JCB, the construction company, is getting tough with a real hard nut of a phone – the Toughphone.
The handset is supposedly shock, dust, water and drop resistant, capable of working in temperatures ranging from -20ºC to 60ºC. It also comes in a hardened rubber case for extra protection.
As well as its protection, the phone also has Bluetooth, Push-To-Talk and is Tri-band, and for those working on noisy building sites it has dual speakers.
People like Nokia have in the past released rubberised handsets, and Samsung’s Solid is coming out next month. Certainly those working in outdoors or on building sites can’t very well use a Nokia N81 or iPhone while on the job.
The JCB Toughphone is manufactured in the US by Sonim and comes with a three-year guarantee.
You can buy the Toughphone in Phones 4u stores, and if you’re in the building trade you can also pick it up at Speedy Hire and Plumb Centres alongside your quarter-inch nipples.
[Via Mobile Today]
About Chris Leonard
I work in the construction industry and since my nokia 5140 became obsolete (no bluetooth for hands free) and 5500 sport being virtually useless, I found it difficult to get a tough phone for work. Having read loads of positive reviews I decided to buy a JCB tough phone. I have used it now for a month or so and I have to say it’s slightly disappointing, mainly due to the lack of fairly basic features eg. It’s got a small low resolution screen, no camera, mine didn’t even come with a USB lead. The overall design and function of the phone is good it’s easy to operate the dual speakers are really loud it does what it says on the tin I suppose. A friend has just bought a phone called a Duraphone Q800 which looks like it was made from the same mould, but it has all the extra features the JCB doesn’t have. I’ve tried it and think it’s fantastic, I’ve got one ordered from the Duraphone web site it was £128 plus postage can’t wait to use it. I forgot to mention it comes with two Li-ion batteries and a USB cable, it’s also got MP3 & MP4, micro SD card and the screen is 2.2” full colour.
Condurro also have a rugged mobile phone at http://www.condurromobile.com called the LM801
I have had a JCB phone for about 9 months and I love it. However, it has some major flaws. No music and no camera is fine for me but the software in it is pathetic. My bluetooth headset cuts off about 5% of calls when I answer them. Sometimes it takes 3 button presses to end a call. When your caller ends the call, your handset remains connected, the default text method is T9, you can change it to normal texting but it jumps back to T9 at random. There are several other faults which make this phone infuriating to operate. Strangely though, I still love it. It bounces when I drop it, it is not smooth and slidy in your hand, it has big easy buttons and big, easy to read numbers and text on the screen. I sent it back to the manufacturer to get it fixed. After a month without it, they sent me a new one with exactly the same faults. I will probably replace it soon with a Samsung which may be equally robust but will hopefully work properly.
Check out these guys for the meanest, crashproof phones
http://www.sonimtech.com/
The Durrocomm in inherently faulty. Do NOT buy this phone. The company (of Swindon, SN8 3RH UK) are also refusing to refund me! It took a light tap and the screen became unreadable, not to mention the torch stopped working after 3 days, and the charger lacks any dexterity and is easily broken.