Design, Features, and Quality Call
Like most rugged phone, DuraForce is a chunky, rubbery affair, measuring in at 5.39 by 2.78 by 0.55 inches (HWD) and 7.06 ounces. It is slightly larger and heavier than the Brigadier and seem not quite as aggressive DuraForce the less the will of the two, while Brigadier takes on a more military-ready look. Volume buttons and a programmable line button on the left corner, while Power and Speaker buttons are at the top. The latter enables a boosted mode speakerphone for phone calls. Flaps cover the headphone jack and micro USB port on the top and bottom, respectively. Contains the right edge of the flap that covers the microSD and SIM card slot.
The MIL-STD DuraForce bringing 810G and IP68 rating, which means it can survive drops of up to four feet on hard surfaces and is completely immersed in six feet of water for up to 30 minutes. I flooded the phone with a pitcher of water for over an hour and saw no ill effects. I also tossed about DuraForce laboratory, slammed it on the countertop, and it gave some light out kicks for good measure. It appeared no more than a few scuffs and scratches.
Although it is lacking in both sapphire crystal as a brigadier, 4.5-inch Duraforce of, otherwise look identical 720p LCD. It is bright and sharp (326ppi) with wide viewing angle, a high quality panel, but nothing particularly special. Below the display is a row of physical Android navigation buttons with two front-facing speakers below that. The speakers pump out amazing volume I want to put a notch below the HTC One (M8) 's speaker.
The DuraForce connects to AT & T's 3G GSM / UMTS (850/900/1800/1900 / 2100MHz) and 4G LTE (Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 17) network, which covers the full range of nationwide network of AT & T's. In our latest test Fastest Mobile Networks, AT & T's LTE network 11.9Mbps down and 6.3Mbps average up. The DuraForce uses the same technology used Sonic Receiver Kyocera for its rugged phone for the past few years. It uses tissue conduction to transmit audio through the glass screen of the phone to your eardrums. Call quality, as we found out with Sonic Receiver device before, is pretty hit or miss. Doing a really good job of delivering the volume of the eardrum-busting for overcoming even the noisiest situations, but the voice that comes in the glass may sound unnatural and no depth. Sending by pressing the mic sounds cruel, random artifacts and audio is not uncommon. The speakerphone has boosted volume mode is pretty amazing, that should appeal among construction site.
Rounding out the connectivity options are dual-band 802.11b / g / n / ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and NFC. The DuraForce have no issues connecting to a 5GHz access point in my test, and paired seamlessly in an Era by Jawbone Bluetooth headset.