Samsung officially breaks cover on the rugged Galaxy Xcover 2

Today Samsung uncovered its latest rugged smartphone with the Galaxy Xcover 2.

A follow-up to last year's Galaxy Xcover, the Galaxy Xcover 2 is built for the outdoors with a dust and sand proof case. The battery cover also has a lock mechanism to prevent it from popping off when dropped.

The case is water resistant up to one meter, which goes along with the 5-megapixel camera that can now operate underwater.

The Galaxy Xcover 2 also has a GPS enhanced with a global navigation satellite system which Samsung claims offers 20 percent more accurate location tracking.

Samsung's tough new smartphone

While the Galaxy Xcover 2 is well-equipped for the elements on the outside, the inside is a fairly standard mid-range handset with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The 4-inch WVGA display is covered in Gorilla Glass for added protection, packing inside a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 4GB of memory that can be expanded with a microSD card by up to 32GB.

The rear 5-megapixel camera also has an LED flash, which can double as a flashlight, while the front of the smartphone also has a VGA camera.

Most of the Galaxy Xcover 2's specs were revealed earlier this month through Samsung's leaked 2013 mobile roadmap, which also let us know that Samsung plans to launch the rugged smartphone in February.

Today's announcement didn't elaborate on those launch plans, but with MWC 2013 around the corner this likely won't be the last heard from the Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2.

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Slipped Samsung roadmap lays out mobile plans for first half of 2013

Samsung has seemingly let slip its 2013 mobile roadmap, outlining the company's handset lineup for the first half of the year.

It seems that TechnoBuffalo managed a sneak peek at Samsung's upcoming portfolio including the Galaxy Note 8.0, Galaxy Pocket Plus, Galaxy Young, Galaxy Grand, and Galaxy X Cover 2.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 revelation is somewhat undercut by the spec sheet that leaked earlier this month, followed by Samsung confirming the 8-inch tablet's appearance for MWC 2013.

The roadmap confirms those leaked specs, with a 1280 x 800 TFT LCD display, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, a quad-core 1.6GHz processor, a 5-megapixel rear camera, 1.3-megapixel front camera, 4600mAh battery, and the S Pen stylus.

We also now have a launch timeline for the Galaxy Note 8.0, which should arrive in March with either 16GB or 32GB of storage in both 3G and Wi-Fi flavors.

Big in February

The leaked roadmap reveals that February will see the launch of two of Samsung's larger handsets with the Galaxy X Cover 2 and the Galaxy Grand.

The Galaxy X Cover 2 is a 4-inch follow-up to last year's rugged Galaxy X Cover, coupling a dual 1GHz processor and Android 4.1 with a dustproof and waterproof case. It also features a 5-megapixel rear camera to bring it up with other Galaxy smartphones, along with 4GB of storage, a microSD card slot, and a 1700mAh battery.

The Galaxy Grand takes on a larger task, offering a 5-inch WVGA display with dual SIM card support. It will also pack a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with Android 4.1, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front camera, 8GB of storage, and a 2100mAh battery.

Both the Galaxy Grand and Galaxy X Cover 2 are slated for February, so we may even see them arrive before MWC 2013 in Barcelona.

Return of compact smartphones

Samsung also has a duo of smaller form factor smartphones up its sleeve with the Galaxy Pocket Plus and Galaxy Young.

The Galaxy Pocket Plus offers a 2.8-inch display and runs Android 4.1 with an 800MHz processor, 2-megapixel camera, and 4GB of storage. A single SIM model was supposed to launch this month, while a dual SIM card handset is slated for February.

Jumping ahead to April then sees a new version of Samsung's Galaxy Young handset, a 3-inch Android 4.1 smartphone for a budget with 4GB of storage and a 3-megapixel camera.

To MWC 2013 and beyond

Missing from Samsung's first half of 2013 roadmap is the anticipated Galaxy S4.

The latest rumors point to Samsung skipping MWC 2013 with its flagship smartphone, instead favoring an unveiling at its own press conference in March for an April launch.

While it means more months of waiting for new Galaxy S4 details, the roadmap outlines four new smartphones and the Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet for an expected MWC lineup. And without the S4 around, Samsung's other mobile hardware may now actually get their fair share of the spotlight.

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