Tuesday, Sprint released four new devices, two of which meet the military specifications for dust, shock, vibration and blowing rain. The other two are said to be multimedia gadgets aimed at boosting productivity.

The first device of the ones meeting military ruggedness demands is Motorola Renegade V950, a clamshell mobile phone that measures 4.1 inches by 2.1 inches by 0.66 inches and weighs 4.16 ounces, with a display screen measuring 2.2 inches. It is a digital dual-band operating on 1900 MHz and 800 MHz, which offers consumers instant, one-to-one push-to-talk to other Direct Connect subscribers, Group Connect-a feature that lets users communicate and coordinate with up to 20 other subscribers at the same time and TeamDC, which enables users to communicate with a maximum of 34 users at once.

Other features include Call Alert- users can send a repeating notification text to other subscribers in order to inform the latter about somebody trying to reach them-Bluetooth, a 2.0 megapixel camera, an MP3 player, a MicroSD card slot, access to the Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV, Sprint PCS Picture Mail and Sprint GPS Navigation.

The second Nextel Direct Connect device is Motorola i365, a mobile phone measuring 5.3 inches by 2.1 inches by 1.2 inches and weighing 6.7 ounces. It runs on IDEN 800/900 MHz and also meets military ruggedness specifications concerning humidity, blowing rain, dust, shock and vibration.

Group Connect, International Direct Connect, Direct Talk, Direct Send, NextMail, Bluetooth and GPS Navigation are some of the features it prides itself in.

The i365 will costs $89.99 with a two-year contract after rebates and discounts, while the V950 will cost $129.99 after a $50 rebate and a two-year service agreement.

In an e-mail, a Sprint spokeswoman stated that part of the Renegade’s appeal is its attractive form factor that has not taken its toll on the phone’s durability. Moreover, it is the first Nextel Direct Connect device to combine PTT(push-to-talk) with the largest capabilities of the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, she added.