Energizer is getting some competition in the field
of rugged phones with large batteries. And it comes from Gigaset – a former
division of Siemens that is best known today for its DECT phones.
Meet the Gigaset GX290. It boasts a 6,200mAh battery
with 15W fast charging over USB-C. A full charge takes three hours. The phone
is water resistant (IP68) as well as shock resistant, but it doesn't have an
official a MIL-STD rating. The 6.1” screen is optimized for outdoor use and is guarded by
Gorilla Glass 3. It promises 520nits of brightness and a contrast ratio of
1,000:1. The resolution of the LCD panel is nothing to write home about at
720p.
A notch on the screen houses an 8MP selfie camera
(seeing the chunky bezels, a notch feels unnecessary). There’s a 13MP camera on
the back with 2MP depth sensor. The fingerprint reader is here too, just below
the camera. The Gigaset GX290 runs pure Android 9.0 Pie on a MediaTek Helio P23
chipset (octa-core Cortex-A53). It has 32GB of storage (no word on RAM).
The GX290 should cost around € 300, but availability
is limited. We found it in one store in Spain where it is indeed listed at € 300
but that's without VAT – the final price is € 360 (unless Gigaset is targeting
corporate customers with this one). There’s also this placeholder
page from a French store that shows € 300 with VAT, but there’s no stock.
