Submersible heavy-duty Samsung B2100 officially announced

Turning their backs on the bunch of leaked touch handsets, Samsung today announced a low-end phone, which however comes as rugged as they get. Reminding of the Sonim XP3 Enduro, but prettier, the Samsung B2100 has got a whole wall covered with endurance certificates, plus it"s easily submersible under water to up to a meter depth (but only up to 30 minutes - just enough for a bath).

The Samsung B2100 Xplorer follows the styling of the Samsung B2700, which we already reviewed and tortured properly (read all about it here).

The new Xplorer bloke however lacks the 3G capabilities of its elder brother plus there is no altimeter and digital compass either. What you get however is a cheap rugged little fella, which comes with shock, water, salt, fog and dust resistance compliant with both the European IP57 certification and the US Military Standard 810F (MIL-STD-810F) much like the Sonim XP3 Enduro.

The Samsung B2100 Xplorer body is made out of urethane, which is the same material they use to make roller blades. It"s got noise cancellation with a dedicated microphone and a new vibration setting that makes it vibrate longer. The new lock mechanism of the battery cover has made it more secure as we personally had some issues with the locking mechanism of the Samsung B2700.

Samsung B2100 Xplorer has a flashlight on top with a dedicated button to start it, and there is also a memory card slot, which you can use to load up music or download photos from the 1.3 megapixel camera. Stereo Bluetooth A2DP support is also on board.

The Samsung B2100 Xplorer will be released in Germany and other European countries in variety of colors in April 2009. There"s no word on its pricing yet, but it should be cheaper than Samsung B2700.