The JCB TOUGHPHONE™ can withstand extreme punishment. Credit: JCB.

JCB has launched a rugged mobile phone, resilient enough to be used on construction sites and similar extreme environments.

Tested by entrepreneur Peter Jones at the JCB Arena in Staffordshire, the JCB TOUGHPHONE™ was put through its paces in an attempt to set the world record for the planet’s most indestructible mobile.

Made famous by the TV programme Dragon’s Den, Jones owns mobile distributor Data Select, which has partnered with JCB and manufacturer Sonim to launch the phone.

Designed with the building trade in mind, the phone can withstand the harshest of punishment – during the demonstration at JCB, it was dropped from a height, put into a concrete mixer, driven over with a 1-tonne truck and then hosed down with a jet of water – and still worked perfectly.

The new mobile has features including Bluetooth™, Push to Talk, tri-band and built-in loud dual speakers. Operating at temperatures from -20C to +60C, it comes with a unique three-year warranty.

George McPherson, Chief Executive of Data Select, said: “The market has been demanding a no-nonsense mobile that non-office-based workers and tradesmen can depend on and the JCB TOUGHPHONE™ is the answer. The handset complements the brand values of JCB; it’s tough, easy to use and packed with modern technology.”

JCB Consumer Products Director, Matthew Conrad, said: “As well as its rugged construction, the JCB TOUGHPHONE™ is instantly recognised as a JCB product by its colour – which also increases visibility. The start-up screen features JCB graphics and, for a bit of fun, there is an exclusive JCB ringtone, the sound of one of our diggers starting up!”  

The phone, also to be launched in Europe as the Sonim XP1, is now on sale at Phones4U and other retailers in the UK.

To watch the video of Peter Jones testing the JCB TOUGHPHONE™, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKLWVycJUyE