New rugged mobile phone handset meets the needs of the adventurer who wants to stay in touch

Gaydon, UK, 15 June 2009: Land Rover today announced that it has teamed up with Sonim Technologies, to launch the Land Rover S1 by Sonim, a rugged, high quality mobile phone designed to meet the needs of those who work and play in the great outdoors. The mobile phone was unveiled by the world’s greatest explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, fresh from his successful ascent of Mount Everest.

The Land Rover S1 by Sonim is the world’s first IP-67 rated GSM mobile phone - a standard which indicates it has been tested and found to be totally impervious to dust, as well as dirt, shocks and drops.  The Land Rover S1 is also completely waterproof to a depth of one metre for up to 30 minutes and is resistant to extreme pressure of up to 400 kgs.

Joining Land Rover's existing range of branded clothing, bikes and eyewear the Land Rover S1 handset will continue to uphold Land Rover's commitment to developing high quality and durable products.

The current handset will come equipped with a 2Mega-Pixel waterproof camera with built-in flash, built-in GPS, torch light, FM radio, 2GB memory slot, J2ME Java for mobile, WAP browsing through its in-built Opera Mini WAP browser and Bluetooth. 

As Lindsay Weaver, Land Rover global licensing manager explained, "We are very excited about the launch of the S1 mobile phone. Like our vehicles this phone is extremely capable and will work in the toughest of environments. Designed to meet the needs and demands of the outdoor adventurer the phone has an IP-67 rating, which is a first for a commercially available GSM handset, and is operational in temperatures ranging from -20 to 55 degrees Celsius and backed by an unconditional three-year guarantee.

Weaver added: "We have worked with Sonim to ensure that the phone not only meets their stringent criteria of ruggedness, but also to ensure that this is a true Land Rover product."

Bob Plaschke, CEO of Sonim Technologies, commented, “When we started making these handsets, there was no standard for how to test and benchmark rugged phones, so we created our own.  The Land Rover S1 is tested according to our own ‘Rugged Performance Standard’, a specific 12-point test to ensure our phones remain of the highest quality and don’t let you down when you need it most.”

“We are delighted to be working with Land Rover on this product. This ultra-rugged phone will be a great addition to its merchandise range and we know it will appeal to the adventurous spirit of Land Rover’s customers".

Land Rover S1 Specification - Fully submersible to a depth of one metre - Survives being dropped onto hard surfaces from up to two metres - Extra-Loud speakers for use in extremely noisy environments - Extra-long battery life with over 1500 hours of standby time and 18 hours of talk time - Durable keyboard mechanics and extra-wide buttons for ease of use - Keypad buttons tested to over 500,000 pushes - Completely dust and micro-particle resistant – IP-67 Rated - Resistant to road shocks and vibrations to over 2000 random vibrations in the 500Hz range - Operational under temperatures from -20° to 55° C - Resistant to extreme pressure up to 400kg - Resistant to punctures at 75kg/cm2 of pressure. - Three year unconditional guarantee

The phone is compatible with a wide range of off-the-shelf car kits and headsets and comes with complete with charger, belt clip and headset as standard.

The Land Rover S1 by Sonim will be available through www.landroverphone.co.uk   or from Go Mobile stores nationwide or the www.gomobileuk.com website from June 2009 priced at £299.99.