When Sprint acquired Nextel back in 2005 a lot of the carriers clientele came along for the ride. Nextel was famous for their heavy duty phones with push to talk functionality that were extremely popular with people who worked outdoors, like a construction site for instance. As the handset market moved into smartphones the need for rough and tumble devices that were also “smart” became evident. Sprint, who is well known for customer service is obliging those needs with the upcoming Kyocera Torque.
The Torque, which was announced last month, is the first consumer phone to be certified with Military Standard 810G (MilSpec). What that means is the device is built to withstand dust, shock, vibration, solar radiation, humidity, blowing rain, low pressure, salt fog and extreme temperatures, along with IP67 standards for dust, sprayed water and full immersion of up to one meter deep for up to 30 minutes.
Not only is this device push to talk capable it is also the first to take advantage of “Kyocera’s award winning new Smart Sonic Receiver technology, which transmits sounds not only as traditional sound waves, but also as vibrations carried by body tissue directly to the eardrum and inner ear for unparalleled sound clarity even in the noisiest environments.”
Here is the Torque’s spec sheet:
- Military spec 810G and IP67-certified
- IPX5 / IPX7-certified “waterproof” (up to one meter for 30 minutes)
- 5.54 ounces (157g)
- 113 x 60.5 x 14.3mm (4.44 x 2.38 x 0.56 inches)
- HD Voice
- 1.2GHz dual-core MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 Plus
- 4-inch WVGA IPS display, Gorilla Glass 2
- 1GB RAM
- 4GB internal storage expandable via MicroSD (up to 32GB)
- 2,500mAh battery
- NFC, WiFi b/g/n 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 4.0+LE/EDR
- 5MP rear camera, 1.3MP front-facing
- 4G LTE
- Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
The carrier has also gotten Man Vs. Wild star Bear Grylls to hawk the device with a series of videos available on YouTube. Eric Anderson, senior vice president and general manager of global sales and marketing at Kyocera Communications had this to say about their spokesman: “Bear Grylls is the ultimate survivor, in both his extreme adventures and the challenges he deals with day-to-day like the rest of us. Most of us know him as an intrepid adventurer, who has withstood the most extreme environments, but he’s also a businessman and a parent, and he appreciates the value of a smart, rugged device like Torque that can seamlessly support those different sides of his lifestyle.”
Sprint will make the Kyocera Torque available on March 8th for $99.99 after a $50 mail in rebate and signing up for two years of service.