JCB Tradesman Toughphone deals & review

The JCB Tradesman Toughphone is a co-branded update of Sonim's XP1, the world's first floating phone. The Tradesman is aimed at construction workers. The phone features a robust design and meets a number of military standards for water, dust, salt, fog, humidity, transport shock and thermal shock.

JCB's branding is present in the bold black and yellow colour scheme of the phone. Rubber edging and chunky corners look like they can take quite some punishment: this thing has the lines of a Tonka truck. Many JCB themes are available for the screen of the phone as well. The buttons are large and beveled for ease of use. Everything on this phone fits together snugly and smoothly - there is even a rubber cover for the Micro-USB and headphone ports.

The Tradesman´s feature list is different to that of most phones. It is compliant with IP 67, which means it is completely dust-proof and can survive immersion in water of up to one meter in depth. It also complies with United States Military Standards which means it has been through a rigorous testing process. Standard features from the XP 1 such as calls, texts, calendar and alarm have been augmented with the addition of Bluetooth and FM Radio as well as a handy torch. The full colour screen is a 1.44 inch CSTN display. Simple stuff but all the essentials are covered.

This is easily one of the most durable phones on the market, able to keep running in almost any environment. The 650 mAh lithium ion battery looks good too: it offers 130 hours of standby time and 180 minutes of talk time. Stripping back on features has allowed the manufacturer to produce a phone that performs exceptionally well under pressure.

The layout of the phone is incredibly simple and the internal interface is quite intuitive, including a neat feature for access to the phone book. The contacts section is nice and simple although there are a few limitations: there are only 500 slots in the phone book and there is no way to set photos or ringtones for individual contacts. The phone ships with a limited number of ringtones, though more are available over WAP internet. This streamlining of the features just adds to the spartan philosophy of the phone though.

The Tradesman is the entry level model in JCB'S Toughphone range. The Sitemaster can withstand a ton of pressure and has a passed a 2 meter drop test. The ProTalk is just as tough as the others but is a little more feature-rich, coming with GPS and a camera.