Casio (in conjuntion with NEC) are set to release the G'zOne TYPE-L G-Shock styled smartphone in Japan early next year. Following Casio showing a G-Shock smartphone prototype at CES 2012 earlier this year we were hoping this would see a release, however it looks like many of the features of the prototype have been carried over to the G'zOne Type-L. Lack of G-Shock branding aside the new G'zOne has a solid spec and looks to be a great choice for someone after a rugged Android smartphone.The specification is as follows
*Android 4.0 OS
*Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 1.5GHz dual core CPU
*1GB RAM
*8GB storage expandable vis Micro SD
*4G LTE capable
*Gorilla Glass 2 screen
*WVGA screen 400x800
*8MP camera
*Available in red and black
*1800 mAh battery giving 630 minutes talk time
*Dustproof to IPX5
*Waterproof to IPX5 / 8 (static water resistance of 1.5m for 30 minutes)
*Shock resistant construction to US military standard MIL-STD-810G (drop of 1.2m onto wood)
*Five sensors on board - Barometer, thermometer, acceleromter, orientation sensor and gyro sensor.
*Cutsom G'zOne / G-shock widgets such as tide graph
*Compatible with the GB-6900 / GB-5600 line of Bluetooth enabled G-Shocks.
*Dimensions : 69 x 134 x 14.7 mm
*Weight : 181 g
An interesting specification, performance wise it's a way off the class leaders such as the Samsung Galaxy SIII but on paper is a solid performer nonetheless. The initial release is in Japan next year (expected Feb '13) on the KDDI network, cost will be 30,000 Yen, approx USD$375 / GBP£235 / €290 - we're unclear if this is price on a contract or handset only. We'd hope to see this released in the US, possibly mid 2013. Previous G'zOne rugged phones haven't seen a worldwide sim free release - we hope Casio change their minds for this one.
Lots more images below
Thanks to Gapsis.jp and Casio Japan for the news.