Why is there a mid-grade Android flip phone on a site full of brazen iPhone fanboys? (Yeah, we admit it. What. WHAT.) It’s not the first Android flip phone. It’s not the first Hello Kitty phone. It’s not even very desirable.
But it’s way better than an iPhone. Whaaaaaaaaat?
This is the SoftBank 007SH KT. Unless you live in Japan, you can’t buy one. It has a 16MP camera. Whatever. It has a 3.4-inch touchscreen. Who cares. It has a TV tun–zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Oh, sorry, I fell asleep there for a minute. What were we talking about there? Oh yeah, how this stupid flipper is probably way better than your phone. Why? It’s waterproof*. All phones should be waterproof.
Rain happens. Coffe spills. You stand over the sink to take your online dating profile photo in the bathroom mirror. The neighbourhood bully pushes you into the pool. A car drives through a puddle and splashes water all over your pants. You check Google Maps in the rain when you’re late to an appointment. You sweat a lot. A lot. Sound familiar? YOU PUT YOUR PHONE’S LIFE AT RISK EVERY DAY. And why? What would it take for manufacturers to make every phone waterproof? A couple o-rings? Some rubber seals? Tighter manufacturing tolerances? Certainly it can’t be harder than designing a mobile phone that can talk to a freakin’ satellite.
If we were conspiracy theorists, we would say that mobile phone companies want your phone to get wet and die. But we’re gonna give them the benefit of the doubt. They’re probably just lazy. Or afraid that the price premium on a ruggedised phone that doesn’t look like a Toughbook would drive customers away. *cough* bullshit *cough*
We’re going to keep posting about insignificant (water-resistant) little pissant phones like this until it’s the industry standard. Because you shouldn’t have to choose between getting wet and getting lost.[Softbank via TechCrunch]
*If you want to get technical, it’s water-resistant.