Rugged phones rarely release into the markets. Most of the smartphone making brands always want you to buy their expensive glass-and-metal slab of a phone, rather than offering a distinguished, heavy duty, rugged phone. Today, Motorola is getting in on the latest smartphone enthusiasm: rugged phones. Since 2021, Bullitt Group has an exclusive, long-term global license with Motorola and CAT to release ruggedized handsets into the markets, and enable their users to send and receive messages everywhere thanks to the advent of direct-to-satellite communication.
Along with the Cat S75, Bullitt Group has also announced another rugged Android phone today, under Motorola branding, the Motorola Defy 2. Bullitt Group has also launched a new device called Motorola Defy Satellite Link, which is a Bluetooth device that provides satellite connectivity to any Android or iOS smartphone.
Motorola Defy 2
It’s what you’d expect from the rugged Defy 2: Corning Gorilla Victus to protect the 6.6” FHD+ display, with a 20:9 aspect ratio and up to 120Hz refresh rate. It is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 930 octa-core 2.2GHz processor, with 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage, that is expandable with MicroSD cards. There’s a 50MP rear main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, a 2MP macro camera for photos. The front-facing water-hole punch camera is 8MP for selfies and video calls, and mobile speeds are HSPA, LTE, 5G.
Under tho hood, there’s a 5,000mAh battery with up to two days of power, which can be recharged at 15W over a wire, Qi charging supported too. The phone comes with Android 12 OS out of the box and will receive two OS updates, as well as 5 years of security patches, and quarterly security updates for the first 3 years, then it will get emergency SMR updates for another 2 years. That means it will be updated to Android version 13 and later v14.
Apart from the usual aforementioned features, the Motorola Defy 2 has passed Mil-Spec 810H tests for high and low temperature extremes, humid environments, salt mist conditions, vibration and tumble tests. Yes, it can spend up to 24 hours in extreme temperatures (-30°C/-22°F to 75°C/167°F).
It can survive drops and falls up to 1.8 meters onto a steel plate. It also has dust, sand, dirt and waterproof features with IP68 and IP69K ratings, and you can clean and sanitize it with soap or water or alcohol wipes. Motorola Defy 2 lets you to send messages to anyone from anywhere with a clear view of the sky. Messaging supports up to 140 Unicode bytes, and all writing systems are supported. Users can also attach their location to the message as well.
The Motorola Defy 2 will be available from Q2 this year through select carriers in North and South America for $599.
Motorola Defy Satellite Link
Most of the people do not buy these rugged phones or any other phones which have satellite messaging kind of features. What if you have a normal smartphone, but want to use satellite messaging. Then, the Motorola Defy Satellite Link comes into the rescue. It is a pretty tiny, portable Bluetooth accessory offers Bullitt Satellite Connectivity, which also has a handy attachment loop that allows any Android or iOS device to utilize the full functionality of the application, including two-way messaging, location sharing and SOS assistance.
It is also rated IP68 for dust and water resistance and has also undergone MIL-STD-810H testing. Furthermore, it has physical SOS (you can use it if you lose your phone) and location ‘Check In’ buttons. There’s a 600mAh battery for multiple days of use. It uses the first 3GPP standards-based satellite NTN (direct-to-device) service, providing affordable and continuous coverage internationally over existing, well-established infrastructure. You can connect this tiny device to any smartphone (Android or iOS), and messages sent or received over satellite will be deducted from the satellite messaging subscriber’s plan with no cost.
For $100, interested users can start buying the Motorola Defy Satellite Link from April 2023. You can also grab it for $150 with a 12-month subscription to the Essentials Messaging Plan (up to 30 two-way messages a month).