NEC Terrain (AT&T Locked, Brand New)

Product Description

NEC isn’t often the first name on everybody’s lips when talking about smartphones. The company is, though, one of the biggest electrical component manufacturers in the world. NEC PCs also account for over a quarter of all computers sold in Japan. It’s probably no surprise, then, that they are more than capable of offering a quality smartphone. What might be a surprise, though, is that they chose to make the NEC Terrain a rugged phone.

In case you’re not familiar with the term, if any device is described as rugged, it has extra protection measures in the design. More and more smartphones now have water and dust protection, but something truly rugged demands more. The go-to standard is the military standard 810G. When a phone declares itself MIL-STD 810G compliant, you can expect lots of extra measures from the manufacturer. The Terrain is MIL-STD 810G and offers drop protection onto hard surfaces, oil and chemical resistance, shock-proofing, thermal shock resistance, extreme pressure protection, waterproofing down to 3 feet for 30 minutes, and more.

The design of the Terrain has a 75% display, 25% keyboard split. What this does, however, is offer a real smartphone experience but with a hardware keyboard. Despite the shift towards on-screen digital keyboards, many people do hanker for a return to the proper “clicks” you get with proper keys. The NEC Terrain feels every bit as solid as its credentials suggest. On the other hand, it sits securely and easily and just has that “right” feeling about it.

At 5.02 x 2.54 x 0.57 and 6.07oz, it is in the same sort of area as the iPhone 4 and SE in overall dimensions. A little heavier than average, due to all the extra protection, but that is not a bad thing.

NEC Terrain Specs

Although not the largest display available, the 3.1″ 640 x 480px screen has enough quality to feel like it is much bigger than it is. The dual-core processor keeps everything moving along nicely, and the 8GB internal storage is enough to get you going. If you do need extra space, there’s a Micro SD card slot for up to another 32GB.

You can easily link to in-car systems or Bluetooth accessories, and GPS provides location and navigation services. Wifi up to 802.11 /n speeds is enough to satisfy even the most extreme network demands, and NFC allows for wireless file transfers between suitable devices.

4G mobile data also means the best possible connection and speeds when browsing away from a wi-fi connection, and NEC has even included an FM radio, which is increasingly less common amongst many makers.

By numbers alone, the battery sounds a little lightweight at 1900mAh. NEC, though, has done a terrific job of squeezing every drop out of it to power the Terrain. You will get 10 hrs talk time or 350 hrs of standby. The larger the capacity of a battery, the larger it physically needs to be. The smaller battery in the Terrain has helped reduce both size and weight without compromising performance.

The camera is a useful 5 MP and has an LED flash. It can also capture 720p HD video and has geo-tagging so you always know where you took any picture.

Summary

It might be one of the lesser-known brands of the smartphone marketplace, but that doesn’t mean the NEC Terrain doesn’t deserve your attention. Solidly positioning itself in the mid-range, the quality of the components is excellent. The build quality also makes it a serious player at this level.

The extra-rugged protection added by NEC is a welcome bonus, meaning activities and heavy-duty jobs aren’t the threat they are for other smartphones.