Sonim XP1 Blog

And Now A Word From The Marketing Department

YouPoC, the UK’s leading Push-to-Talk supplier, today announced that it is the exclusive distribution partner for Sonim Technologies award-winning range of Push-To-Talk (PTT) applications.

YouPoC will develop, promote and sell Sonim's 'best-in-class' PTT solutions via its channel and to end-user customers. YouPoC will also be offering Sonim’s range of Xtreme Performance (XP) rugged mobile phones, the XP1 and the recently-launched XP3 Enduro.

The new YouPoC service is set to drastically cut the cost of enabling one-to-many communications within a company and has been designed to provide both group and individual communications through mobile devices.

Through the YouPoC service, project managers and office-based staff across multiple locations can communicate directly with teams of up to 50 remote workers at the push of a button without the need to deploy expensive Private Mobile Radio networks.

"Rugged, indestructible, eternal ..."

European TV science news show Galileo decided to put the world's toughest consumer goods to the test -- or as they put it "explore the myth of the rugged, the indestructible, the eternal."

The products they selected to test were:

• PET bottle
• Zippo lighter
• Swiss Army knife
• Oakley sunglasses
• and -- you knew this was coming, right? -- a Sonim XP1

After a series of tests, the judges ruled that nothing is tougher than an Sonim phone!

You can view the archived show here, but only if you live in one of the countries were the video stream is available (chances are if Galileo is available on your TV, the archived show will be viewable.) If you're one of the lucky folks who can watch the stream, click on the "Galileo vom Donnerstag, 26. Februar" link (the hamburger picture.) The "Most Unbreakable" test appears in the second segment of the program.

Thanks to Sonim owner RW in Germany for letting us know about this show!

Somim Technologies at Mobile World Congress 2009

Video: Sonim Land Rover XP3,2 Quest - Impressionen vom Mobile World Congress 2009 (3:22)

Golem.de, a German news site for IT professionals, has just posted a great video showcasing Sonim's newest phones from the Mobile World Congress 2009, along with a brief overview of our new Sonim XP3 Quest.

Media Alert: Preview Land Rover S1 Rugged Phone

Sonim Technologies today announced that it would offer an exclusive preview of the Land Rover S1 rugged mobile handset, to media attending the Mobile World Congress 2009.

The official launch of the Land Rover S1 by Sonim is scheduled for summer 2009, with both Sonim Technologies and Land Rover co-marketing the phones to mobile operators, retailers and consumers in 40 countries worldwide.

Land Rover, recognizing adventurer's desire for a full range of mobile and durable products, engaged Sonim in December 2008 to become its licensing partner for a line of rugged, waterproof cell phones that are designed to compliment the lifestyle of the outdoor adventurer.

The Land Rover S1 is the first product in a series of projects planned by Land Rover and Sonim and will be fully submersible, Bluetooth-compliant and certified to withstand salt, fog, humidity, transport and thermal shock, as well as a 1.6-metre drop onto concrete from any angle. Other technical features include a 2.0 MB pixel camera, assisted GPS and pre-installed with Opera-mini web browser. The phone will also come with a three-year warranty and same-day replacement service.

According to Bob Plaschke, CEO of Sonim Technologies, "The Land Rover S1 will bring to life all the key elements the Rugged Performance Standard that we have developed in consultation with thousands of customers across the world and will be the best example yet of a handset that meets all the key requirements for people who work and play in extreme environments. We are thrilled about the opportunity to further connect with adventurers across the globe through our durable phones and our association with Land Rover."

He continues: "With the Land Rover S1, we are meeting the demand from users who are not willing to compromise on features and functionality. This phone will be a tool, not a fashion accessory that delivers 100% in terms of ruggedness."

To take a look at the Land Rover S1 by Sonim handset please call Robin Dhara, Red Robin at the Conference on +44788-080-7752 or email robin@red-robin.co.uk

The Quest For Ultimate Toughness

One of our retail partners, Crazy John’s in Australia, is circulating this great press release on Sonim’s new XP3 Enduro. (And yes, we've featured the Crazy John's video, above, on this blog before but it's too good to leave it languishing in the post archives.)

Crazy John's quest for ultimate toughness continues with the new Sonim XP3 Enduro Crazy John's, Australia's mobile phone experts, has scaled mountains, explored the ocean deep, battled ogres and destroyed a few rings to bring you the Sonim XP3 Enduro, the world's only rugged mobile phone that can be fully submerged in water.

The Sonim XP3 Enduro is the first phone specifically designed to endure the extremes of your lifestyle so that from ski slopes to beaches, construction sites to quarries, wherever you are, you can be sure that you have a phone that will stay tough where others would surely fail.

"The Sonim XP3 Enduro has improved on all the tough features of its predecessor, the Sonim XP1, with the added benefit that it can be completely submerged in water. This means the phone can withstand conditions that would defeat standard phones, even the most ruggedized handsets," explains Head of Marketing for Crazy John's, Matt Scriven. "So whether you are working outdoors or getting stuck into extreme sports, you won't be afraid to answer a call, even if it means exposing the phone to the elements."

When it comes to water, the Sonim XP3 wipes the floor with the competition. Unlike standard rugged phones, this beast is not just water-resistant; it is waterproof which means it is still fighting strong after being fully submerged in one metre of water for 30 minutes. Beaches and construction sites are usually out of bounds for the average phone but with body armour of injection moulded rubber and fully covered ports, the Sonim XP3 Enduro blocks dirt and sand particles from entering, earning it a IP-57 protection rating.

XP1 Wins Tough Award

On a recent trip to the IFA trade show in Germany, Christophe and Anne from our marketing team came across this little gem in the hotel lobby.

SFT, a German magazine for video technology and gaming , gave Sonim's XP1 phone their Tough Award.  Tested against a slew of other well known tough products, the Sonim XP1 managed to come out on top.  Among other fine products, our competition included the Panasonic Toughbook, Sandisk's Ultra Cruzer Titanium jump drive, and the Plantronic's Explorer headset (which we are currently bundling with our XP1!)  With such premium competition, this award is really an honor. Click here to see video of SFT's fun and quirky testers.

What Makes Rugged Electronics So Tough?

TechNewsWorld has an interesting article that details how manufacturers engineer fully rugged devices -- and how to tell if a device is fully rugged.

The paragraphs below are snipped from the complete article, but do read the entire piece, there's lots of useful information for buyers of any type of rugged device.

Mobile devices like laptops and phones are small enough to venture outside the home or office and into the bad, wicked world of dust, heat, cold, water and concrete. In some situations, it's just not possible to keep them completely sheltered. Makers of fully rugged devices have plenty of tricks to keep them ticking after treatment that would send normal consumer electronics to an early grave.

Portable electronics like smartphones and laptops aren't generally known for their ability to withstand drops, splashes and harsh conditions. Yet the portable nature of these devices means they're often in the line of fire -- swimming pools and toilets for cell phones, dusty places like construction sites for laptops, or even dairy farms with kicking cow hooves, milk and, well, greenish-brown pies.

Some companies specialize in "ruggedizing" electronics to make them ready for harsh elements and the occasional accident, and some specialize in making their products ready for military or government use. So what goes into making a ruggedized electronic device tougher and more robust than its more fragile counterpart?

Telefon.de Interview

I'd like to say a big thanks to Klaus, who did a terrific interview with me for telefon.de. (And check out telefon.de's version of our infamous XP1 torture tests too.)

Snipped from Klaus' piece:

telefone.de: We do have an outstanding demand for the Sonim XP1 in our online shop telefon.de. Was the “toughest GSM mobile phone” a brainchild of market research or rather a product of simple inspiration?

Bob Plaschke: Great to hear about your experience with our phones. It is partners like you that we seek to bring into the Sonim family and to help our product become even more successful.

(The XP1) evolved from a deep need we were exposed to while providing other communication solutions to workers in industrial, security and manufacturing environments. As we started to outline the opportunity we did research which indicated 70% of outdoor workers refrain from using their phones in the workplace because the phone might break, and 40% have broken their mobile phone in the last year, and common reasons are damage from humidity, dropping and crushing the phone.

And, from there we began development to build the best in class rugged phone.

telefon.de: What kind of technical inovations can we expect within five years time by Sonim?

Bob Plaschke: We are always researching new techniques that will make the phone even more rugged, as an example we are looking at a new material that absorbs the impact of a drop. We are also looking at software functionality such as GPS and other useful ‘field’ applications. Our phone design is also quickly evolving and the new phones we launch next year will certainly have a signature Sonim design to them. Our new phones are being designed by a top designer, Scott Wilson, who has a clear and unique vision with regard to consumer design. He is really applying a unique philosophy to our phone design that everyone will find very exciting when we launch next year.

JCB TOUGHPHONE and Samsung Solid Slug It Out

Buildingit -- a website for the construction industry -- has a head-to-head review of the JCB TOUGHPHONE and the Samsung Solid. Some excerpts follow, read the full review here.

Designed for hard use, and for hard living, they can take on all comers, take on the world, even. But how do they fair against each other?

Let's find out as the JCB TOUGH PHONE goes to war with the Samsung Solid. On paper, the two phones seem to stack up fairly similarly. In fact, on specs alone, the Samsung Solid seems to win hands down. It has an IP rating of IP54, meaning it is VERY resistant to splashes and dust.

The JCB TOUGH PHONE, by comparison, has a rating of IP53, so it's as resistant to dust, but not quite as resistant to splashes. It also beats the JCB in terms of media features, as it actually HAS a camera. Granted, it's only 0.3 megapixels, but it also has a flash that doubles as a torch, which is another tick in the Solid's box.

"However... and it's a BIG however... the JCB TOUGH PHONE lives up to its name really, REALLY well. It's much, much more rigid and indestructible than any other phone on the market, due to the fact that I'm reasonably certain it has a steel frame, pointed out a spokesman for The Mobile Shop. Which is going to make it stronger than any amount of rubber casing. And that's the key difference between them. The JCB TOUGH PHONE is built to be strong, to be a tool, not to be flashy or stylish.

The Samsung Solid, on the other hand, is built more to combine toughness with some modicum of features. And therein lies the difference, and why these phones aren't really competitiors, when you get right down to it.

Look at it this way: if you're a builder, and you want a phone that can take anything you throw at it and shrug it off without a scratch, and if you want a phone that has a frankly fabulous ringtone of a digger starting up, you want the JCB Toughphone.

Live From Barcelona

We had a great time showing off the XP1 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and got some nice press from the event. Thanks to everyone who wrote about the invincible XP1!

Mobile Burn wrote: The Sonim XP1 is a completely indestructible handset being shown off at the 2008 Mobile World Congress, where attendees are invited to attempt to destroy the device. Available now in yellow, black, or grey, the XP1 is low on features, but the rugged construction makes up for it. (The XP1 really isn't low on features, though, we just incorporated only the features that our target user groups want.)

In an article titled "Sonim Shows Off World's Toughest Mobile -- Spaniards Have Fun Trying to Break It"
VNUnet wrote: A bus has been touring round Barcelona during this year's Mobile World Congress trying to get locals to break a mobile phone. Sonim Technologies claims that its XP1 is the world's most robust handset and meets the military IP-54 specification for toughness, water-proofing and dust-proofing. The phones have been hit, stamped on and driven over, but still work..."

And TechShout kindly quoted me in their piece: “If you’ve been watching the videos on YouTube, you’ll have seen the Sonim shot with a Glock 9mm by Mobil magazine and a Remington rifle by Metro, the largest paper in Sweden. You’ll have seen the Sonim kicked around, pushed around, put in the oven, put in the freezer and still surviving. I’d like to invite you all to have a go and see if you can finally break it,” said Bob Plaschke, CEO of Sonim.