Environment
The semi-arid setting has hot, sunny summers and cool, dry winters with strong winds. Crews often drive long distances between sites.
The Midland metro area had about 170,000 residents and the combined Midland-Odessa area about 340,000 at the 2020 census, and Midland recorded the lowest US unemployment rate in 2014 at 2.3 percent. Zone 1 work arises in the surrounding fields at wellsites, tank batteries, compressor stations and gas plants rather than in the cities themselves. This page explains what to look for in a rugged mobile phone for Midland and Odessa, Texas, and where the IS-04Z1 stands against that list today.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Midland and Odessa, Texas: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
Current position: certification in progress, nothing issued, launch targeted for Q4 2026. A buyer's engineering review is separate from the certificate. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Ingress protection | IP65 to IP68 sealing | IP68 design |
| Drop and shock | A stated drop height onto concrete | Specification on request |
| Explosion protection | A separate certificate and marking | In progress; not issued |
| Where it applies | Midland and Odessa, Texas: Wellsites and tank batteries, Drilling rigs, Compressor stations | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Midland Odessa. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Who operates there and which kinds of classified area a handset would meet, from the SAMS site research.
The semi-arid setting has hot, sunny summers and cool, dry winters with strong winds. Crews often drive long distances between sites.
Midland is described as a major centre of US oil and natural gas production, and Odessa's economy has been driven mainly by the oil industry. Midland International Air and Space Port serves both cities.
The shale boom of the early 2010s revived the area after the 1980s oil bust, with manufacturing, transport and construction firms largely serving the energy industry.
Midland International Air and Space Port is located between the two cities and gives direct access for visiting engineers, while general aviation uses Midland Airpark.
Midland has a hot semi-arid climate with about 13.5 inches of rain a year, highs above 90 degrees Fahrenheit on roughly 115 afternoons and 100 degrees or more on about 24.
Winters are cool to mild but lows reach freezing or below on about 58 mornings a year, so equipment must handle both heat and occasional frost.
A rugged phone is built to survive water, dust, drops and rough handling, usually rated by an IP code and a drop specification. Ruggedness is an environmental property: it says nothing about whether a phone may be used where flammable gas or dust is present. That is decided by explosion-protection certification and marking.
The IS-04Z1 combines both: an IP68 sealed rugged build and a design for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4). The explosion-protection certificates are in progress and none has been issued.
In Midland and Odessa, Texas. The semi-arid setting has hot, sunny summers, cool dry winters and strong winds, and crews travel long distances. Dust and wind-blown grit make IP68 sealing useful for a handheld. It protects against ingress only; explosion protection comes from the Ex marking, which is still being certified for the IS-04Z1.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
Not yet. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and its certification is still in progress ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. No unit goes into a classified area before the certificate covering it exists. The datasheet, the certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
SAMS has not published a price. Any figure you are offered for an uncertified Ex phone should be treated with caution; written indicative pricing is available for a defined quantity and site.
It is designed to IP68 sealing, with glove-friendly controls. Ruggedness is not explosion protection: that depends on the certificates, which are in progress.
Likely candidates are wellsites and tank batteries, drilling rigs, compressor stations, gas processing plants. Which areas are classified, and to what zone, is set by the site operator's own area classification drawings.
Not exactly. Explosion proof is a broad everyday term; intrinsic safety is one protection concept, which limits energy so ignition cannot occur. Flameproof (Ex d) is a different concept that contains an explosion. The IS-04Z1 is intrinsically safe by design.
Midland International Air and Space Port sits between the two cities and is the closest airport; most visitors connect through a larger Texas hub. Allow for long road transfers because the Permian Basin covers about 86,000 square miles.
Oilfield sites are spread over a large area with wellpads, tank batteries and gas processing plants, so lone-worker and coverage requirements often matter as much as area classification. Confirm classified zones and approval rules with each operator.
Producers and service contractors usually buy through their own procurement or field contractors, so the buyer may be a service company rather than the operator. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch with no certificate. Ask the relevant site operator which approvals apply to contractor devices.
Other guides for Midland Odessa, other places in United States, and the pages behind them.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.