CODE EXCEPTIONS

You might think of flip phones as slightly outdated, after all, they were popular ten years ago, but now we have iPhones and Galaxy S IIIs, so we don't need them, right? But with a certain segment of the population, Samsung flip phones have found a niche in the market. For people who live an active lifestyle, those who enjoy mountaineering and hiking, for example, or for those who work on noisy and dirty construction sites, flip phones have become a life saver. They have all the functionality of a traditional phone, but the screen protection of being a flip phone.

Flip phones make excellent tough phones, simply because the screen is permanently covered when not in use. Samsung's Convoy series are all tough phones. They're military grade certified against dust, sand, shock and impact. That makes them ideal for people who need their phones to stand up to more than the normal wear and tear. The Convoy has been a best selling hand set in this market, but its recently released successor, the Convoy 2 is set to become a best seller too. We wanted to know if this was a worthy upgrade, so we put these two models to the test to see exactly how they compare and what their differences are.

If you already have a Convoy and youare thinking to upgrade these two devices, then read on to find out how they match up, and if it's worth paying the extra cash for the Convoy 2...

The Convoy 2 does indeed have some advantages over the original. You get a much better display, for example. The Convoy 2 has twice the screen resolution of the Convoy, as well as forty per cent more PPI (pixels per inch), making the picture quality brighter, sharper and clearer than on the original Convoy. You also get a higher resolution camera, since the Convoy 2 comes with a 3.2 MP in built device rather than the 2 MP camera on the Convoy. That means that photos taken on the Convoy 2 are noticeably better quality and have more fine detail than those taken with the original Convoy. Finally, the Convoy 2 comes in around ten per cent smaller and about ten per cent thinner too, making it just that little bit more portable.

The original Convoy can in fact do one thing better than the Convoy 2, and it's a pretty important thing for this kind of phone. You get around twenty per cent more stand by time per battery charge cycle on the original Convoy, which averages 22.4 days versus 18.8 days on the Convoy 2. That means you have to charge your battery less often. And for people who are using this phone in the outdoors and who are away from electrical outlets, this could be an important consideration.

Yes. We think that the extra features on the Convoy 2, such as the better display and better camera, are worth the money of an upgrade. Plus, you get something that's smaller and easier to carry the mobile around, this is always a bonus.