News - Kyocera Torque ruggedized 4G Android: the Bear Grylls phone

[HEXUS]

Very tough on the outside but predictably middling internal specification.

Read more.

[hoggson]

Well it's specs are far better than the Land Rover, JCB and Nokia rugged phones.

[watercooled]

Definitely interesting, provided it's priced sensibly. It could also double as a useful GPS system, although battery life would likely still be poor vs a dedicated unit.

[Hicks12]

an integrated solar panel would certainly help it survive the harsh environments .

[chrestomanci]

an integrated solar panel would certainly help it survive the harsh environments .

Not realy, as a phone sized pannel would not produce enough power to be usefull.

A few years back when I was working at Nokia, I saw the results of an internal study, where it was seriously considered as a feature for future phones. Even for low end phones that hardly use any electricity. (Such as the €20 ones sold in the third world), the three square inches of solar pannel that you can fit on the back of one would barely supply enough power to keep up with the drain from being on standby, and only in direct sunlight.

The concusion was that it would be better to build a phone with a large battery that charged quickly so that an African villager could keep it on standby for 2-3 weeks, and then charge it in an hour when she goes to a town with electricity on market day.

Back on topic, I would say that if you want a phone for wilderness adventures your priority is to choose one with a huge battery and long standby time. If you still need more power then attach a large solar pannel of several hundread square inches to the outside of your pack and use it to charge your gadgets.

[Hicks12]

Thats interesting, maybe if they could use the new sharp tech which has significantly higher efficiency. I dont believe shoving a larger battery is the best way but I guess for now its the only viable way .

[3dcandy]

I imagine that it's not the efficiency that is the problem but more the cost of integrating a solar panel versus a bigger battery...

[watercooled]

If you forgo smartphone features, you can still get phones with excellent battery life, some of the cheap Nokias for example. As for water protection, you can improvise something. If you have the space for it, I've used a small food container, a smaller version of this: http://direct.asda.com/ASDA-Clip-Lid...efault,pd.html it also provides impact protection, pack it with something to stop it rattling about if necessary.

[wasabi]

What these devices are really for is IT departments to give out to careless employees who work in 'trade' environments (builders, plumbers etc). Used to work at a place who gave out iphones to those buys and they destroyed several thousand pounds worth of kit every single week. One of those stupid trendy mobile workforce initiatives and management were i-toy fanatics.

[Noxvayl]

Back on topic, I would say that if you want a phone for wilderness adventures your priority is to choose one with a huge battery and long standby time. If you still need more power then attach a large solar pannel of several hundread square inches to the outside of your pack and use it to charge your gadgets.

Solar Monkey comes to mind, can get one big enough to charge a laptop. Got my cousin one for his birthday and he loves it, perfect for camping trips where you have no access to power.