Sony will be introducing a new Android smartphone to its range of Xperia handsets in Q3 (July – September). Called the Sony Xperia go, the device will come with 3.5-inch Reality display (powered by the proprietary Mobile BRAVIA Engine) and a 5-megapixel camera, but the headline feature is that it is designed to be durable and water resistant.

According to the manufacturer, the Xperia go has the highest level of water and dust resistance (a rating of IP67: "Protected against dust and the effects of immersion between 15cm and 1m for 30 minutes"), and its touchscreen is made from scratch resistant mineral glass. The surface also sports wet-finger tracking, so you can still swipe if your digits are damp.

Under the hood, the device will feature Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) from the box, but will be upgradeable to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), either on launch or slightly afterwards.

There's a 1GHz dual core processor running the show, and 8GB of internal storage is included (although only 4GB will be accessible by the user). A microSD card can be added, however, to increase that by up to 32GB.

Sony is offering 50GB of free cloud storage from supplier Box, which will run to 31 December 2012. Battery life is claimed to be up to five hours 30 minutes talk time, when using HSPA. Standby is up to 460 hours, music listening 45 hours and video viewing six hours.

The 3.5-inch colour TFT screen is only 480 x 320 pixels, so not HD, but this is more a phone for those who need something rugged on their travels.

No price has been mentioned as yet, although we have been told that the US version of the handset will be called the Sony Xperia advance.

It will be available in black, white and yellow.

What would you prefer, higher specs or durability? Let us know in the comments below...