X Phone will be super slim and super tough

The latest information to emerge regarding the smartphone that Google and Motorola are building in partnership suggests that it will be water- and scratch-resistant and should be able to handle accidental falls and drops with minimal damage.

More leaked details about the upcoming X Phone suggest that it will be fully customizable and built to last.

The latest information to emerge regarding the smartphone that Google and Motorola are building in partnership suggests that it will be water- and scratch-resistant and should be able to handle accidental falls and drops with minimal damage.

According to Phone Arena, the phone's shell will have a carbon fibre rear (extremely strong and extremely light) and will be one of the first handsets to use sapphire glass. Believed by many to be key to future phone and tablet displays, sapphire glass is not only very tough, but is also extremely scratch-resistant and so should survive being put in the same pocket as a set of keys.

The phone's corners will also feature rubber shock-absorbing bumpers and, if that's not enough, it will be treated so that when all ports are closed the handset is water- and dust-resistant. If true, the X Phone will be the third such device to offer this feature. Sony's Xperia Z can be dropped in the bathtub with few if any ill effects and Nokia's upcoming flagship Lumia handset is also going to be treated with a water- and dust-resistant coating.

Another report, this time courtesy of Dutch Android tech blog Android World, discovered by BGR, claims that in terms of performance and specs, the phone will boast a high-definition 4.7-inch display, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera and massive 16-megapixel rear-facing unit. It is also expected to feature smart eye-scrolling technology (like the Samsung Galaxy SIV) and, with dimensions purported to be 131.2x66.7X7.9mm, could be one of the most streamlined phones on the market when it launches.

These reports are on top of a Google+ posting by Guy Kawasaki -- the ex-Apple evangelist turned Google advisor to Motorola -- which seems to have confirmed earlier rumors that the X Phone could be the world's first customizable handset. In his posting, Kawasaki links to a Porsche Exclusive video, which details how customers can start with a shell and create a full made-to-order German sportscar. Under the video he writes, 'Wouldn't it be great if you could personalize your phone like this?'

The rumors had suggested that potential owners could start with the phone's casing and specify RAM, storage capacity, outer shell color and the wallpaper and screensaver images and other default settings on the handset before shipping.

However, the date when all of these rumors will be revealed to be true or false is still a contentious issue. Some insiders claim that the X Phone could be revealed as early as May at Google's I/O Conference, while other sources claim that the handset will not be making its public debut until November.