Rugged phones have had a tough wrap of late with all the contenders either being ugly or underpowered. About the closest phone to hit the balance of looking good, packing a punch and taking one at the same time was the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active released last year. It offered a 1GHz processor with a sharp screen and a decent 5-megapixel camera. While it was a touch chunky, the screen was a little small and it was somewhat, orange, it still held a place in our hearts as one of the most capable rugged phones we’d ever used. Until now. July 2012 has with it brought the Sony Xperia Go, the successor and from the offset, flagship for the rugged phone category.
So why all this excitement over a rugged phone? Because the Sony Xperia go wipes the floor with the competition when it comes to specs alone. With a 1GHz dual-core processor, it’s fast. The screen isn’t all that sharp at HVGA, however that puts very little pressure on the processor suggesting this phone will perform well into your 12-24 month contract. It also packs a pretty solid 5-megapixel sensor loaded with auto-focus and an LED flash. Peel off the back cover and there’s a full-sized SIM card slot and a micro SD card slot to supplement the on-board 8GB of storage, 4GB of which is user available.
What’s perhaps most impressive when it comes to the Sony Xperia Go however is its design. This phone looks good. It’s slender and matte, dense and elegant. it sits well in the hand and our white variant’s body looks nicely contrasted against the black display and fascia. It has a subtle chin and well concealed flaps around the sides not to mention a bright turquoise surprise under the back cover which accents through every now and then. From the photos, we didn’t think it would be love at first sight, but to our delight it isn’t far off.
Talking aside, a video will better help you understand why we’re so initially enamoured with the Sony Xperia Go. Enjoy our unboxing and keep your eyes peeled for our full review coming your way shortly.
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