WSJ: Expect the rugged Samsung Galaxy S4 Active in July

On Tuesday, we passed along the word from Samsung Gulf president Young Soo Kim, that a rugged version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 was coming soon. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal had a few more details on the phone, which is being called the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active. As you might expect from a "rugged" model, the handset will be both water and dustproof, but the Korean manufacturer is striving to allow the rugged model to keep the look and feel of the regular Samsung Galaxy S4. Pricing of the device has not been revealed and it is unknown which markets will be receiving the "rugged" version of the flagship Android handset.

As the technology improves, more and more phones are coming to market already treated with a special nanocoating that allows water to roll off the device, even inside the handset protecting the circuitry. A company called P2i already treats the Motorola DROID RAZR line and the Motorola DROID 4 which allows the phone to be protected from a sudden rain shower or a spill, but does not protect against total submersion of the handset. The Sony Xperia Z had a popular display at CES 2013 in Las Vegas that showed the phone getting dunked in water and surviving.

P2i demonstrated for us its latest technology during MWC, which allowed a Samsung Galaxy S IIIto stay submerged for a period of time, and still work perfectly. Instead of dealing with the public like other waterproofing companies do, P2i is paid by the manufacturer to apply the coating during the manufacturing process which protects the model right out of the box.

With a leading 29% of the global handset market, and 33% of the global smartphone market, Samsung has been trying to win over the BYOD niche. This group is made up of corporate employees who are allowed to bring and use their personal smartphone to work. A security suite made by Samsung for this market, called KNOX, has recently been delayed until July, which is when the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is expected to launch. Many Government workers fall into the BYOD category and offering those who work in war zones a rugged version of the extremely popular phone could help Samsung keep one foot on BlackBerry's throat as the Canadian OEM continues its effort to keep whatever corporate accounts it still has from switching to iOS or Android.

source: WSJ