ULTRA-SECURE RUGGED SMARTPHONE

WHILE many flagship smartphones are extremely well thought out in terms of design and performance, they are not the most hardy of handsets in the market. An accidental drop, or a knock, and you could end up with a cracked display.

Also, securing one’s data on a regular smartphone might be trickier than usual, which is why DarkMatter Group has introduced the Katim R01 ultra-secure rugged smartphone.

The Katim R01 has been specially designed to withstand extreme conditions, targeting individuals who work in defence and emergency services, as well as those in construction, mining, trasportation, energy, and the oil and gas industries.

Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, it is equipped with a 5.65-inch Corning Gorilla Glass 5 display and is rated IP168 waterproof, enabling it to work perfectly even if you submerge it up to two metres deep for half an hour.

Integrated sensors include a barometer, a temperature and humidity sensor, a fingerprint reader and an iris scanner for enhanced security. It uses a multifactor authentication fingerprint and passcode combination to minimise the chances of anyone breaking into your handset when you are not around. You would even know if someone has been trying to tamper with your Katim R01 since it delivers active physical tamper monitoring with instant key erase upon detecting such an attempt even when the battery is dead.

The smartphone’s ultra-rugged body is comprised of a multi-layer hardened structure that provides maximum protection for the sensitive components within while being capable of withstanding harsh environments.

The 5,600mAh battery can last for more than a day’s worth of use via the Android 8.1 Oreo platform, and any accidental drops from up to 1.8 metres should not be a cause for worry. There is no word on pricing as at Press time, but it should be released in selected markets later this year.