The world's smallest Land Rover

Jun 16 2009 Steve Hughes

LAND Rover has introduced a new mobile phone that is as tough as its vehicles.

The company says that the Land Rover S1 by Sonim is a rugged, high quality handset designed to meet the needs of those who work and play in the great outdoors. Unveiled by Sir Ranulph Fiennes following his recent ascent of Mount Everest, the phone is the world's first IP-67 rated GSM mobile phone.

This guarantees that it is totally impervious to dust, dirt, shocks and drops. It is also waterproof to a depth of one metre for up to 30 minutes and is resistant to pressure of up to 400kgs.

Joining Land Rover's existing range of branded clothing, bikes and sunglasses the Land Rover S1 has a two megapixel waterproof camera with built-in flash, GPS, torch light, FM radio, 2GB memory slot, J2ME Java for mobile, WAP browsing and Bluetooth.

Lindsay Weaver, Land Rover global licensing manager, says: "Like our vehicles this phone is extremely capable and will work in the toughest of environments. It is operational in temperatures ranging from minus 20 to 55 degrees Celsius and backed by an unconditional three-year guarantee.''

The phone survives being dropped onto hard surfaces from up to two metres, has extra-loud speakers for use in extremely noisy environments and has extra-long battery life with over 1,500 hours of standby time and 18 hours of talk time.

It comes with a charger, belt clip and headset and costs £300.