The rugged Motorola Brute i680, now on the Sprint Nextel network, can withstand blowing rain and support two lines, GPS, e-mailing and Web browsing. Switching from push-to-talk — with up to 200 workers — and a voice call is as easy as pushing a button.
Motorola and Sprint introduced the ultra-rugged and
appropriately named Motorola Brute i680 on Jan 11.
The clamshell-style phone offers Nextel Direct Connect
push-to-talk services and meets military specification 810F for resisting dust,
shock, vibration, temperature extremes, low pressure, solar radiation, salt
fog, humidity and blowing rain. Which is more than can be said for most of us.
The Brute has an interior and exterior display, measures
2.07 by 3.9 by 1 inches and
supports Web browsing and e-mail. It can switch between push-to-talk and
a traditional voice call with a
single button press and features both Group Connect — for reaching out
simultaneously to 20 other Nextel Direct Connect subscribers — and
Talkgroup, for collaborating with 200 people at once.
“Motorola Brute, combined with the exclusive Public Safety applications only
available on Nextel phones from Sprint, allows public safety personnel to
communicate, even if they are out of network range, an irreplaceable
communication tool in times of emergency,” said Fared Adib, Sprint vice
president of product development, in a statement.
The Brute comes with an embedded GPS chip and so can support
GPS-based applications, such as turn-by-turn directions.
Also included are Bluetooth connectivity, a 2-megapixel
camera with flash, a music player, speaker-phone functionality and a dual
microphone, for crisp sound and background noise cancellation. Combined IM, MMS
and SMS messaging are supported, and the Brute offers voice-activated dialing
and can support a second line.
A microSD slot enables users to boost the Brute’s memory by
up to 8GB.
“Nextel Direct Connect from Sprint is an invaluable tool for
public safety,” Charles Werner, a Charlottesville, Va., fire chief quoted in a
statement.
“During an emergency, we depend on rugged devices, like
Motorola Brute, that can withstand extreme conditions and offer instant
communications; this combination is the cornerstone of effectively managing a
crisis,” Werner continued. “Individuals who work in various harsh environments,
such as construction and manufacturing, will find the durability of the device
to be critical as well.”
The Brute is now available at Sprint stores for
$119.99.
Sprint offers Nextel Direct Connect plans with unlimited
texting, data, Web browsing and GPS navigation, as well as plans that pool
voice minutes for a group to share. Plans begin at $29.99 per month per line,
before taxes and surcharges.
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