Motorola DEFY+

“Need a phone to take scuba diving? Or maybe you're just congenitally clumsy? Either way, the Defy+, the update to 2010’s Defy, is for you. Unlike most rugged phones, this one is clever enough to be called a smartphone, with a 1GHz processor at its heart.”

“The Defy+ is an odd one. It's rugged, there's no denying that. So logically, if you need a rugged phone, then this might not be a bad choice. But that's a long way off a recommendation from us, because frankly, there's so much other stuff that's unsatisfactory about this phone, that it actually makes us a bit cross. The resetting happened too often to be a one-off glitch. We haven't installed anything that could justify this, and we weren't doing anything complicated at the time. For a phone, this is just unforgivable. We don't like it when our PC crashes, but when a phone does, it's just infuriating. Factor in the slowness of the phone, and really there's a phone that has very little to offer apart from being baby proof, and small enough to carry around easily. We could forgive it, but when you remember that most contracts now last for 18- or 24-months we can't imagine living with this phone for that long. We, after all, get to give it back after a couple of weeks. If you want something small, get the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray. If you want something rugged, then perhaps get a good case for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray.”

“Overall, the Motorola DEFY+ is not a bad smartphone by any means. What makes it a valuable offering though, is the fact that it's an IP67-certified device, designed to withstand some harsher conditions than what your typical handset is used to. Aside from the obvious advantage of being able to submerge it under water and throw it in the dust, without a single particle entering its shell, the DEFY+ is also quite usable and well-packed in terms of features. The MOTOBLUR interface looks good, brings some additional goodies for social networking freaks, and runs relatively smoothly. What more can you want from a mid-end smartphone? It even has Flash Player support in the browser, although that leads to a visible drop in frame-rate.”

“The Motorola DEFY+ is priced at Rs. 19,490 (MRP) and Rs. 17,990 (MOP) which keeps it in the same price bracket of the Xperia Active. Besides the 720p limitation and relatively less vivid display, the DEFY+ covers all departments pretty well. It's a rugged phone and the build quality is second to none. Drop it, wet it, scratch it, and it will still survive. All in all the Motorola DEFY+ is a good buy. However, we’re not too sure if it’s going to overly impress users of the original DEFY as it’s just a minor upgrade in terms of processing power.”