fwiw, I’ve had one a little over a year. Agree with many comments (it is rugged), but not as smooth as other phones. However, by ticking the usb debugging box, it’s made my phone super smooth. May be worth trying?

Mine’s has survived a couple of drops, one on concrete from about 2 metres, but no submersion (yet). 3 or 4 months old, glass still wipes clean with no scratches or apparent damage.

Posted by me
Since then I’ve sat on it and the screen broke – maybe I should lose the ButSlimmer part of forum name. However, it still works and replacing glass is covered by insurance. So, it’s taken some abuse, but failed the big bloke’s back pocket test.

I’ve had one for about 8 months now, first proper smartphone, cost about £150 second hand, on GiffGaff PAYG (unlimited data for £10/month).

I like it but I’d say you need to be tinkerer to get the most out of it. If you’re fairly Android savvy and don’t give a stuff about the warranty then it’s a good rugged phone.

Pros: Battery life is reasonable. Good GPS. Relatively cheap. Hard to scratch the screen. Has survived lots of dunkings including 10 minutes in the washing machine.

Cons: The big one is that capacitive screen becomes useless in rain, and annoyingly even a bit of sweat can decrease the functionality. The screen isn’t completely scratch resistant and reports suggets it’s quite brittle. The earpieces of almost all the first gen ones seem to die, it’s a £3 part to replace but shouldn’t need doing. Battery life isn’t enough to use as a GPS except for quick local blats. Laggy processor compared to more expensive, newer phones.

I upgraded to Android 2.2 and it became agonisingly slow when running some apps, including Google Maps. Solved by rooting and installing sysctl config. I’d recommend doing this as it’s made a noticeable difference to the phone, for example the camera now works a lot better.

If you just want an untrashable phone for calls/texts while riding, I’d recommend something like a Samsung Solid.

I upgraded to Android 2.2 and it became agonisingly slow when running some apps, including Google Maps. Solved by rooting and installing sysctl config.

Similar problems here after the 2.2 upgrade. Rooting and installing Setvsel sorted it.

Samsung Solid

I still have one of these (different name then/same design). Swap the sim card over every so often. It just seems like an old taxi. Keeps on going!

Samsung Solid
I still have one of these. Swap the sim card over every so often. It just seems like an old taxi. Keeps on going!

I don’t. Broke the screen on my Solid Extreme a month back- had it in my jeans pocket with a bunch of keys, then climbed on some rocks- keys broke the screen. Shame, cos it had been perfect up til then.

Bought one of the cheap HTC Evo’s and an Otterbox but wish I hadn’t- I’m going to get an iPhone and a lifeproof case I think.

There is a Defy 2 version which I have. Think it is MB526. Has faster processor and bigger battery.

I don’t worry about riding in the rain and don’t have a protective case at all. But I’m not going to push my luck by giving it a dip!

any chance you could take me through this?

Similar problems here after the 2.2 upgrade. Rooting and installing Setvsel sorted it.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1216982

I like mine. After dealing with Three I vowed never to take out a lengthy contract again, so I bought an unlocked one and stuck a Tesco 1 month sim in it.

It has Cynogen mod on it now, but any Android version is what you make of it imo. What most people think of as ‘Android’ is probably just their launcher, but there are loads of these to choose from including some fairly simple ones (I like Zeam). I’m also amazed at people who walk around all day with their wifi, gps and 3g on to let them know what the weather is doing outside or what have you.

still a bit lost im afraid. what does all that booty flashy stuff do?

what is setvsel?

Setvsel.

Pros for me were: small, light, cheap, more durable than other phones.
I’ve just take the waterproof and shockproof stuff to mean that it might weather spills and knocks better than some- I’m under no illusions that it’s properly waterproof.
Battery life is on par with most others IME, it’s not the fastest but does everything I ask of it quiet happily- Google Earth makes it struggle and I expect there are some games it couldn’t play.

Overall quite happy with it- although I am on my second after the microphone failed on the first one.

Tracknicko: “flashing” the phone means installing a modified operating system on it. Not really necessary but it can speed up your phone a bit, get rid of unnecessary preinstalled software and add other functions.

If anyone else’s phone is slow after going to Android 2.2 Froyo, there’s a simple guide to fixing it here:

http://project89.com/freezing-google-maps-froyo-2-2-218/

thank you chaps. im not sure if i need it tbh. will just accept my phone is a bit steady.

My Defy kept dropping the mobile signal wherever I was. I compared my signal strength by putting my sim in another phone and it was fine, way stronger, everywhere. I gave my Defy to the wife and bought an HTC Desire instead. Much happier.

When out in the rain, the Defy screen was useless as rain drops fell upon it. It was slow, kept locking up. Most disappointing in my experience.

I couldn’t recommend one to anyone.