US handset manufacturer Motorola on Monday announced the launch of Defy+, an updated version of its rugged Defy smartphone.

The Android 2.3 Gingerbread-based Defy+ is water resistant, scratch resistant, and has a dust proof design.

The handset has a 3.7-inch touchscreen made of Corning Gorilla Glass, a speedier 1GHz processor instead of 800MHz that is found in the original Defy, and a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, flash & digital zoom.

The list of other features of the Defy+ includes a 3.5mm headset jack, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, battery of 1,700 mAh, 2GB of built-in memory and MicroSD card support.

In addition, the Defy+ offers an Adobe Flash10-enabled browser, a more insightful UI and enhancements on features like improved calendar, email features and home screen options.

Speaking about the Defy+, Motorola Mobility’s Alain Mutricy said, “We designed Motorola DEFY+ with all the smartphone features you need for a demanding lifestyle.”

The Motorola Defy+ will hit stores in Asia, Europe and Latin America sometime in autumn. No ward was uttered on a possible US release.