The G'zOne Boulder, a new phone from Verizon Wireless ($130 with a two-year contract), attempts to make these tragedies a thing of the past.
The Boulder is billed as a "super-rugged" phone that meets military specifications for water submersion, shock and dust resistance and a host of other nasty things. But it doesn't look like a phone that only a contractor (or a really clumsy person) would use. It has a stylish flip design that comes in silver and black or orange and black, and it only weighs about 5 ounces.
It has all the features of a mid-priced Verizon phone (including a camera, Bluetooth, text messaging and the ability to browse the Internet and download music) and some that will appeal to campers, boaters or anyone who spends a lot of time outdoors (like a flashlight, electronic compass, GPS and voice commands).
It's great for a child, people who work outside all day or the accident prone. And given all the rain and flooding Floridians have endured, it might make a nice addition to a disaster kit.
But don't buy it if you want to browse the Internet often, send and receive a lot of e-mail or perform other iPhone and BlackBerry-like tasks. Unlike those phones, the Boulder's best feature is its ability to make calls in all kinds of conditions.
This is not the only phone from one of the major carriers that is shock, water and dust resistant (Sprint has a couple of phones with these features), but it appears to be the only one that can actually be submerged in water. The Boulder is able to work underwater because its power and media card ports are protected by heavy-duty stoppers that keep the moisture out.
Before I got this phone, my Verizon contacts regaled me with all of the ways others had put it through the ringer. It was given to a kindergarten class that tried to destroy it by banging on it with plastic hammers and using it as a hockey puck. It was dropped from a helicopter onto a field. It was even strapped to the stomach of a really fat guy who ran full speed into the stomach of another sumo-like man. After all these tests, the phone survived.
So naturally I wanted to make sure I did what I could to try to destroy it.
I plopped it into a bowl of water and called it a few minutes later. The call went through and rang while the phone was still underwater.
I dropped it several times onto concrete from about seven feet up. The back of the Boulder sustained a few minor scuffs but still worked perfectly.
I ran over it with my car tire, but all that happened was it got dusty, lost a few chunks of plastic and a few buttons got pressed.
I put it in the washing machine along with my dirty clothes and I put it in the dryer by itself for about five minutes. It came out smelling nice and still worked.
And finally, because I know this is a common fate for cell phones, I dropped it into the toilet. After fishing it out (and drying it off), everything worked fine, but I think I might have to put it back in the wash before returning it to Verizon.
___
How Tough?
Watch Etan Horowitz test the toughness of the G'zOne Boulder at OrlandoSentinel.com/technology
___
(Etan Horowitz is the technology columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. He can be reached at
ehorowitz@orlandosentinel.com.)
© 2008, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Related stories:
Climate change gathers steam, say scientists
Earth's climate appears to be changing more quickly and deeply than a benchmark UN report for policymakers predicted, top scientists said ahead of international climate talks starting Monday in Poland.
10 favorite gadgets
I've played with dozens of cool gadgets this year, as well as with a bunch of duds.
Behind spacesuit technology stands astronaut's ‘leap of faith'
This is a story about a man and his suit. His $12 million suit - the most complex wardrobe known to man. David Wolf was 8 years old when he first saw someone decked out in a spacesuit. That's when astronaut Ed White became the first American to walk in space.
Birth of a new ocean
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a remote part of northern Ethiopia, the Earth’s crust is being stretched to breaking point, providing geologists with a unique opportunity to watch the birth of what may eventually become a new ocean. Lorraine Field, a PhD student, and Dr James Hammond, both from the Department of Earth Sciences, are two of the many scientists involved in documenting this remarkable event.
Don't forget vinegar in your household-cleaning regime
What can tackle the germs and grease on your kitchen counters but also make your favorite pickles safe to eat? Vinegar.
What we 'know' may not be so, when it comes to the uninsured and ERs
The 47 million Americans who lack health insurance are the reason emergency departments are crowded all the time – right? And only the uninsured visit the emergency department for minor complaints, because it's easier than going to a doctor – right?
Flying Underwater, Staying Dry
Rutgers physical oceanographer Scott Glenn and his students are flying a submersible robot glider, the Scarlet Knight, across the Atlantic – very slowly, underwater, and without getting wet.
Cisco makes push to become a truly global company
When Cisco Systems Chief Executive John Chambers dispatched top lieutenant Wim Elfrink to India nearly two years ago, the executive vice president's mother-in-law drew the only logical conclusion.
