It’s a given that cell phones tend not to play well with the Earth’s elements, but whether it’s summer at the beach or a bike ride down a muddy trail, Sony Ericsson’s good-looking Xperia Active smartphone is designed to take a beating.
Rugged cell phones aren’t new, and the Xperia Active also isn’t the first rugged Android-based smartphone, either (Motorola and Casio have them). But the Xperia Active targets those with a fitness-focused lifestyle. Besides being water- and dust-resistant, the Xperia Active is ANT+ compliant for use with other compatible products such as exercise equipment and pulse monitors. Other sporty features include a Gear Kit that comes with an arm case, wrist strap, and headphones with ear straps; fitness-related apps; GPS, barometer, and compass functionality; and a screen that’s usable even when your fingers are wet.
Beneath its ruggedness is a full-featured Android smartphone that runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). It’s powered by a 1-gigahertz processor and features a 3-inch, 320×480 display with what Sony Ericsson calls the Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine. You can shoot videos in high definition, and you can download apps as you would with any Android phone. It’s slightly on the thick side, but what you sacrifice in size you get in protection (it is lighter than an iPhone 4, however, which is good news for those who don’t like being bogged down by stuff).
No pricing or market announcements have been made, yet, and there’s a chance it could never make it onto our shores. If it does, look for it in the third quarter of this year.
