Introduction
The name of Sonim is not very well known in our region, even though they are not launching their first phone. The subject of our review is their second model, and it’s true that the first one didn’t have a groundbreaking success. Still, their approach to the market is noteworthy: they have decided to make phones that are really indestructible. The leaders of Sonim are no newbies, they came from companies like Ericsson or Solectron and almost every manager has an experience of at least 20 years in the industry. Many manufacturers have tried to appeal to the customers with phones that have a strong case, but compared to Sonim handsets they are like the Bulgarian lady’s “Ken li” performance to Amy Winehouse.
We had the chance to see XP3 in Barcelona, although back there we had a hands-on with a limited Land Rover edition. The handset has improved a lot in terms of its survival capability, this time it complies with the more restrictive IP-57 and the military MIL-810F standards, which means that it is certified to survive a fall of up to 2 meters or staying for half an hour in water of 1 meter depth. XP3 hasn’t been announced in the Catalan capitol, only the limited edition series I’ve mentioned, but this usually means that it gets a couple of labels, wallpapers and ringtones. That’s what I’ve though until the guys from MGSM.hu called, telling me that they have an XP3.
I’ve been really excited as a special model can really spice up everyday life, and XP3 Enduro really looked like something special. I had an idea of what to expect as I have already seen the Land Rover edition. The box has been a surprise, as the package looks like a toolbox, the box being on the top side with the accessories in the bottom. It’s stylish and a kind of elegant way to pack it. When I’ve opened the box and took the phone out I’ve noticed the trick: hey, this has no camera!
Exterior
The exterior didn’t change much compared to the predecessor, but it received a facelift. Of course the handset is still a monster that deters all danger with its design. You won’t be holding XP3 in your suit’s pocket, and not because it’s large. It’s not small either, as it’s designed to be usable even when wearing gloves, while the design is not one that you would call elegant. I could imagine James Bond holding it in his hands (of course only after the sponsorship contract with Sony Ericsson is over) only because we know that he feels it important to adjust his bow-tie even when falling from an airplane to land in knee-deep filth and shoot all the bad guys. When he’s done with that he has to announce M somehow that he saved the world. Anyway, this phone is not for the elegant Bond. I’d rather think of it as a tool for Bruce Willis. He also used to save Earth, but in a different style. XP3 is more of a match for his dirty shirt than for Bond’s tuxedo. During the action he can use PTT to talk with the terrorists, he has more experience in negotiating with murderers.
The handset is available in yellow and black, we had a black one, which is more low-keyed, but we’ll have a hard time finding it if it falls out of our pocket when casting concrete. On the sides of the phone there are small lumps for reducing shocks, they are rubber-like and are also used for providing a firm grip. The navigation block on the front, below the display, has been redesigned, this time the four direction keys are more separated. The buttons didn’t change much, but they are prettier than on the predecessor. There is a 20 mm speaker on the back, behind grating, its maximum power output is officially 105 db, and I think this is quite true, it can be terribly loud. The camera is missing from here, it can be found on the Land Rover model, unfortunately Enduro doesn’t have one. In the top corner there is the “neckband hook”, which is a sturdy band in this case in which we can thread even a thin belt. On the top there is a LED light as well, so we can use the phone as a lantern.
On the bottom of the back panel there is the battery’s cover, which is fastened with two screws – I have been expecting to get a tool in the box for unscrewing them, but I’ve managed to do it with a coin, and so I’ve accessed the battery – and the SIM card too, which has its slot under the battery. The cover is made of metal, this can be seen on the inside, it is really heavy and we can see that it’s made to last long. The display is the same on XP1: it has a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels, it can display 65 thousand colors and it’s a TFT. It has a scratch-resistant finish, which is really promising. The keys have been tested for 500 thousand presses each, they have a loud click and a great pressure point, which is an advantage compared to outdoor models from other manufacturers. On the left we can see the volume control keys, while the large hotkey of Push-To-Talk is right below them. On the bottom there is the miniUSB connector, protected with a large lid, and a 2.5 mm headset jack. The whole design suggest stability, a massive and heavy-duty construction, so we can see why does the manufacturer provide a 3-year unconditional warranty for the phone.
Interior
The display is the same as on the predecessor and in fact it’s perfect, as considering the phone’s features we won’t need anything better and fortunately it’s a TFT. The heart of XP3 is still an ARM-9 CPU, and the platform is the well-known Philips Nexperia 6120, this combo providing a great speed. The menu still has 9 icons, fortunately PTT is not in the focus anymore, so an average user will handle the phone easily. The submenus have a list view with a logical structure, everything is quite evident. By default we can assign the most frequently used functions to the four direction keys, thus making life even easier. As for customizability we have color themes, four of them, and every one is quite low-keyed, we shouldn’t expect a shrill red or yellow.
The phonebook is more advanced, now we can store 1000 contacts. The structure is the same, we can still attach lots of phone numbers to a contact. Searching is still problematic, we first have to type in the name, searching starts only after that. By default we can avoid this by pressing the down key, as in this case the well-known search function is activated.
As for messaging unfortunately SMS is still the only one supported, as although the handset has GPRS (CSD data transfer is not available at all operators), but there’s no MMS and no email client either. As the phone has no camera we won’t be missing the multimedia messaging very much, while emailing would be limited by the 10 MB of internal memory, which cannot be expanded. This way it was logical to omit these functions, but it’s not necessarily a good thing. On the other hand we can store 1000 SMS messages, this being a nice thing.
PIM, sounds, other
The calendar has not been improved, it has a month view, it can store one type of entry, but we can set an alarm for the notes. The world clock, the calculator, the countdown timer, the sound recorder and the stopwatch have been installed on the predecessor as well, I didn’t notice any kinds of improvements regarding these applications.
It’s good news that XP3 supports profiles, so we can set a ringtone volume for conferences and one for those situations when we’re working with a chainsaw. As for sound quality I have only positive experience, the speakers are loud and clear. There were unfortunately no improvements made in the ringtones section, so MP3 is not supported, but this isn’t such a big problem, knowing that we don’t really have much space to store them. The default polyphonic tones are much louder than on any Chinese junk phone.
No improvements at data transfer either. There is Bluetooth, we can pair the phone with a headset or a handsfree, it works reliably. PTT is not such a highly demanded feature, but the phone supports it, just as we have a WAP browser thanks to GPRS, although we won’t be using this frequently at this speed, and such a screen resolution. There is a 1180 mAh battery working inside the phone, which kept XP3 alive for 5-6 days, this being a really great uptime, even though there aren’t many features that would require lots of energy. There were no reception problems either, the GSM antenna worked perfectly.
Currently the phone costs about 270-300 euros in retail stores. This is quite a large sum, but in turn we get a phone which can be destroyed in very few ways. Those who work in harsh conditions or goes to more extreme trips every now and then can rest assured that XP3, complying to the IP57 and the military standard, will resist longer than its owner. The Land Rover version doesn’t cost much more, and thanks to the camera it might be a deal, but due to the low amount of memory it might not worth to spend more for the extra labels and stuff. On the whole XP3 is different from any phone we’ve seen before (with the exception of XP1), so it’s practically an unbeatable offer. Since it’s a niche model it might be too much to give a “Recommended” award, but it deserves to be a “Cool product”.
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| Sonim XP3 Enduro |
Gubro
Translated by Szaszati
Specifications
| Sonim XP3 | ||
 |
General | |
| Technology | GSM | |
| Size | 118.8mm x 56.3mm x 24.6mm | |
| Weight | 160 grams | |
| Available colors | black, yellow | |
| Display | ||
| Display size | 67x37 mm | |
| Display resolution | 128 x 160 pixels | |
| Display type | TFT | |
| Number of colors | 65536 | |
| Memory | ||
| Phonebook capacity | 1000 | |
| SMS memory / max. MMS size | 1000 / - | |
| Internal memory | 10 MB | |
| Memory expandability | not expandable | |
| Data transfer | ||
| Frequency bands | 900/1800/1900 MHz | |
| GPRS / EDGE | Class 10 (4+1/3+2) / no | |
| UMTS / HSDPA | no / no | |
| IrDA / Bluetooth | no / yes | |
| WiFi | no | |
| USB | yes | |
| Push-to-talk / RSS | yes / no | |
| GPS receiver | no | |
| Basic functions | ||
| Profiles | yes | |
| Vibra function | yes | |
| Built-in handsfree | yes | |
| Voice dialing / voice commands | no / no | |
| Sound recorder | yes | |
| Alarm clock | yes, also when turned off | |
| Predictive text entry | T9 | |
| Software | ||
| Platform | Philips Nexperia 6120 | |
| WAP / HTML browser | yes / no | |
| E-mail client | no | |
| Java | no | |
| Games | no | |
| Currency converter | no | |
| Extra software | PTT | |
| Multimedia | ||
| Main camera | no | |
| Secondary camera | no | |
| Video recording | no | |
| Music player | no | |
| Equalizer | no | |
| FM radio | no | |
| Battery | ||
| Main battery | 1180 mAh | |
| Standby time | 320 hours | |
| Talk time | 6 hours | |
| Others | ||
| compliance with IP-57 water-resistance, and MIL-810F military standards | ||
