With the release of Motorola's latest smartphone offering, the Defy, the brand have given this model some unique properties to help make it stand out against the huge range of similar specification models currently available.
Rather than focusing on screen technology or slide out keypads, Motorola have focused on an area that in fairness benefits every phone user, from the teenage social net-worker to the high end business user, and that is durability.
Over the past couple of years, we have seen average contract length on many models increase from an average of 12 months to the 18/24 months offered on many new models.
This means we need to expect at least 50% more use from our model, and thus the durability suddenly becomes a much more important factor than it would have done previously.
Perhaps the most pleasing element of this phone is that it manages to cram in a host of features aimed at prolonging its life, but not at the expense of design, and at a glance the Defy looks like your standard smartphone.
Delve a little deeper however and you will discover that the unit is both dustproof and water resistant.
To achieve this, the phones back panel is much more secure than on many other models, and when you physically remove it you can see this by the pleasing stiff lock and the audible ping that lets you know the panel is now released.
Obviously, external sockets needed to be covered to, thus your additional ports such as your headphone socket and your micro USB port all feature rubber plugs.
In practice, these extra measures seem to do their job very effectively.
I held the phone below a running tap for a few minutes with no ill effect on the phone.
Obviously that does not mean you are likely to take the Defy diving or in your local swimming baths, but it does mean everyday occurrences like Bing dropped in the bath or answering in the shower should prove no problem at all.
The other area where the durability of the Motorola Defy comes in to play is its resilience to knocks and bumps, which is the most common cause of damage to mobile handsets.
Evidence of the extra toughness of this phone is apparent when you take a closer look at its design.
Around the edges of the chassis you will find three bolts holding the phone together.
Perhaps slightly more unsightly than other models, but they are reassuring to see, and you can be fairly confident that if you do drop the phone whilst taking it out of your pocket, it will not perform the all to familiar trick of breaking into several pieces.
So what about the weakest part of any mobile, the screen, and does that render this phones other excellent feature useless.
Well the answer is no thanks to Gorilla Glass being used in its construction, which is not only incredibly difficult to break, but boasts superb scratch resistant properties too.
On its performance alone, the Defy proves itself to be a great handset, but add into the equation the excellent durability of this model and you have what could prove your most reliable and functional handset ever.
Rather than focusing on screen technology or slide out keypads, Motorola have focused on an area that in fairness benefits every phone user, from the teenage social net-worker to the high end business user, and that is durability.
Over the past couple of years, we have seen average contract length on many models increase from an average of 12 months to the 18/24 months offered on many new models.
This means we need to expect at least 50% more use from our model, and thus the durability suddenly becomes a much more important factor than it would have done previously.
Perhaps the most pleasing element of this phone is that it manages to cram in a host of features aimed at prolonging its life, but not at the expense of design, and at a glance the Defy looks like your standard smartphone.
Delve a little deeper however and you will discover that the unit is both dustproof and water resistant.
To achieve this, the phones back panel is much more secure than on many other models, and when you physically remove it you can see this by the pleasing stiff lock and the audible ping that lets you know the panel is now released.
Obviously, external sockets needed to be covered to, thus your additional ports such as your headphone socket and your micro USB port all feature rubber plugs.
In practice, these extra measures seem to do their job very effectively.
I held the phone below a running tap for a few minutes with no ill effect on the phone.
Obviously that does not mean you are likely to take the Defy diving or in your local swimming baths, but it does mean everyday occurrences like Bing dropped in the bath or answering in the shower should prove no problem at all.
The other area where the durability of the Motorola Defy comes in to play is its resilience to knocks and bumps, which is the most common cause of damage to mobile handsets.
Evidence of the extra toughness of this phone is apparent when you take a closer look at its design.
Around the edges of the chassis you will find three bolts holding the phone together.
Perhaps slightly more unsightly than other models, but they are reassuring to see, and you can be fairly confident that if you do drop the phone whilst taking it out of your pocket, it will not perform the all to familiar trick of breaking into several pieces.
So what about the weakest part of any mobile, the screen, and does that render this phones other excellent feature useless.
Well the answer is no thanks to Gorilla Glass being used in its construction, which is not only incredibly difficult to break, but boasts superb scratch resistant properties too.
On its performance alone, the Defy proves itself to be a great handset, but add into the equation the excellent durability of this model and you have what could prove your most reliable and functional handset ever.
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