Sonim XP2 Spirit

Discontinued
17th February 2010

The Sonim XP2 Spirit is an ultra-rugged 3G phone, following on from the XP1 and (oddly) XP3 handsets that have gone before.

One thing that is immediately noticeable is the octagonal shape which Sonim say is a better design to adsorb impacts. We think it looks like something out of Battlestar Galactica - but even if you're not geeky, the XP2 looks pleasingly rugged and purposeful.

The XP2 is really about ruggedness rather than features - underneath the tough exterior it is really just a fairly standard 3G phone - but this really is one tough critter.

This handset is tested to IP-67 and MIL-810G standards, meaning that it is suitable for many military applications and extreme environments. In many cases the XP2 exceeds these standards. The phone should be able to cope being dropped in 1 metre of water for 30 minutes, or a 2 metre drop onto concrete. The XP2 is shock resistant up to 4G and will work in temperatures from -20ºC to +55ºC. The screen is shock and scratch resistant, covered in a 1.5mm Gorilla Glass lens, as is the camera lens on the back.

The shell is made from a combination of hardened rubber, nylon and fibreglass wrapped around a magnesium chassis. Also, the XP2 is impervious to petroleum oils, can withstand 1000 Kg of pressure, is highly dust resistant and it is highly puncture resistant too.. although not actually bulletproof. The buttons of the keypad are tested for 850,000 pushes, and just in case you were in any doubt about its toughness, Sonim back the XP2 up with a 3 year unconditional guarantee.

Underneath, the Sonim XP2 is a 3.5G device with HSDPA download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps. There's a 3 megapixel camera, microSD expandable memory, Bluetooth, a multimedia player, FM radio, built-in LED torch, a web browser and email client plus all the other usual functions you'd find in any typical mobile phone. Audio output is through a 2.5mm audio socket rather than the 3.5mm one that is becoming standard.

The display is a relatively small 2" 240 x 320 pixel panel, although it should be good enough for most applications. One surprising omission from the Sonim XP2 is GPS.. we think that this phone would really benefit from it, but our hunch is that we should see a GPS enabled variant soon.

Standard in-box accessories include a charger, wired headset and USB cable plus the rather more unusual inclusion of a screwdriver and belt clip. There's a coaxial port for an external antenna as well.

This is a really big device, measuring 131 x 60 x 22mm and weighing 180 grams. Inside is a beefy 1300 mAh battery than can provide up to 8 hours talktime and 17 days standby time, although it isn't stated if these are GSM or 3G figures.

We like the Sonim XP2 Spirit a lot, but as we said.. this is a handset that could really use built-in GPS. If you really do need GPS, then the GSM-only Sonim XP2 Quest and Quest Pro are worth looking at.

Sonim say that the XP2 should be available across Europe from March onwards. No guidance was given on price, but we would expect the XP2 to retail for about €320 including taxes.