The Land Rover S1 phone was dropped from a tall building, roasted in an oven, run over by a Land Rover and stomped on by an elephant.
It still made calls. We found out why.
One of the most essential devices on a caravan holiday is also one of the most ordinary – the humble and now-ubiquitous mobile phone.
Gone are the days when you would be forced to stop off at a service station and call ahead to the caravan park. For over a decade the mobile phone has been the friend of campers and travellers who want to organise their trip or stay in touch with home (if reception is available of course).
The mobile phone is certainly not the friend of wallets when something goes awry. A fragile instrument at the best of times, even a small amount of water ingress can cause issues with operation. And potentially a costly replacement upon returning home.
Enter the Land Rover S1. Claimed to be the first ‘indestructable’ phone, as such it could perhaps survive any camping trip or caravan holiday. Caravan Times took a glance at the tests by the manufacturer’s development team and the results were eyebrow-raising to say the least.
Land Rover teamed up with mobile phone manufacturer Sonim for this project, and to test the device they ran over the phone.with a Land Rover. After surviving the weight of a two-tonne vehicle, the phone was then submerged in mud. Still able to make calls, the services of an elephant were brought in. Even the mightiest of beasts however could not stop the phone from being operational.
So the tests got quirkier. The S1 was roasted in a domestic oven at 150 degrees centrigrade with no effect. The makers then tossed it from the second floor of a building. Calls could still be made. Full immersion in a pint of beer? No problem.
The phone is made for adventurers with a turn-by-turn GPS and built-in accelerometer. We at Caravan Times however liked the surprisingly bright torch. It can even take a few holiday snaps with a well-protected 2MP camera.
The Land Rover S1 is IP67 rated and fully shockproof. It can be fully submersed to one metre for up to 30 minutes. If you’re as curious as we were, you can click here for more information.
