The London 2012 Olympic Games is just one month away and with it, the world will focus their gaze on our fair city. As you might imagine, it takes a certain amount of organisation to host such a heavily attended and televised event and from time to time, you need to rely on the kindness and enthusiasm of the local populace to lend a hand in preparation.
There are thousands of Olympic volunteers who have been giving up their time to help make sure the Games plays out smoothly. For some, granted a little more responsibility, they’re also given access to a unique Olympics phone. Sadly these selected volunteers aren’t supplied with a free Samsung Galaxy S3, the official phone of the Games, but a Samsung nonetheless, a lightly modified Samsung B2710.
There’s a strong chance this Sammy’s name doesn’t ring a bell, but the Olympic version of the B2710 has been distributed amongst those entrusted to oversee small aspects of Olympic planning or those involved in more specialist roles during the Games. The tough feature phone doesn’t differ dramatically from its stock 2010 self, but provides ample communication functionality wrapped up in a tough, well equipped package. What’s more, this B2710 features an updated UI and body panels, both with Olympic branding.
The box, which features the Olympic logo on the front, contains the charger and headphones which both connect to the phone through the covered rubberised microUSB port on the side as well as a prepaid SIM card supplied by BT (official communication services partner of the Olympics).
The phone itself features a surprisingly sharp QVGA display and the interface, navigable from the 5-direction nav pad, is highly responsive.
If you planning on tripping it down to the stadium in a month’s time and you see someone sporting this unique Samsung, you know they’ve earned a warm thank you.
In addition to the rubberised concealed ports and controls on the sides of the device, the phone also features a chunky lanyard loop on top alongside an integrated torch and a screw-sealed backplate, branded with the London 2012 logo.
The B2710 sports its toughphone credentials with IP67 certification, meaning it can survive drops, spills and dust without breaking a sweat, or breaking at all for that matter.
The prepaid SIM card is supplied by BT (official communication services partner of the Olympics).
The microUSB port is rubberised.
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