Samsung Rugby Smart review: Tough INC.

Introduction

The Samsung Rugby Smart for AT&T is bound to bring a massive dash of toughness to the Korean giant's Android ranks. Compliant with MIL-STD-810f military grade standard, the handset will also enable Samsung to compete in yet another smartphone segment of the already saturated U.S. market.

While it is no secret that Samsung's smartphone lineup in the United States is difficult to keep track of due to its sheer size, a rugged device had been a notable omission until the arrival of the subject of today's feature.

Samsung Rugby Smart official photos

Despite being a newcomer to the U.S. market, the Samsung Rugby Smart is hardly a revolution in terms of design or specifications. What Samsung have done essentially, is put the single-core, 1.4GHz Scorpion CPU and Snapdragon chipset of the Galaxy W into the casing of the Galaxy Xcover. Add a 3.7" Super AMOLED screen to the mix and there goes the Samsung Rugby Smart for AT&T. Here is the full list of key features for you.

Key Features

• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 14.4 Mbps HSDPA; 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• MIL-STD-810f ruggedness standard compliant
• 1.4GHz Snapdragon CPU; Adreno 205 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset; 512MB RAM
• 4GB storage, microSD card support (up to 32GB)
• 3.7" Super AMOLED display with WVGA (800 x 480) resolution; 252ppi pixel density
• 5 megapixel auto-focus camera; HD (720p) video recording at 30fps, LED flash
• Front-facing VGA camera for video calls
• Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread with TouchWiz 4.0 launcher
• Rich video format support out of the box
• Wi-Fi b/g/n; Hot-spot and DLNA connectivity
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP
• GPS with A-GPS; Digital compass
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• DivX/XviD/X264 video support
• Office document viewer/editor
• Web browser with Adobe Flash 11 support

Main disadvantages

• Not exactly a looker
• Hardware is not exactly at the cutting edge
• No dedicated camera button

As you can notice at its key features above, the Samsung Rugby Smart is not exactly at the cutting edge of the Android realm today. The smartphone surely is not a looker either. Instead, the handset is here to offer its potential users solid functionality, without compromising on toughness.

Samsung Rugby Smart live photos

Traditionally, we are now going to kick things off with an unboxing of the Samsung Rugby Smart, followed by design, build quality, and toughness inspection.

Editorial: You might notice that this review is shorter than usual and doesn't include all of our proprietary tests. The reason is it has been prepared and written far away from our office and test lab. The Samsung Rugby Smart for AT&T is a US-only phone, so it will probably never get to the shores of the Old Continent. Still, we think we've captured the essence of the phone in the same precise, informative and detailed way that's become our trademark. Enjoy the good read!