I agree, its just a tool to be used.

Im an archaeologist and my N900 comes to work with me down muddy holes aplenty. In january it did two weeks down the bottom of a roman well that I was dismantling by hand - stone by stone. It seemed quite happy in my pocket. I don't use a case and haven't had chance to pick up a screen protector yet.

Its a surprisingly hardy little beast. Quite waterproof and the mud washes off the screen and keypad with a damp cloth. The worst bit is getting sand and silt out of the sliding mechanism. It makes an awful grating sound when its in there.

Im probably tempting fate by posting this however....