Gadget freaks move over – weekenduae does not do gadgets.

But we do cover equipment for awesome weekend adventures!

And when I hear “IPX7 certified – dust proof and water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes” that means I want it for the desert, wadi, and beach.

But what we found out from a weekend driver’s perspective was a lot more!

As a smartphone, the HTC Desire Eye comes with all the features one expects, and you can find the full specs here.

We were happy with the dust-proof aspect, as there really is no escaping blown sand and very fine dust particles in the UAE.

And if you want to go a bit deeper, the front glass cover is Corning Gorilla 3 glass, which apparently is a “specialized toughened glass [that] gains its surface strength, ability to contain flaws, and crack-resistance by being immersed in a hot potassium salt ion-exchange bath.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorilla_Glass

We don’t know much about how it compares to other glass, actually, but if it doesn’t crack when the darn phone falls out of a pocket and onto the ground, we’re happy. Always keep in mind that your phone is your primary communication tool for emergency situations.

All the phone’s features were intuitive to use that even an old grumpy off-roader with decaying eye-sight and troglodytic fingers had no problem operating.

That’s probably thanks to the large size of the screen, even though the phone is very slim.

But we were especially happy with this:

The crafty people at HTC UAE slipped a funny-looking tube into our demo pack.

It looks like a little periscope, and the camera lens on the top gives it away.

But we had no idea just how awesome this would be to an off-road driver!!!

Please view this video clip we took – unedited, taken in one go, first-time, no repeats, no nothings: we even put it up on YouTube directly with no fuss at all.

Now, tell me you don’t want one!!!

Here’s another one, with the microphone on and the slow-motion setting turned off – please forgive the choice of “music”… teenage daughter!

Again, no editing, click on-click off, upload to social media for instant shares!

Here’s the deal. You can use it as a stand-alone camera, or the RE Camera connects to the Desire Eye via bluetooth.

So the camera tube stays very comfortably in your hand, and the phone becomes the viewfinder. Or you can mount it on a tripod screw, or even duck-tape it to your bumper if you wanted to!

It features a 16MP sensor that captures HD videos, 146° wide angle lens, and easy connectivity with both iOS and Android phones. And it is waterproof (dustproof for us desert fiends) down to 1 metre depth!

And it is operated with only one button!!!

Superb ease of use. And super results.

We thought this was the most amazing toy ever, and surely you will too!

Imagine all the possibilities when going on your weekend adventures… this is the cheapest alternative to the Go-Pro first-person adventure videos!

Besides videos, the photos also were excellent, and ideal for selfies. Here is an example of how wide an angle a photo is taken:

Overall, both the HTC Desire Eye smartphone and the RE Camera performed flawlessly and far beyond our expectations – excellent kit for outdoor adventures!

Here are the specs.