Great gizmo

Who would have guessed it. The company who i would have never guessed would come up with a brilliant gadget for folks like me, came up with a brilliant gadget for folks like me. You see, I kayak. And one element crucial to all kayaking, unless your a "Jack Ass" is water. Water really does make all the difference when it comes to paddling. well, one of the problems i have found is the water and Cell phones don't really get along. In comes the Casio G’zOne Type-R. The applause goes to Casio. Not Nokia, not Sony-Ericcson, but to Casio.

On second thought i should have known they would come through for me. I mean, if it wasn't for Casio i would have a had a rough time cheating on arithmetic tests in elementary school. "No Mrs. Kessler, I just wanted to see how much more time i had on the test. The wristwatch calculator was brilliant wasn't it. I digress.

So here's the deal with this cell phone. First of all, its more rugged. Anyone who has ever owned and LG or Sony-Ericcson phone knows that it can only take a few drops. If you wanted a phone that you didn't have to coddle you would get a nokia. I have a nokia now and it had taken it's share of bumps and bruises. It can take quite the beating and still be just fine. But don't sneeze on it or it could get damp and go all screwy on you. ACHOO!! "why isn't the keypad working", "it says it's turning on but the screen just kinda glows blank", "why is only half the screen showing up?"

Enter the Casio G’zOne Type-R. This puppies rather water resistant. translated from the CASIO Japan web site this phone can be in under 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes. Heck that's more than enough for me. When I am using the bathroom and someone calls and i drop the phone in the toilet because i was trying way to hard to not let the person on the other end know i was takin' a squeege, all I need is about 6 inches of water resistance for about 6+973 seconds (6 seconds is the time it takes me to get the phone out of the jon and 973 is the amount of time i will spend washing my hands and phone if i decide not to just let it go). And when my kayak tips over once again all i need is a couple of feet for a few seconds. This is perfect. Let's face it. A cell phone can be the last thing you want on a trip through the great outdoors. why even go if your going to spend time on the phone. this is a user responsibility. i use mine if an emergency ever happens, not to talk and definitely not to do business. So let's say i am out kayaking and i pull ashore to go investigate a fun looking trail. the phone gets splashed in the transition from water to land but all is good because i have the Casio G’zOne Type-R. So here I am walking down this trail when a bear comes out of no where and rips off my arm. I know it's improbable but not impossible. So there i am lying on the ground with only one arm. My phantom limb is spraying blood all over my Casio G’zOne Type-R, but it's okay, I'm sure if it's water proof it can handle a little blood. well, i need to call in for help. Because i am never really all that far from some sort of civilization and because the Cingular devil who tempts you with it's amazing coverage (despite awful costumer service and insane prices) has coverage in GA comparable to the kudzu i get in touch with an ambulance with quickness. In comes the life flight and life continues with me learning how to paddle with an artificial limb and my lame friends never letting go of the "it wasn't me it was the one armed man jokes".

So to make a long story longer, this phone is rugged, it is waterproof, it has a digital compass on the outside, a digital camera ( so i can send a picture of the bear that ripped off lefty to my friend so they will no I'm not lying and didn't loose my arm from tripping and falling like an idiot) , a flashlight feature (don't get me started), and a plethora of other features.

admittedly i would like to see a gps on a phone with all of these features but i realize we might still be away off from getting all that technology in such a small device. But i still could get a lot of use out of this, i am tired of taking my phone back to cingular customer service every-time my phone gets wet.

The problem. theres always a problem isn't there. Well, in this case, the product is only to be sold in Japan. Not in the US. As of now it doesnt even have a US release date. We may never see this product. Sad

http://gzone.jp/