an iPhone7 on Battery Life, Camera quality, Screen quality, robustness, speed, storage.

The only thing the iPhone7 would beat this is on pre installed Apps to do useful stuff like email and messaging, but that it easily solved by downloading a free email program, What's App, etc.

Edited April 29, 2021 by zardos

[Bowie69]

The iPhone 7 was a very well specced phone (£500+?), however even with the passage of time you won't get the same experience out of a sub £150 new phone.

That said, for your use case a cheap android phone may well be more than you need, and you would be very satisfied with it. All depends on your priorities, which only you can determine.

BTW, I'm an odd-bod, I have an iMac as my home office machine, an old Mac Air (2012) for round the house duties, and android phone and android tablet, I too ca't stand the way the iPhone operates, seems all back to front and upside down having been on android since ~2007.

 

Have to say @Happyoldgit, I was intrigued by the IR camera setting