The $2,600 rugged smartphone

(Credit: Logic Instrument)

Logic Instrument got FCC approval nearly two years ago for its "Tetra T-Pad" rugged smartphone, but not much has been heard about it since then. Perhaps the French manufacturer thought better of trying to sell a phone that costs about $2,600 on the American market.

That's the price tag Lussorian quotes for this steroidal handset, which it says has met U.S. military standards that require 25 tests involving the harshest conditions. Weighing just under 1.3 pounds, the T-Pad is dustproof, waterproof, and can withstand shock, vibration, and subzero temperatures. As for the phone specs, it has a 4-inch touch screen, a 400MHz Intel processor, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.

Features aside, it's difficult to see how the price can be justified--especially when there so many other tough phones being produced, some of them bearing the National Security Agency's seal of approval. Those handsets, by the way, are made in the U.S.A.