Australian manufacturer Snopow launch a rugged new smartphone and smartwatch running Android

Australia is a big country with a diverse range of job opportunities, not everyone works in an office and even for those that do there’s a number of past times that require a fairly tough phone. Australian manufacturer SNOPOW has announced their latest phone the M8-LTE, and smartwatch the W1S which they think will offer a good blend of technology and ruggedness.

A spokesperson from SNOPOW Australia said:

Here in Australia things can get pretty rough, at work and at play. We wanted to offer people a high end smartphone and smartwatch that can handle the rough stuff. From the beach to the outback, from the perils of home to the dangers of the worksite. We got sick of replacing our fragile ‘handle with extreme care’ smartphones and watches and decided to do something about it. Now we have a range of ‘handle without care’ mobiles and watches that we really can take everywhere. Things are getting tougher all round, so we wanted something that can go the distance. The range of SNOPOW products was the answer.

Snopow M8-LTE
The M8-LTE obviously supports LTE connections, and it’s also IP68 certified so you’re going to be able to use the phone in all sorts of environments, and if you’re in need of a CB radio to keep in touch with the team, it’s got one of those too.

Spec wise the Snopow M8-LTE includes:

• 4.5” qHD (960 x 640) resolution touch screen (we’re checking the 640 bit)
• 1.3GHz Quad-core Mediatek (MTK6735) Processor
• RAM 1GB ROM
• 16GB storage with microSD card slot up to 64GB
• 13MP Rear Camera with LED Flash and 5MP Front Camera
• WIFI 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth V4.0, GPS, NFC
• CBRS UHF Walkie Talkie (1W = >5km)
• Three Axis Gyroscope, G-Sensor, Compass
• IP-68 Rating (Water/Shock/Dust Proof)
• Radios (Dual-SIM):
• GSM (2G): 850/900/1800/1900MHz
• WCDMA (3G): 850/1900/2100MHz
• Cat 4 LTE (4G):
• FDD-LTE B1/3/4/7/20
• TD-LTE B38/39/40/41
• 3000mAh removable Li-ion Battery
• 150.6 x 76.8 x 21.9mm

While the M8-LTE has LTE support, it’s fairly rudimentary when it comes to Australian bands with the only real ubiquitous LTE support being that for band 3 (1800MHz) which is of course available on all three mobile carriers. The newer 700MHz Band 28 network for Optus/Telstra and Vodafones re-farmed Band 5 (850MHz) network aren’t supported.

There’s a couple of optional extras available for the M8-LTE including Wireless Charge and an RFID Reader – though they’re not listed on the Snopow website.

The Snopow M8-LTE is available to order now for $329 from their online store with Black, Silver, Gold and Yellow colour options. There’s a $10 shipping fee which comes via DHL and should arrive within 2-8 days.

Snopow W1S Smartwatch
There’s a lot of smartwatches on the market, but with an IP68 rating, the Snopow W1S Smartwatch should have them all beat when it comes to durability.

While it’s not running Android Wear, it is running Android – KitKat (Android 4.4) to be precise, and it’s also 3G capable and includes a camera meaning you can make a call (including video calls) or send a text from your wrist.

The W1S has a pretty decent list of hardware specs including:

• 1.6” 240×240 resolution Transflective LCD screen
• 1.2GHz Dual-Core Processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB on-board storage with microSD card slot
• 2MP Camera
• Bluetooth 4.0 / WIFI
• IP-68 Certified
• 3G Support: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
• Android 4.4
• 610mAh battery

There’s a fair few functions supported on the W1S, including health tracking such as step counting and sleep monitoring. The W1S even supports remote camera shutter support and phone finder and of course it tells the time.

The W1S is in limited availability at the moment with the watch currently listed as out-of-stock on their website. Once it arrives the watch will cost $239+Delivery and looks to be coming in Gold, Black and Silver.

If either the W1S or the M8-LTE sound like something you want, head over to the Snopow website to check them out now.