Will it blend?
We’ve all dropped our phones once, twice, or every other five minutes, right? I know I have on multiple occasions and I wince with every drop. The battery or some part seems to dislodge itself without fail every time and it just doesn’t work the same afterwards. I’ve gotten away with sending my phone in for replacement without the watermark stickers revealing I dropped my phone in the toilet, but that good fortune won’t last forever. Have you ever accidentally thrown your phone into an open fire? It looks cool once the embers cool down, but you’re SOL otherwise. And then there are those random hungover mornings when I find my phone in the fridge. Weird. I know. I could be a klutz or jinxed, I haven’t figured that out, yet.
Is there any hope for those of us who seem to be cursed with ‘butter fingers’? Not entirely, but if you’re a Verizon subscriber than all is well in the world. That’s a strange statement considering my love/hate relationship with the nation’s largest provider isn’t it? Anyways, in case your phone can’t handle a dip in the pool, a 10-story drop, a fit of rage as the Sox lose (Yankees lost, so it’s ok), or an open flame then check out the Casio G’zOne.
No need to get into the carrier side of things because it’s the same Verizon crap UI and apps you’re used to, so we’re going to delve into what the G’zOne has to offer, which is quite bit. My first encounter with the G squashed any thoughts that this was just a clever marketing ploy and that it wasn’t built tough enough to take a beating. The reps were winging it across the room, smashing it into the ground, submerging it under water and yet, it still worked without any complications. They even showed me one that some snowboarders had thrown into a fire, which looked like fake poop, but was still operational. Some may still be skeptical and I was as well, so we subjected it to a variety of CG tests. Did it pass?
Hell yes it passed. The first string of tests consisted of dropping it from a few feet onto the floor, launching it down a staircase and letting it sink to the bottom of a pool. No matter how many times I dropped or threw the phone it never skipped a beat. I even went as far as jumping on it and kicking it as hard as possible against the wall. Didn’t affect it one bit. Call clarity never diminished, either, and the battery cover never flew off. Casio was clever enough to implement a latch to ensure the back cover and battery never dislodged. To quote Borat, “That’s a niiice.”
But a lot of phones can take a drop or two and keep chugging along without a problem, right? Can they survive a drop in the toilet or a dip in the pool? Not really and this is one facet where the G excels beyond any other mobile device on the market. I left the Casio on at the bottom of my gf’s pool for about half an hour and as expected it still worked. I then turned on the external flashlight and submerged it in a glass of water for another half hour. You guessed it, still worked. Hmm. What else could I do? I know! I’ll throw it in the freezer and see how slow it goes after half an hour. Most phones become extremely sluggish and sometimes inoperable when they’re subjected to cold temperatures. They obviously come back to life once they’re warmed up, but the G’s fate was much different. There was a minute amount of lag time scrolling through the menus, which is understandable considering the conditions, but it’s nice to know that you can take it up to the mountain and not worry about it not working properly. It took, at the very most, 45 seconds to a minute before everything was free flowing.
The G’zOne Type-S is rugged and tough, but it doesn’t skimp on the features. The clamshell isn’t the thinnest on the market (that honor goes to the Fin), but I like a little girth to my phone, 2.04- x 3.84- x 1.13-inches and weighs a little over 4.5 ounces. The usual suspects include Bluetooth, a VGA 3x zoom camera/video with self-timer (128MB of flash memory), speakerphone, phone book (500 contacts), calendar, calculator, stopwatch, timer and voice memo/commands/dialing all ensconced in a polyurethane coated plastic frame. It even has GPS if you’re a VZ Navigator subscriber. Talk time was around 180 minutes and it supports SMS/EMS/MMS and Mobile IM. You really don’t need much more than that. You can one up now at your local Verizon store, but if you buy online you can get an extra $50 off. Just don’t drop it in the toilet.
External display with two digital and analogue clocks
The money shot
Dimples. That battery isn’t coming off. Ever. Charger contact points.
The red button turns the speaker on. Volume up/down. Mode button activates voice command.
Headset port
Works under water for reals, holmes.
While this G’zone type S is a great rugged phone, one needs to have the VOLUME loud enough to hear the other person talk as well hear the ringer while working outdoors around heavy equipment. I need to know how to accomplish this, will unlocking the phone make this possible and are there any ramifications form the unfriendly giant Verison
I was one of the first owners in my area of the original G’zone, and now own the follow up model, the “S”. I am an avid outdoors person, a hardened and shameless Harley rider, and a legendary klutz. On any given week, I wind up (inadvertently) doing things to my cell phone that would make a Turkish prison guard blush. I went through cell phones, due to accidental destruction, like the Wehrmacht on the way to Paris, like General Sherman through the American South…well, you get the idea.
Prior to purchase, I looked at what I needed my phone to do. MP3 player was pretty superfluous, due to a 160gig iPod always near. I don’t surf the net on my phone, if I really need to check out porn sites, my laptop does quite well (thank you very kindly!). Weirdly enough, I just needed a phone that made calls, and could take an amazing about of abuse, and both of my Casio phones excelled at meeting these demands.
The GPS function works quite well, the flashlight and timer have come in handy, and I have placed calls in torrential down pours. One time, a friend and I were climbing and he busted up his ankle right nice. I pulled out my G’zone to summon help. It slipped from my hand and fell 30 feet, hitting rock outcroppings all the way down. Damned thing still made a flawless call, and didn’t even show a scratch. This is definitely my phone.
I work on a tugboat that is always wet and rough. Salt, dust, fumes, heat, cold you name it. This phone is not as tough as everyone says it is. I had mine for 3 months when it craped out. The battery locking latch is easily broken causing the phone not to work until you purchase a new battery. The phone does not like salt water. It is tough but I need one a little tougher. Its a good phone for the weekend warrior or the klutz, but when comes to the worst conditions and tough occupations don’t waste your money. Phone took a dive down a flight of stairs and the battery came off breaking the locking pin. (Bought a new battery $35). 2 weeks later it vibrated of a counter in the engine room falling 3 and half feet, (another broken battery latch $35). A couple weeks later I was on the stern of the tug in rough weather making up to a barge and myself and the phone was drinching wet with sea water and salt spray including the rain that was falling, the phone stopped working.( took the battery off and let it dry out for 2 days before it would work again, the phone never worked right after that). Had problems with phone just shuting off for no reason. One day it shutoff and never came back on. Yes it is under warrenty and I will get a replacement phone but it really is not as tough as they say.
Dropped my phone in the sink while it was on. Phone fell in the washer twice. Dropped it countless times—many times it bounced.
Phone’s still alive. It rocks.
Bulky, but great if you think you’re gonna bang it up a lot.
Flashlight’s come in handy numerous times too.
Replying to tug-boat dude, yeah the phone isn’t really insanely tough, but for average-day life, camping, etc. I think it’s great.
If you want something rugged that won’t break when you drop it, get a rock. That is essentially what my GZ one is. The volume control that is on the outside of the phone will turn the ringer and vibration off. So when I put it in my pocket the phone will ring without my knowledge. When I went and bought a holster, it still turned the ringer off. I haven’t broken it yet, but when I pull it out of my pocket and find I’ve missed three calls because the ringer is off I’m often tempted to see what it would take to break the piece of junk. Possibly my worst purchase ever!
how do i unlock the phone?
mine turns off sometimes when i take it out of my pocket
My phone has been to the bottom of pools and dropped countless times and has always worked fine. Then at dinner one night someone spilt a glass of water and it got my phone. Didnt think that little bit of water would effect anything since this phone has been through hell and back, but now whenever I go to use the camera it locks up and I have to pull the battery to shutdown and turn back on.
Gonna try and argue with verizon and get the new Boulder.
hi brothers tengo un g´zone verizon pero mi sobrinita me lo bloqueo y ahora estoy dejando el pellejo por conseguir algún programa para desbloquiarlo o algún codigo maestro para desbloquiarlo si alguien me puede ayudar escribanme al correo que he puesto acá ok aqui lo vuelvo a repetir sedeppadre@ult.edu.cu ó legolax@canariocio.com ese es e otro correo gracias por la ayuda y cuidense si bye