Rugged touchscreen Motorola Defy announced for Europe, will run Android 2.1 as the mere mortals

Now here is an interesting handset, Motorola. In the US, you dipped your toes in the insidious waters of toughened smartphones with the i1. Now, across the pond, you get yet another handset announced that is IP67 certified to come out unscathed from the battle with elements. A commendable achievement on a 3.7" touchscreen handset running Android, we admit.

The Motorola Defy, as the name suggests, is not afraid to be dropped, scratched (Gorilla Glass), used in a sand storm, or submersed in water up to 3 feet (1 meter). Really not bad, considering it stays light at 4.16 ounces (118gr), and keeps a fairly slender 0.54 inches (13.8mm) profile with a capacitive touchscreen that carries 480x854 pixels of resolution.

The chipset is TI's OMAP 3610 running at 800MHz, which should be enough for most purposes. Motorola still managed to slip in a 5MP camera with LED flash, so you won't be missing moments out of those harsh environments you take the Defy to. It is not specified if the video capture is HD, but the frame rate is listed as 26-30fps, which should deliver smooth video, even if not 720p. The tough handset sports dual microphones for noise cancellation, which should make recorded videos clear sounding as well.

Every opening around the phone is cap protected, and there are screws tightening the case together to prevent those liquids from entering the innards. The folks at Motorola say that the possibility of upgrade to Froyo is being looked at, but there is no certainty so far what will follow. The Defy has the Swype text entry method preloaded as default.

It should be available in Europe at some point in the fourth quarter and, who knows, might make its way stateside as the rumored Jordan on T-Mobile.

Motorola Defy Specifications

source: Motorola