miss missy
Is this the Dis Board Desperate Housewives?!
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2005
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http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/122006/12312006/247531
Could Verizon's new phone be INVINCIBLE?
December 31, 2006 12:50 am
-
Click for larger photo and to order reprints
By MICHAEL ZITZ
When Verizon Wireless bragged that its new G'zOne Type-V Rugged Phone by Casio is virtually indestructible, we took that as a challenge.
And we set out to ruin it.
The tough phone is advertised as a water-proof and shock-resistant device for extreme-sports enthusiasts. It's the perfect phone for the sadist on your shopping list.
Casio made the phone compliant to military standards including exposure to temperatures in excess of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, extreme vibration, solar radiation, conditions set to simulate storm conditions of 2 inches of rainfall per hour with high winds, and submersion in 1 meter of water.
This macho mobile phone has GPS, doubles as a LED flashlight and has a stopwatch.
It's available at Verizon Wireless stores for $299 with a two-year service agreement, but can be found for as little as $49 on the Web with a new service agreement.
We know from unintentional experience that cell phones normally don't do well in swimming pools, mud puddles and urinals. They often don't even connect calls when they stay dry while sitting out in the sun at the beach and getting hot.
And we personally have suffered the psychic and financial pain of dropping--or sitting on--a BlackBerry and a Treo and then having to buy new ones. So the chance to deliberately abuse a phone with no personal consequences--and then write about it--was too good to pass up.
Within moments of getting the phone, we gleefully punted it like a football, sending it flying across a nearly empty Free Lance-Star newsroom. Hurt our foot. Almost seriously hurt a copy editor, just missing her head. Didn't hurt the G'zOne. Note to self: A personal injury lawsuit is more expensive than a broken cell phone.
We put the G'zOne in the kitchen sink, under running water. Absolutely no effect. (The charging and headset ports on the phone must be closed to maintain the water-resistant feature. So don't plug the G'zOne in to charge it, then get into the tub and then drop the phone in. That would be a bad idea.)
We poured a hot cup of coffee on it. Warm and sticky, but working fine.
Still not convinced, we put the G'zOne in the washer and set it on the heavy-duty cycle. Half an hour later, the phone was cleaner. And still working.
We flung it onto the hardwood floors at home. No effect on phone. Twinge in our rotator cuff, though. Another note to self: Hardwood floors are not invulnerable.
Partly because we really care about consumers--but mostly because we really like to destroy stuff--we dropped the G'zOne from The Free Lance-Star building's balcony onto an asphalt parking lot about 20 feet below.
The cruel impact made a sickeningly loud "thwack!" The clamshell phone opened on impact and bounced in the air like it was Rosie O'Donnell's Donald Trump voodoo doll.
It was a fierce blow that likely exceeded the severity of almost any experienced by a cell phone in normal, real-life circumstances, even for extreme-sports types.
The side of the phone was nicked, almost imperceptibly.
Still, the cool-but-manly-looking exterior display looked fine.
With the anticipation of Alexander Graham Bell calling Mr. Watson for the first time, we picked the G'zOne up and flipped it open. We punched in a friend's number and immediately completed a call, uttering Verizon's iconic "Can you hear me now?" line and getting an affirmative answer. Call quality remained good.
The phone's 2-megapixel camera also worked fine despite the impact.
Impressive.
The G'zOne definitely takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.
My DD put hers CMD 8945 through the wash, the whole cycle! I took the battery out and dried it in a heating pad... it works fine! Camera and all! WHEW! I think this will be our next phone tho!
Could Verizon's new phone be INVINCIBLE?
December 31, 2006 12:50 am
-
Click for larger photo and to order reprints
By MICHAEL ZITZ
When Verizon Wireless bragged that its new G'zOne Type-V Rugged Phone by Casio is virtually indestructible, we took that as a challenge.
And we set out to ruin it.
The tough phone is advertised as a water-proof and shock-resistant device for extreme-sports enthusiasts. It's the perfect phone for the sadist on your shopping list.
Casio made the phone compliant to military standards including exposure to temperatures in excess of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, extreme vibration, solar radiation, conditions set to simulate storm conditions of 2 inches of rainfall per hour with high winds, and submersion in 1 meter of water.
This macho mobile phone has GPS, doubles as a LED flashlight and has a stopwatch.
It's available at Verizon Wireless stores for $299 with a two-year service agreement, but can be found for as little as $49 on the Web with a new service agreement.
We know from unintentional experience that cell phones normally don't do well in swimming pools, mud puddles and urinals. They often don't even connect calls when they stay dry while sitting out in the sun at the beach and getting hot.
And we personally have suffered the psychic and financial pain of dropping--or sitting on--a BlackBerry and a Treo and then having to buy new ones. So the chance to deliberately abuse a phone with no personal consequences--and then write about it--was too good to pass up.
Within moments of getting the phone, we gleefully punted it like a football, sending it flying across a nearly empty Free Lance-Star newsroom. Hurt our foot. Almost seriously hurt a copy editor, just missing her head. Didn't hurt the G'zOne. Note to self: A personal injury lawsuit is more expensive than a broken cell phone.
We put the G'zOne in the kitchen sink, under running water. Absolutely no effect. (The charging and headset ports on the phone must be closed to maintain the water-resistant feature. So don't plug the G'zOne in to charge it, then get into the tub and then drop the phone in. That would be a bad idea.)
We poured a hot cup of coffee on it. Warm and sticky, but working fine.
Still not convinced, we put the G'zOne in the washer and set it on the heavy-duty cycle. Half an hour later, the phone was cleaner. And still working.
We flung it onto the hardwood floors at home. No effect on phone. Twinge in our rotator cuff, though. Another note to self: Hardwood floors are not invulnerable.
Partly because we really care about consumers--but mostly because we really like to destroy stuff--we dropped the G'zOne from The Free Lance-Star building's balcony onto an asphalt parking lot about 20 feet below.
The cruel impact made a sickeningly loud "thwack!" The clamshell phone opened on impact and bounced in the air like it was Rosie O'Donnell's Donald Trump voodoo doll.
It was a fierce blow that likely exceeded the severity of almost any experienced by a cell phone in normal, real-life circumstances, even for extreme-sports types.
The side of the phone was nicked, almost imperceptibly.
Still, the cool-but-manly-looking exterior display looked fine.
With the anticipation of Alexander Graham Bell calling Mr. Watson for the first time, we picked the G'zOne up and flipped it open. We punched in a friend's number and immediately completed a call, uttering Verizon's iconic "Can you hear me now?" line and getting an affirmative answer. Call quality remained good.
The phone's 2-megapixel camera also worked fine despite the impact.
Impressive.
The G'zOne definitely takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.
My DD put hers CMD 8945 through the wash, the whole cycle! I took the battery out and dried it in a heating pad... it works fine! Camera and all! WHEW! I think this will be our next phone tho!
