Should waterproof phones epitomise the #bestofSony?

Looking over each of the major OEMs, one can arrive at certain areas they individually excel in with their current batch of devices - what with Samsung and their innovative *cough* gimmicky features, Motorola and battery life, HTC with design and sound, and LG for being a blend of both Motorola and Samsung with a considerably smaller amount of cheese in comparison with the latter.

If we turn to Sony, "waterproof" springs to mind, but if Sony were to hypothetically go down the drain tomorrow, would that kind of work really be worth carving into their headstone alongside their countless other accolades?

Water resistance on smartphones isn't anything new - third party companies like Liquipel have provided treatments for ordinary smartphones for years. Smartphones such as the Motorola Defy, Sony Ericsson Xperia Active, and Samsung Galaxy S4 Active offer protection against the elements, while Motorola's RAZRs have been recently receiving a water repellent treatment, similar to those offered by third parties.

There's nothing all that special about it for most people. I own a Motorola Defy, and all its water resistance proved good for was for either dunking in a stein of beer whilst out with mates, or washing under a tap if grimy and laden with fingerprints. It was a party trick more than anything, and while I wasn't daring enough to take it with me underwater for some low-quality filming - its water resistance feature wasn't something I was making use of on a daily basis.

Our Xperia Z has never met with water or any liquid for that matter - it's much too loved to be treated in a way that could yield devastating results, should its ports not be covered properly. Sure, the piece of mind in having that level of protection is there - but anything could happen whilst the phone is submerged or if it meets with rain.

Sony think otherwise, and are intent on advertising that their Xperia Z range, touting their water resistant, and waterproof handsets as the bees knees when stacked against its competition. It isn't though. Let's hope the 'Triluminous' display they're spruiking with their Z Ultra, and soon their G Lens set to feature in their upcoming Z1 (Honami) will bring new tidings and focus for Sony. If recent press images are anything to go by however, it doesn't seem as though this will be the case - which is a shame, because Sony's Xperia line do offer their own character and place amongst other leading OEMs, they're just not doing their darndest to exploit this in the same way the aforementioned do.

What do you think of Sony's insistence that waterproof smartphones are more important than a smartphone which excels in other areas? Is it working for them, and should they continue with it - or find something new which epitomises their #bestofSony campaign?