The Kyocera Torque on Sprint is a funny little smartphone. This is a handset that was designed specifically to take a beating, and not just the occasional short drop or toilet plunge either, this thing is military grade. With it’s push to talk capability, this phone was obviously designed for the outdoor construction worker type, but Sprint actually took the marketing to the next level with this one and hired “Bear Grylls the ultimate survivor” to be the spokesman.
While Grylls himself was in some YouTube Videos produced by Kyocera touting the “ultra ruggedness” of the Kyocera Torque, it can be argued that while they are nice he was paid for doing it so there is a chance there was some “Hollywood magic” done to make the Torque look a little bit tougher than it is in real life. That’s where the guys over at Wirefly come in to give this thing a legitimate smack down. They even posted the video of the torture tests which you can view below. So grab your popcorn and get ready to see things that no phone should be be able to endure.
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Now for those of you who may be at work or are someplace where watching a video isn’t an option, here is a blow by blow of the action. The first thing they did with the Torque was called the “washing machine test” where the phone was put through a 33 minute full wash, rinse, and spin cycle with immersion of up to 30 minutes in up to one meter of water. Not only did the Torque pass this test but it was no worse for the wear either.
While bouncing around a washing machine is a pretty good feat the second test will surely break the Torque right? I mean they put the phone in a bowl of water then placed it in the freezer for 15 hours. There is no way that a device can withstand that, or is there…The Kyocera Torque was still fully functioning with not even a scratch when it was removed from the bowl following a two hour thawing out period.
Finally they put the Torque through a drop test. While Kyocera bills it drop proof at a height of five feet nine inches, Wirefly nearly tripled that height going for a fifteen foot drop onto blacktop…TWICE! Here is where the Torque hits a minor snag as some cracking is evident which may affect the waterproof capability of the device, but it’s important to reiterate that Wirefly went higher for the drop test than the device is scored to withstand.
In all the Kyocera Torque was able to take the type of beating that it is advertised to take and then some. After being tough on this device in the past it’s actually grown on me and I’ve gone so far as to call the number from their commercial that uses the helipad just to see what it was all about. Do any of you have this device? let us know how you like it and what kind of stress you’ve put it under.