Samsung Rugby Smart Phone for Teens

Comments Sep 17, 2012 | Molly Recommends, Products, Review, Social Media, Technology, Teens

Today I want to talk with you about Smart Phones for Teens. Recently I had the chance to check out the Samsung Rugby Smart by AT&T. I immediately thought who better than my teens to tell me what is cool about this. I happen to have a phone I love and they are always like most teens looking for the next great phone out there. So we took it out and got it all set up and while you know I don’t focus my videos on my children, I did asked my oldest to play with this phone specifically based on its key features and here are his top 5 features that caught his eye.

1. Durability: He is a catcher, so his phone spends a lot of time in a bat bag which is dusty, dirty, stinky, wet, and who knows what. One of the key features about the Rugby Smart is its durablility for heat, dust, and water so if you have a student athlete, this phone could be perfect choice.

2. Preferred Android Platform: He is a fan of the Android plaform which when it comes to teens this might not be what you expect because of all the buzz around the latest IPhone. However like me he finds it more intuitive and appreciates its features along with how easy it is to see the screen on the Rugby Smart in any kind of light.

3. Homework Helper: I was surprised by this. At the start of the school year, his Spanish teacher gave the directive in class for all with a smartphone to download an app that would help them navigate their assignments, including a Spanish dictionary and other resources. He mentioned that using apps like that along with the Task App would help him better navigate school assignments along with responsibilities with sports and work. I was shocked and quite pleased to hear that.

4. Navigation System: As any parent of a teen driver knows, it was great to hear that he found this app useful while he was out an about. It reassures me that he’s not distracted while he is driving trying to check something out but rather the Navigation app is rolling and he’ll get where he needs to go safely.

5. Drive Mode App: Free to download on the Rugby Smart, this app helps you make sure not to take that temptation to check that phone. This spans teens to adults, its not just for kids. As part of the It Can Wait Campaign, the Drive Mode App is something I wanted him to check out and here is what he had to say? ”I don’t understand why people leave their phones on when they are driving anyway. Its just best when its turned off.” Not sure if he was looking for extra credit there as that’s what we have taught him. But if you choose to leave it on, the Drive Mode App will automatically send a text back to any communication letting the sender know that you are unavailable until you get to the destination. My son thought it was smart and a good idea for people who have a hard time resisting that temptation. As a Mom I had to dig a little deeper and was glad to discover that you can preset up to 5 numbers to ring through even when the app is on just in case of emergency and 911 is always enabled no matter if you have the Drive Mode app on or not. This is a good thing. Its all aobu tkeeping our kids safe and frankly, we ought to lead by example.

A few words from AT&T:

#ItCanWait is striving for as many pledges not to text and drive as possible leading up to September 19 – the day we’ve identified as No Text on Board Pledge Day
- You can add the “No Text on Board” image to your Twitter avatar by heading to http://twibbon.com/itcanwait; you can also tweet using #itcanwait
- The DriveMode App is free and available now for Android and BB (more platforms to come). It was conceived by an employee whose life was affected by texting while driving. Videos here: http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=23184

I hope this gives you a good glimpse about the Samsung Rugby Smart from a teenagers point of view. I’d love to know…

How do you resist the temptation to text when you are driving? What do you look for in a Smartphone when you are making that decision about what’s going to be the next great phone for you or your teens?

The Samsung Rugby Smart gets big points in my book as a great choice for your teens and student athletes. Thanks so much for stopping by ~ we’ll see you next time!

Disclosure: special thanks to AT&T for sharing information with me about #ItCanWait and for letting us play with the Samsung Rugby Smart on loan. I was not compensated nor asked to post at anytime. As a Mom of teens and one who drives, I can’t help but hope that you’ll join me in supporting such an important campaign.