Cell phones take a beating on the jobsite, getting dropped, banged, dunked and exposed to all kinds of abuse in the course of a day's work.

Tom Sawyer/ENR Ruggedized phone is built for hard life.

Verizon Wireless, Basking Ridge, N.J., has stepped up the the challenge of producing a cell phone for the tough life by partnering with UTStarcom Inc., Alameda, Calif., to release the G'zOne Type V phone. It is compliant with multiple military standards for rugged use, including the Method 516.5 Procedure IV Drop Test: 26 falls from a height of 1.5 meters to a 2-in.-thick plywood over steel plate over concrete floor.

And it's pretty, too. The first thing that strikes you about the phone, though, is its size. At just more than 4 in. long, 2 in. wide and 1 in. thick, the phone weighs a relatively hefty 5.3 oz. But after the initial impression that it is a chunky thing, you can be charmed by its no-nonsense demeanor. And the size is actually a bonus for handling with gloves, for instance.

The phone packs a camera, as many phones do these days, but this one is a 2-megapixel job with a fast lens that not only captures quite serviceable jpg images quite easily, but can then e-mail them anywhere on the spot. It can also shoot 15-second videos and e-mail those too. The screen is large and clear enough to show you what you have, and the connection through the Verizon Wireless service, which has widespread coverage nationwide, gives it good potential as a jobsite communications tool.

The G'zOne can access a wide range of Verizon's broadband and other services, also, such as mapping and navigation, e-mail, weather reports and news feeds, but after you've cracked a few covers and drop-kicked a few lesser phones, the sheer survivability is its most practical feature. Other tests it has survived include sitting out in a 2-in.-per-hour rain and 40 mile-per-hour wind for 30 minutes; lying under a meter of water for half an hour; and being subjected to temperatures of 140°F., as well as heavy exposure to high humidity, salt fog, vibration, solar radiation and dust.