Verizon Wireless has announced its first rugged 4G LTE Android smartphone, the Casio G’zOne Commando 4G LTE. Successor to the original G’zOne Commando, the tough handset is bigger and packs a faster processor and LTE support. Like its brother, the new model is MI-STD 810G-rated to withstand extreme and unpredictable shock, water, dust, vibration, salt fog and humidity conditions.
One of the phone’s unique features is its G’zGEAR multi-sensor tool that includes Barometer, earth compass, walking counter, tide information access, thermometer and sun/moon display and tracking, and Star Gazer that uses GPS to display stars and constellation names based on the current season and time. You can also find G’zWORLD that lets you share map locations, photos, trekking records with other G’zOne users; and Live G cloud service for building a database of natural world experience.
The LTE-capable Commando runs Android 4.0 on a dual-core 1.5Ghz SnapDragon S4 processor and 1GB of RAM. It gets a 4-inch 800×480 touchscreen display protected by Gorilla Glass 2. The 8 Megapixel camera lets you capture photos, Full HD video and slow motion video in extreme environment and there is a 1.3 Megapixel front-facing camera for self-portrait. The phone is global-ready with support for GSM and UMTS 3G, in addition to LTE and CMDA EVDO. Other features include dual front speakers and dual mic noise suppression, 16GB storage and microSD slot, NFC, Glove Mode, Bluetooth, WiFi and ability to connect with G-SHOCK Watch (model GB6900AA).
TheG’zOne Commando 4G LTE is available for $99.99 after $50 mail-in rebate with 2-year contract.