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Friday May 1, 2009
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 Great news for skiiers, blue-collar workers and anyone who tends to drop their phone in the sink: Sonim's XP3.20, the world's toughest phone, is arriving in the US early this summer thanks to a group of rural mobile phone carriers. That means the phone is coming sooner than we heard in February.
The XP3.20 may also be available unlocked directly through some retailers for use on AT&T's and T-Mobile's networks, Sonim CEO Bob Plaschke said.
I got some hands-on time with the XP3.20 today, and Sonim CEO Bob Plaschke explained what makes it far more rugged than 'semi-rugged' phones like the Samsung Rugby.
For instance, the XP3.20 has a rubber ridge around the screen and a few extra millimeters of space between the screen glass and the actual LCD display. That makes the display much harder to crack.
The XP3 can survive 100 9-foot drops to concrete (or more than 20 G-forces) and is certified to the IP67 standard, which is tougher than the usual IP57 standard you hear about. It's waterproof, dustproof, super-loud, and you can use it wearing gloves thanks to raised, ridged keys.
The phone's specs have been tweaked a bit from what we heard last October. The 'new' XP3 has a 1900 mAh battery for 15 hours of GSM/EDGE talk time, along with an unusually rich color LCD screen and a 2-megapixel camera. The phone's GPS is designed not primarily for driving directions - it's designed so rescuers or employers can find the folks carrying the phones. The XP3 will also come with PC syncing software so you can move your contacts over from your PC.
Even the XP3's box (shown at left) is tough. It's waterproof and so strong you can stand on it; it makes a great bait box, toolbox or lunch box.
There's an existing version of the XP3, the XP3.10, available in Europe. But the XP3.20 is even tougher, has better battery life, and has the critical 850 Mhz US frequency band that's missing on the XP3.10.
We'll have a full review of the XP3 soon. How should we torture it? Give us some suggestions in the comments.
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May 1, 2009 3:11 PM
Run it through a washer and dryer with a load of laundry. Drive over it with a minivan. Freeze it in a block of ice.
May 1, 2009 3:17 PM
Man, where was this thing when I was a delivery driver?
May 3, 2009 2:48 AM
Keep doing worse and worse things to it until it's significantly damaged. What would it take? This would be interesting!
May 3, 2009 6:53 PM
You have to test all areas so for shock hit it with a sledge hammer, for moisture whack it on the end of a fishing line and for dust chuck it in a cement mixer for a few hours. That would be a great test and to cap it off shoot the thing out of a cannon.
May 3, 2009 8:16 PM
Throw it against a concrete wall a few times.Like you would do when your pissed off at the boss.If it stll works after that I'll get one.
May 15, 2009 5:55 AM
@Scott D: It does survive almost everything you throw at it. First hand experience, as I own one since february.
May 24, 2009 7:09 PM
Leaving Iraq after 17 months today. This is the phone for me. I realize how important communications can be. I ruined 3 cell phones in a year before coming over here. mostly fishing and hunting.
I suggest shooting it with birdshot out of a shotgun. I bet it will hold up to that.