Review: Samsung Galaxy S5 Active
Tuesday, November 11, 2014 at 2:54PM 
Text and photos by Saif Hashmi
All of my co-workers have some sort of bulky case like the OtterBox for protection. I see no need for that with the S5 Active. In this Business, If you don't protect your phone, its only a matter of days till your in the market for a new one.
Over the course of the last few weeks, I've had the pleasure of putting the new Samsung Galaxy S5 Active from TELUS through its paces.
Because my work keeps me outside daily for long hours doing interlock stonework and asphalt paving, I was asked to see how it would handle the outdoor construction environment.
Though there are so many benefits of working outside on a daily basis, there are also many challenges. Such as rain, dust, not being able to wash your hands as frequently as you would like and not having anywhere to plug your phone charger in as the day drags on.
So the first thing that became abundantly clear to me in the first few days with the S5 Active, was the battery life was strong. I kept the charger with me as a precaution, but found I had no use for it.
I could use the phone freely all day long for music, call and texts, and surfing the net on my breaks and still have plenty of juice left.
There is nothing more annoying for me than having to budget my phone usage just so the battery would last as long as my work day.
With the S5 Active, It endured the day better than me. Another feature that I fell in love with immediately was the water and dust resistant shell of the phone.
All of my co-workers have some sort of bulky case like the OtterBox for protection. I see no need for that with the S5 Active. In this Business, If you don't protect your phone, its only a matter of days till your in the market for a new one.
I like how Samsung found a way to keep it durable yet still keep it slender. Water resistance is a huge issue for me.
Just because it rains doesn't mean the day is done for me. And I don't have the luxury of hiding under a tree anytime a call comes through.
So, I loved the fact that I could take call after call without dashing for cover as we all know this summer was filled with rainy days.
Regardless of my tasks at work, I'm probably wearing gloves throughout the day.
Taking them off to use the touchscreen of my phone is just regular practice as with my previous phone it wouldn't respond to the touch of the gloves.
It was a few days in with the S5 active till it actually occurred to me to try it with my gloves on. What do you know, it worked!
This might not sound like a big deal to some but I cant tell you how much it annoys my boss when all of the guys are standing there taking extra time to check and respond to messages.
Keeping the gloves on lets me do whatever I need to on the phone quickly and keep the boss happy, win-win for me. Another way the S5 active got me some brownie points at work was its camera.
The resolution and clarity is phenomenal so after my boss saw some of the pics I took, he was blown away. So it became my responsibility to take shots of our projects from start to finish for the company's website. The camera is that good!
Overall my experience with the S5 Active has been amazing. I was thoroughly impressed by how it kept up with my hectic lifestyle.
I admit I didn't take it easy on the Samsung. Working with it outside for long hours in the sun sweating and surrounded by concrete dust leaves its mark on your phone by the end of the day.
So for me, it became a ritual for me every night as soon as I get home to soak a rag and wipe the phone down. Just like that, the S5 Active is back to new without a scratch on the screen, ready for another day of abuse.
Not only is this phone ideal for someone like me in the harsh construction environment, but for anyone who is tired of babying their phone. I put this phone through hell and it looks and works just fine.
I think Samsung hit the nail on the head with the S5 Active. I hope people who are like me and demand so much from their phone on a daily basis will be able to read this and give the S5 Active a chance.
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Saif Hashmi works in construction at ExpressPaving.ca and used a Samsung Galaxy S5 Active supplied by TELUS for testing purposes.
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Reader Comments (3)
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