Fall 2009 Preview
Casio had its latest G'zOne phone on hand, the Rock. I have to say, it is quite a good looking phone. It's the type of device you'd expect Batman to be using, with its angular, gothic lines and design. (Heck, he could probably use it as a weapon if he needed to.)
You want tough? This phone is tough. As with many of the G'zOne phones, it meets mil-spec toughness ratings, and can survive a lot of abuse. It is really solid, felt good to hold in the hand with its rubberized surfaces, and exudes strength. Me likee.
Because the Rock supports PTT features, it has a flotilla of buttons and hatches on the side, including a dedicated walkie-talkie key, headset jack hatch, volume toggle, application key, charge port hatch and so on. With the exception of the application key, all the controls felts good and had good travel and feedback.
The Rock has a trick clamshell that springs open at the touch of a button on the right side. It works well for opening the phone in a hurry one handed.
They keypad is generously spaced and the keys had excellent travel and feedback. I really liked the way the keypad worked. The controls were all good, and there were dedicated keys for the camera, media player and light (which doubles as a flash).
If you're the outdoor type who needs a phone that can handle the elements, you can't go wrong with the Rock.