Sonim XP3 Enduro
Available
now 24th November 2008
The Sonim XP3 Enduro is the follow-up
to the Sonim
XP1 (also called the JCB
TOUGHPHONE). The XP1 had a reputation for being
pretty much unbreakable.. but evidently that wasn't
quite enough for the folks at Sonim who have made the
XP3 even tougher.
No, we don't know what happened to the
XP2. We assume that it is on some deep-cover black ops
mission somewhere on a mission to save the world.
Where the old XP1 was "only"
an IP-54 certified device, the XP3 is IP-57 certified.
That's almost as tough as an electronic device can get..
to put it another way, the XP3 is fully waterproof and
can be submersed under 1 metre of water, or can be dropped
2 metres onto concrete and still survive. The XP3 is
more-or-less dustproof and is resistant to vibration,
and the keypad buttons have been tested to half a million
keypresses. It also has MIL-810F certification against
salt, thermal shock, transport shock and even fog. Yes,
the old XP1 is tough.. this is really tough.
The
Sonim XP3 Enduro's robustness is due in part to the
injection moulded rubber. Everything is reinforced,
all the ports are covered in rubber and the entire construction
process has been designed to make the XP3 as tough and
reliable as possible.
Usefully, the Sonim XP3 has a built-in
torch.. something that more phones should come with
as standard. You can fit an external antenna to it too,
which is useful if you are using the XP3 in a poor reception
area. The beefy 1180 mAh battery gives up to 5.5 hours
talktime and 9 days standby time. The speakerphone and
ringtones have been made VERY LOUD so that you can hear
the XP3 in difficult environments.
The XP3 Enduro's robustness does
come with some drawbacks. For example, the screen is
only a basic 128 x 160 pixel 65,000 colour panel. Why?
Well, we guess that the main reason is that bigger displays
break more easily, and the XP3 really doesn't compromise
when it comes to toughness. There's no camera, memory
slot, or any frippery like that for the same reason
- these things tend to compromise the integrity of the
phone. You might guess that the XP3 doesn't support
3G.. because frankly what would you do with 3G
on a phone like this?
But the XP3 Enduro does come with a
WAP browser, Outlook synchronisation, a to-do list ("kill
baddies"?), and Bluetooth. It also supports MP3
ringtones (James Bond? Jaws? The A-Team?) and has a
photo organiser (presumably to help you recognise the
arch-villain when you trap him in his layer).
Sonim can also provide some very sensible
management
tools for people who want to use Push-To-Talk
Over Cellular (PoC) functionality, this can bring
"walkie talkie" style functionality to the
XP1 and XP3 and also allows alerts to be broadcast.
You can see that this might make the Sonim XP1 and XP3
handy for major construction projects and similar tasks.
The Sonim XP3 Enduro is available in
"Shoot Me" Yellow or a rather more discrete
Black colour scheme. In the UK, the XP3 will be available
for £245 (including VAT) without a contract, or
free when taken with a new Vodafone contract. Sonim
say that the XP3 should be in the shops for Christmas.
More details can be found here.
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Sonim XP3
Enduro at a glance
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Available:
|
Q4
2008
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Network:
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GSM
900 / 1800 / 1900
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Data:
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GPRS
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Screen:
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128
x 160 pixels, 65k colours
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Camera:
|
No
|
Size:
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Large
monoblock 119 x 56 x
25mm / 140 grams
|
Bluetooth:
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Yes
|
Memory
card:
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No
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Infra-red:
|
No
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Polyphonic:
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No
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Java:
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No
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GPS:
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No
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Battery
life:
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5.5 hours talk / 9 days standby
|
|
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