It has been a long time since mobile phones catered for an individual industry with the last so called 'work' phone by Siemens being discontinued over 5 years ago, but two new devices are bucking the trend for smaller, lighter, more advanced and feature packed mobile phone demand - introducing the JCB Tough Phone and the Samsung M110 Solid.

The mobile phones industry is mostly centred around new technology, as the manufacturers battle with each other to release new and exciting features such as high specification cameras and applications usually found on home computers two manufacturers have discovered an old niche in the market for hard working builders and the construction industry.

Phones that stand up to the odd fall, maybe out of a pocket or from scaffolding, phones that can be dropped into puddles by mistake and phones that can be stood on or run over accidentially are not in keeping with the fiddly little phones that are being introduced to the market recently so to see two devices released at the same time, both reporting to be robust enough to withstand the harshest of environments is a breath of fresh air.

Practicality wins over gimmicks with the JCB Tough and Samsung Solid - even the model names sound manly and strong!

Lets start with the JCB offering, a 4 in 1 tough phone, the JCB Tough Phone is a GSM handset that acts as a mobile phone, Walkie Talkie and a Mobile Presence Tool. The case is made from a reinforced rubberised material which is shock proof, water and dust resistant and even scratch proof.

Re-inforced to such an extent, the JCB Tough Phone can handle temperatures from as low as -20 to as high as 40 degrees celcius and the screen display is scratch resistant as well and anti glare ensuring high quality outdoor visibility.

Aimed at users in the construction business, the JCB Tough Phone, aka Sonim XP1 who are the actual manufacturers of this device, claims that it will handle anything that is thrown at it making it an excellent choice as a companion for heavy manual labour workers.

When in a noisy area, the JCB Toughphone can easily cope using its dual speakers and on the fun side, the JCB Tough Phone has ringtones for personalisation which include ones such as a preloaded recording of a JCB Digger.

The Mobile Pager can be pre-configured with predefined messages to be sent to the office at a touch of a button, whilst the Mobile Present Tool indicates who is available to receive calls at anytime.

The package itself comes inclusive of a USB cable and handy belt clip to keep the handset attached at all times.

Now to take a look at the new Samsung Solid, otherwise known as the Samsung SGH M110, which claims to be splash free, smash free and scratch resistant.

The Samsung Solid may look like a dowdy old mobile but if a consumer is looking for a mobile that can handle anything that is thrown at it and still make a call at the end of the day, then the Samsung M110 is probably their new best mate.

Designed as the perfect companion for those in the construction business or manual labour workers, the Samsung SGH-M110, aka Samsung Solid, is a solid candybar that is both shock proof and water resistant, available in a choice of either Olive Green or the more traditional Black, the Samsung M110 comes equipped with a VGA Camera and built-in FM functionality.

There is enough space in the phonebook to store up to 500 contact details and bluetooth wireless and EDGE technology come as standard, the screen is a decent 1.5inch 128 x 128 pixels displaying in 65,000 colours and the onboard features are easy to master and they include a calendar, reminder alert and currency convertor. Other features included on the Samsung M110 are built-in handsfree, voice dial and voice memo functions, which are always a major plus.

So the Samsung Solid is smaller, lighter and more feature packed than the JCB Tough Phone but is that really what a construction worker would worry about? So long as they can drop it, stand on it and use it after being dropped in a puddle then the size and weight only come second to a very useful and robust device. The one thing that might sway the majority to the JCB phone would be the fact that it is a recognised, construction industry brand and sports the black and yellow colours of JCB - could be handy in poor light when trying to find the phone.