…it was dunked in mud, put inside a 300 degree oven, and soaked in beer. What finally did it in is being crushed by a three ton forklift, which is pretty above and beyond the duty of any phone we’d normally use.

As for the specs, it has 1500 hours of battery (standby or talk, we’re not sure) and a 2-megapixel camera. And, most notably, it has an “extra loud” ringtone so you can hear it under elephants. [Telegraph via Slashdot]

[Gerry Judah via Core77]

From a technical point of view, the Trailcart is like a hybrid mountain bike and four wheeler. It’s got permanent four-wheel-drive and is powered by roughly 290Nm of torque. In terms of conquering rockey terrain, it has 400mm of axle displacement. TreeHugger adds that it has a “double-action mechanical hydraulic braking system” and a Shimano Nexus 8 shifter coopted from the cycling world. The developers are trying to keep the weight at 50kg or less, in order to be transportable on automobile bike racks.

At the moment Trailcart is getting some serious investment from some heavy hitters, including Land Rover, and speaking of Land Rover, the little four-wheeler is involved in testing at Land Rover’s “obstacle park” in Wülfrath, Germany. I really really want to try one of these out. There’s no word on how much exertion is required to get that thing really moving, but if it takes any kind of physical strain at all, chances are it’ll never make it to America. [Trailcart via TreeHugger]