en 
The ruggedized smartphone for the really tough
28. August 2019 Published by Raphael DoerrThe GX290 is Gigaset’s first ruggedized smartphone and is designed for extreme conditions at work and in outdoor activities. With its resilient housing, 6.1-inch HD+ display with Gorilla® Glass and exceptionally powerful 6,200-mAh battery that enables fast wireless charging, the device is the strongest addition to the Gigaset smartphone family this year. The GX290 comes with NFC, IP68 certification, a dual camera, an octa-core processor, face recognition and a fingerprint sensor. It will go on sale at stores and online retailers from September 2019 at the price of €299.
Special situations demand a smartphone with special abilities. Whether at work on the building site, in the delivery truck or at the workshop, or in your leisure time while rafting, climbing, camping or cycling: The Gigaset GX290 is a reliable companion that defies water, dust and shocks. ‘Ruggedized’ means ‘made robust.’ “We’ve taken that literally,” says Andreas Merker, Head of Smartphones at Gigaset. “The injection-molded, two-component TPU housing is additionally reinforced by a stable metal frame. The display’s protected with resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3. We wanted to create a smartphone that is as resilient as possible in very adverse conditions – one with all the features that are important and necessary at work and in outdoor activities. And all that at a fair price, too.”
Hard shell, strong interior
Weighing in at 279 grams and IP68 certified, the GX290 is dust- and water-proof and even survives being dropped into pools or onto a hard surface. The 6.1-inch HD+ display with a V notch has a resolution of 1,560 x 720 pixels, a brightness of 580 cd/m² and a contrast of 1000:1 – ensuring excellent legibility even in blazing sunlight. The latest Android 9.0 Pie operating system runs on a MediaTek Helio P23 octa-core MT6763 – the processor has a clock rate of 2.0 GHz, enables 4G LTE Cat-6 and supports VoLTE and VoWiFi.
“The very best voice quality has always been vital for Gigaset,” adds Andreas Merker. “That goes not only for our cordless fixed-line phones, but also for mobile devices like the new GX290. Reliable voice communication is a key criterion that often sways purchase decisions, especially in the professional arena.”
Robust all round: the ruggedized smartphone Gigaset GX290
The GX290 boasts near-field communication (NFC) and obtains position data for location-based services or navigation not only by means of A-GPS, but also Glonass, a global satellite navigation system developed by the Russian Federation and regarded as the counterpart to the U.S. global positioning system GPS. This two-fold safeguard ensures that the user’s location is pinpointed reliably at all times.
The fingerprint sensor is located on the back of the smartphone and enables useful convenience features such as the ability to scroll through screen pages with one hand while keeping a secure grip on the device. As a result, the GX290 is the perfect communication tool for all purposes. It can also be unlocked quickly and easily by means of facial recognition.
Records everything and has staying power
Whether skiing downhill at a giddy pace, on a wild rafting tour or in demanding everyday work on a building site – a ruggedized smartphone has to meet similar requirements at work and play: It must deliver the right battery power and camera functions so that the device can keep working all day long and reliably document events or situations. Gigaset’s batteries are traditionally powerful, but the GX290 adds an extra helping of energy with a lithium polymer battery boasting a capacity of 6,200 mAh. That’s enough to deliver a standby time of 550 hours with two SIM cards and a talk time of up to 24 hours in the 3G/4G network. The battery enables fast wireless charging at up to 15 watts – and is back up to full power in around three hours. The USB Type-C port supports rapid charging by means of PE+ technology. USB On-The-Go also turns the device into a power bank, meaning it can be used to charge external devices and connect external USB devices, such as a mouse, keyboard or storage media.
Gigaset has equipped the main dual camera with a 13-MP SONY sensor, which is supported by a 2-MP sensor. Both cameras work together to deliver the bokeh effect, which in particular enhances portrait photos with its background fuzziness. The software from the photo experts ArcSoft® enables further optimization of photos and supplies many functions familiar from professional photography, such as HDR, ultra HD and night mode.
Whether filming your favorite act in one piece at festivals in wet and windy weather, documenting fully how you cross the Alps on a gravel track, or accomplishing a long hard day’s work under extremely adverse conditions – the GX290 has the staying power.
The Gigaset GX290 in titanium gray with orange design lines will go on sale at stores and online retailers and in the Gigaset online shop at the RRP of €299.00 from September 2019.
1 Comment
Nice blog! Henchman has merged with Australia-based Durabook rugged device producers. They are appointed as the biggest partner of Durabook in Australia.