14 DAY TRIAL // We reported yesterday that Bell Canada decided to delay the Samsung Galaxy Rugby, which should have been available for purchase beginning April 19.
However, it looks like Rogers already released the smartphone, so customers can purchase it for as low as $49.99 CAD with a new three-year agreement, or for a month-to-month price of $229 CAD.
There’s more to it as Samsung officially introduced the Galaxy Rugby in Canada and confirmed it would go live at Bell and SaskTel as well, though there are no details on availability and price.
Samsung Galaxy Rugby is dustproof and waterproof (submersible up to 1m for 30 minutes) and runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system.
The smartphone is Google certified and offers access to a full range of Google Mobile services and applications, including Google Maps, Gmail, Google Search and Google Play.
“The Samsung Galaxy Rugby is the ultimate smartphone to withstand the elements. Perfect for active customers who need to stay connected on the job, this smartphone can survive the harshest Canadian weather,” said Paul Brannen, vice president, mobile communications, Samsung Electronics Canada.
It comes with a decent 3.65-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen display that supports 320 x 480 pixels resolution, and features Corning Gorilla Glass coating for extra protection against scratches and scrapes.
On the back, the Galaxy Rugby sports a mediocre 3-megapixel photo snapper with video recording capabilities.
The phone is equipped with an 800 MHz single-core processor and packs 150MB of internal memory, as well as microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB, 2GB memory card included).
The Galaxy Rugby’s 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery should provide users with up to 17 days of standby time or up to 9 hours of talk time.
“We are passionate about delivering quality devices to the market and the Galaxy Rugby is an exciting new addition to the Galaxy family of smartphones,” concluded Brannen.