F98 Phone With A Rugged Design – Reviewed With Pros & Cons + Specs

Many phones have a certain design that makes them feel like they will break in your hands.  People who dislike these kinds of phones are exactly who the makers of the F98 are trying to sell to.  Does the F98 measure up in build and in quality, or does it fall on its face?

If ruggedness is a prerequisite when you are buying A Phone, the F98 does indeed deliver a certain amount.  Built in the Iphone style very prevalent with many unbranded phones (large screen, touchscreen input, and icon based menus), it appears a bit short and squat.  Where this phone shines though is both in its superior exterior body build, combined with its higher quality internal components.  Whereas its competitors rely on stuffing many features into cheaper builds, this phone tries to pair features (of which it has quite a few) to its quality build.

Some of the specs for the F98 include:

The phone is constructed from high quality PCP plastic, rubber, and has a metal strip run down the middle for added support.
Rather than all its internal components being produced in mainland China, almost everything is sourced from Taiwan.
The phone’s design is your basic unbranded Pda style, touchscreen driven, iPhone similar phone.
Phone input and navigation is done completely using the touchscreen, but text writing can be accomplished using the software based QWERTY keyboard.
This phone has a weight of 85 grams.
Measurements for the phone are L106xW55xH13 (length x width x height).
It has a resolution of 320×480 that displays on a 3.0 inch screen.
It is carrier unlocked on all 4 Gsm bands used worldwide.
It comes with 2 SIM card ports that are set to dual standby.
Users can insert a standard 2.5mm earphone into a earphone jack.
Internet access is available on EDGE networks, Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as GPRS and WAP 2.0.
While on standby, the battery will normally last a user more than 50 hours.
The phone’s multimedia and apps come via Java applets, an MP3 and MP4 player, an analog TV, a FM radio as well as a FM transmitter, and a digital camera and camcorder.

People that use the F98 will notice these pros and cons should they purchase one:

Pros
Its construction (internally and externally) is very solid, and the phone itself has a reassuring heavy feeling without being overly cumbersome to hold or use.
The screen is quite large, and the touchscreen is very responsive.
When using EDGE and Wi-Fi networks, internet was speedy and very serviceable.
It includes a email server built in that connected to Gmail and MSN accounts without a problem.
It was a fun extra to be able to stream music from the phone to another FM radio using the FM transmitter.

Cons
The camera is only 1.3 MP and picture quality left a bit to be desired.
It would have gotten higher marks if it gone the route of basing its OS on The Iphone.

The F98 compares very favorably to other non branded phones (and even many branded phones) in terms of build and quality without skimping on nice features.  This is a phone that will still be working for you long after many of the other unbranded ones have given out.

Price.  129.24

About the Author

Gregory Mulford lives and works in Shenzhen, China, and has a deep interest in all things electronic. You can see the F98 rugged phone at Quad-Band-Phones.com Quad-Band-Phones offers worldwide mobile solutions for your globally connected life

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