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Elliot Mulley-Goodbarne
July 4, 2018
Toughphone’s latest release takes no prisoners with a host of impressive features
Toughphone has released its latest rugged device – the Defender Beast – which features the largest battery of any smartphone in the world.
The Beast is the sixth device to be released by Toughphone and follows on from the Defender, Defender 2 and Defender Pro smartphones and is available from Toughphone for £399.
It’s main selling point will be the powerful 6,150mAh battery that Toughphone claims is the largest battery found in any smartphone worldwide and makes use of both fast and wireless charging.
The 5.5-inch screen is full HD and is IP69 water and dust-proof and can work with wet fingers and through extreme conditions.
The smartphone will run on Android Nougat 7.0 and comes equipped with a 16MP rear camera, 8MP front camera and a MediaTek MT6755 octa-core processor that utilises 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage.
Customers can also customise the software of their Beast to their requirements through a pre-installed app and a barcode scanner which can be attached to the device.
Global Mobile Communications (GMC) is in charge of sales in the UK for Toughphone products and has shipped 30,000 units in the UK with the previous five in the line.
Speaking to Mobile News GMC managing director Stephen Westley spoke about The Beast’s chances of success in what is a growing rugged market and believes an increase
in SIM-only customers reflects the fact that people want phones that last longer.
Westley said: “It’s a growing market where there were virtually no rugged brands around a few years ago, now they’re springing up everywhere.”
Discussing the new phone, Westley said the Defender Beast “stands out the most” compared to previous handsets and has listened carefully to what customers want regarding features, such as a heavy duty battery and waterproofing.
GMC is targeting the B2B customer base rather than the “fiercely competitive” consumer market as Westley says it wants to build a premium brand, but didn’t reveal any shipment targets for the Beast.
“We’re going to build the brand over the next couple of years and support our partners with marketing and aftersales care and come up with an exciting range. We want to build a premium range that people are familiar with.”
The Beast is the first handset launch this year, with two more also in the pipeline for later in the year including a 4G feature phone with push to talk functions and a smartphone with walkie-talkie features.