Samsung's Solid is the company's first foray into the ruggedised phone sector. The Solid is pitched at outdoorsy consumers, though there is no reason why it shouldn't also appeal to builders, plumbers and others who seem to get through standard mobiles at a rate of knots.

The Solid's rugged credentials run to it being splash- and dust-resistant, and in doing so meeting the internationally recognised IP 54 standard. Note that Samsung does not say the phone is dust- or water-proof, just ‘resistant'.

There are only two side buttons. They are volume controls and they are rubbery, designed to let as little as possible around them and into the casing. The shared mains power and headset socket has a hinged rubber cover.

The buttons on the front of the casing are mostly not individual keys, but instead sit in a rubbery fascia. The only exceptions are the two small keys above the number pad which are speakerphone and Cancel keys.

The whole phone is encased in a rubberised body which helps it take the knocks if dropped, gives you good grip when your hands are muddy, sweaty or just cold and encased in gloves, and should also help with cleaning off the mud splashes should you feel the need to attach it to your person when doing some off-road cycling or running, for example.

All this protection does not affect the size and weight of this mobile. At 109mm tall, 48mm wide, 17.9mm thick and 95g it is pretty standard for a candybar style mobile.

Something we'd like to see a lot more of on mobiles is the torch. Hold down the Cancel key and the LED flash for the built-in camera comes on and stays on. Press again and you can turn the flash off. There is also an emergency SOS feature, designed, we suppose, with those who get lost, stuck in the mud or otherwise incapacitated in mind. Hit the volume button three times and the phone autodials a pre-set emergency number.

The camera is merely VGA resolution, which won't please anyone keen on taking action shots of their adventurous chums. There is an FM radio but no music player. You can't expand on the built-in memory, and international travellers might like to note that the phone is just dual band.

There is Bluetooth, a stopwatch, unit converter and WAP browser among the built-in apps, but in general this phone is mid-range. However, battery life is superb. We managed to keep it going for 15 days with a little bit of talking and a few texts every day.

The screen is not wonderful. Its CSTN technology is old hat, and it is small at 1.5 inches across diagonal corners. It displays just 128 x 128 pixels. Its size means even basic tasks like reading incoming SMS messages can be problematic, as even short messages can require a bit of scrolling.

The Samsung Solid is a long way from the cutting edge in features terms, and is probably best suited to use as a second mobile for those challenging outdoor activities, rather than your main phone. Those fancying it as an everyday phone will have to settle for a slim set of features.