US$400 Kyocera Brigadier – Verizon's Waterproof, Drop-Proof Unscratchable Unbreakable Sapphire Screen for the Great Outdoors

September 2014 is going to be one busy Month. A Lot of Products from Samsung, Apple and even Google are slated to launch in this month. 

The Apple iPhone 6, which is rumoured to launch on Tuesday September 9^th 2014 with possible sales on Friday September 12^th 2014, is being eagerly anticipated as it’ll probably be sporting a Sapphire Screen as noted in my blog article entitled “WalMart Sale on Apple iPhone 5S and 5C - Apple iPhone 6 expected in September 2014 and is worth its weight in Gold and Sapphires”.

So what does a Sapphire Screen look like on a smartphone? 

Luckily enough, I found just a smartphone that sports a Sapphire Screen, the Kyocera Brigadier as described in the article “Sapphire-sporting Android can take a tumble, but has a few stumbles”, published August 13, 201, CNET Reviews.

Kyocera Brigadier – Waterproof, drop-proof Sapphire Screen for the Great Outdoors

Available for US$50 on a 2 year contract on Verizon's Network, US$400 unlocked, the Kyocera Brigadier is clearly a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) smartphone. It's an Android 4.4 KitKat powered Quad-Core Processor that a little on the heavy side, resembling a rather well fed kitten stuffed fat with  such Google apps as Gmail, Search, Plus, Hangouts, Maps, Photos, and YouTube.

Its dimensions of  136.4mm by 68.33mm by 13.21mm (5.37” by 2.69” by 0.52”) with a heft weight of 187.11g (6.6 oz) are quite large compared to the trend of smartphones that seem to be on a supermodel diet. Sports a loop for a lanyard so that this can dangle around your neck like a really expensive electronic Gold chain!

But its frame belies a very solid rugged outdoorsman design that makes it not only drop proof with its unscratchable Sapphire screen but water proof as well as the Video Below shows.

The Sapphire screen of the Kyocera Brigadier is a 4.5-inch HD screen the usual three hotkey expected of most Android smartphones. The Rear Camera is an 8 Megapixel deal that gets along with a microSD Slot for 32GB of expandable memory. In short, a very basic smartphone whose main claim to fame is that it can withstand drops and survive for up to 30 minutes in the shower as well as under 6 feet of water.

The most impressive bit is the Battery.

This is a 3100mAh Battery, which means depending on your usage, you can get at least 10 to 15 hours of talk time out of this Battery and more than 250 hours of standby time, excellent for survival outdoors. 

This smartphone would go great with the US$149.99 BioLite KettleCharge that's also made for the outdoors and could recharge this smartphone as explained in my blog article entitled “US$149.99 Biolite KettleCharge – How a Kettle can recharge your Smartphone or Tablet during a Hurricane”.

Kyocera Brigadier isn’t gonna work in Jamaica, as we have no CDMA Network in Jamaica. But for those curious about what an unscratchable, unbreakable Sapphire Screen on a smartphone looks like, then this article should scratch that itch perfectly. 

Now get back in line and wait until Tuesday September 9^th 2014 for launch of the Apple iPhone!