Back in the day I often used my Nokia 3210 to stir drinks and open bottles. It would take an incredible amount of beating and still just work.
I feel all the new smart phones out there are a bit weak on the ruggedness department. I recently lost a Nexus S (with a protective case!) to a drop of just a few feet. I was actually surprised that the phone wasn't able to take it.
If a touchscreen-based smartphone was truly rugged yet consumer-grade, it would really have my attention.
I've linked (months ago) Youtube videos of people trying to destroy a Lumia 920. One man used the screen to pound a nail into a piece of wood, tossed it across a parking lot, drove over it with his car, and only got it to break when he threw it screen-first into a concrete wall. It's still a smartphone with the downsides of a giant piece of glass, but it's got the benefit of a solid and shock-absorbing chunk of plastic surrounding it. You can't get it wet, but you don't have to worry about it falling.
The Nokias might be thicker and bulkier than an iPhone, but an iPhone needs a thick and heavy case. The Lumia doesn't.