By Stephen Schenck | July 18, 2011 4:46 PM
When it comes to run-of-the-mill Androids, you have easily dozens of phones to chose from; start tacking-on extra features, like maybe a 3D screen, qHD resolution, or QWERTY keyboard, and your options rapidly start decreasing. One category of Androids that’s hurting for diversity is that consisting of ruggedized handsets, able to survive a tumble and face up to some dirt and water without giving up the fight. Back in May, Sprint and Motorola announced plans to add another entry to this group with the Motorola Titanium, which we saw return earlier this month in a leak foretelling its release. Today Sprint has made the launch official, declaring the smartphone will be available for sale as of July 24.
Bad news first: the Titanium ships with Eclair. No, it’s not early 2010. We’d like to blame the odd choice of software on a lengthier testing period for the phone to meet the military ruggedness standards it’s certified for (not that durability is in any way tied to software), but if that’s true, it seems like a heavy price to pay.
On the plus side, you’ve got Direct Connect for PTT, which may make the Titanium worthwhile for you in and of itself, the rugged QWERTY keyboard, and a five-megapixel camera. Other specs are a bit more disappointing, like the 256MB of RAM. If the Titanium is still all-in-all an Android you’d be interested in, the phone will run you about $150 on-contract, after mail-in rebate savings.
