14 DAY TRIAL // We already reported on JCB’s extremely rugged handsets earlier this month. It looks like the phones are now available for pre-order in the UK.
According to SoMobile, Sitemaster 2 and Sitemaster 3G feature-phones, as well as the Toughphone Pro Smart Android-based smartphone can now be pre-ordered via online retailer KingOfGagdets.
Customers can pre-purchase the most expensive of the three, the JCB Toughphone Pro Smart for no less than £330 (520 USD or 395 EUR) upfront. The smartphone is sold unlocked and SIM-free.
Furthermore, JCB Sitemaster 2 and Sitemaster 3G, are also available for pre-order for £140 (220 USD or 170 EUR) and £160 (255 USD or 190 EUR), respectively.
KingOfGagdets claims that all three handsets are due to arrive in stock in late April, though an exact release date has yet to be unveiled.
JCB phones are IP67 certified and have been built in partnership with Peter Jones’s Data Select. They are water-resistant, dust-resistant and have been tested for one ton pressure and up to 2m drops.
The most interesting among the three is the JCB Toughphone Pro Smart, which is powered by Google’s Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system.
The phone sports a medium-size 3.2-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen display and looks pretty bulky at 20.5mm thickness.
Furthermore, the smartphone drains energy from a high-capacity 2000 mAh Li-Ion battery, which is rated by the manufacturer for up to 360 hours of standby time or up to 9 hours of talk time.
On the inside, the Toughphone Pro Smart is equipped with an 800 MHz single-core processor and packs 256MB of RAM, along with microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB).
“These three handsets mark the future of tough technology and and are a welcome extension of an already impressive range of phones,” said Jason Kemp, marketing director at Data Select.