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Sony's Xperia Go rugged enough for the great outdoors

This tough little Android smartphone survives CNET UK's torture tests.

Brian Bennett Former Senior writer
Brian Bennett is a former senior writer for the home and outdoor section at CNET.
Brian Bennett
Sony's Xperia Go takes a dunking and keeps on trucking. CNET UK

Smartphones have become part of daily life but are often too delicate to withstand everyday abuse. Not so for the Sony Xperia Go, an Android handset built to shrug off treatment that would destroy typical mobile devices.

CNET UK took the Xperia Go for a spin, a few dunks, plus crevice-clogging dust-ups to put this rugged machine through its paces.

Since the Xperia Go is designed to comply with the IP67 international durability standard, Sony says the phone can survive submersion in water, exposure to dust and dirt, and boasts a tough scratch-resistant screen. Our friends at CNET UK agree, with the Xperia Go functioning after sitting under water for 30 minutes, tossed in dry flour, and being stuffed in tight pockets with sharp keys and metal coins.

Despite its thick skin, the handset runs a dual-core 1GHz processor. That said, the Xperia Go relies on the outdated Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS plus comes with a low-res 3.5-inch screen and basic 5-megapixel camera. Want to learn more about how this phone fared? Take a look at CNET UK's full review of the Sony Xperia Go.