Big W has added the Aspera R3 smartphone to their range of unlocked phones available to purchase outright. What makes this phone different from other lower end offerings? It’s got an IP67 certification, making it ideal for those of you looking for a budget smartphone capable of taking those little knocks that happen in life.
While it’s not going to win awards for speed with its 1GHz processor backed with a mere 512MB RAM, the Aspera R3 offers an affordable phone which includes IP67 certification. But it’s a pretty funky looking phone, despite its lower specs, with an industrial look, thanks to the water and dustproofing. Spec wise, the Aspera R3 comes with :
- 3.5″ 480×320 HVGA display with Toughened scratch resistant glass
- 1GHz processor
- 512MB RAM
- 512MB ROM with microSD Card Slot (4GB Card pre-installed)
- 5MP Rear camera with Flash and 0.3MP Front-Facing camera
- Radios
- 2G 850 /900 /1800 /1900 MHz (Quad band)
- 3G WCDMA 850/2100MHz
- WiFi, GPS
- IP67 Water and Dust Resistant
- Android 4.0.4
- 1800mAh Battery
- 23x65x17mm @ 162grams
It’s running a now, nearly three year old version of Android, coming with Android 4.0.4. The chances of any software updates being forthcoming for the R3, would most likely be considered to be somewhere between slim and none. The phone comes with a row of capacative buttons just below the display instead of the software keys introduced in Android 4.0 but appears to be mostly a stock Android experience for the most part.
There’s not a great amount of information about the Aspera R3 available, although if you’re interested, the User Guide for the phone is available on the Aspera website. The Aspera R3 is available from Big W with no associated contracts for $228.
That’s bloody tempting as a handset to take when I ride my mountain bike, with a SIM card swap from my Nexus 5. I’d rather crash with this in my pocket!