The launch of the Land Rover S1 by Sonim

Samsung B2100 anyone ? No BS, just a phone. 3x cheaper.
And Mark Webster is right. Nobody needs this.

Samsung B2100 anyone ? No BS, just a phone. 3x cheaper.
And Mark Webster is right. Nobody needs this.

'No one needs this'? They've sole hundreds of thousands… and the Samsung is nowhere near as tough.

The design of the phone looks very similar to the Nokia 5140, which passed numerous tests on The Gadget Show a few years ago. Are Land Rover actually developing the phone in-house, or is it a partnership with a handset manufacturer?

The design of the phone looks very similar to the Nokia 5140, which passed numerous tests on The Gadget Show a few years ago. Are Land Rover actually developing the phone in-house, or is it a partnership with a handset manufacturer?

It's developed by Sonim and is tested to IP67 (from memory) which is an industrial standard of ingress protection (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code)… much more demanding than the Nokia which was a consumer product.

Mark, I disagree with your blanket statement that IP57 protection is “never need[ed] or use[d]”

I partake in Adventure Racing. Mobiles are always on the compulsory kit list. I’ve only done single day races, but even these involved 3hrs of running and 3hrs of MTB riding in fairly atrocious conditions. After a few hours of gale-force rain even the most expensive triple-layer Goretex kit is sodden. My trusty but rather expensive N95 8GB was well-wrapped in a special waterproof case, but if I needed to use it, the chances of it getting dropped by numb, wet fingers into mud/water would have been pretty high. Bye-bye £500 phone. I would have liked to take snaps as I trotted along, but it was just too wet/windy to risk it. My wife called me half way through the day, and this required a lot of faffing to get the phone out and shield it from the pouring rain to answer.

No matter how good your waterproof case is, there is a chance it will leak due to even a pinhole. When it is being bashed about inside a rucksack for days along with other kit the chances of springing a leak are pretty good.

So when a phone comes along at £300, that will stand up to anything, AND has a 3-year no-quibble warranty, I say it’s a sure-fire bet for the AR crowd – and it’s a large crowd these days too. Ditto mountaineers, kayakers, sailors, fell runners – in fact anyone who ventures seriously outdoors and needs comms.

Plus the 75-day standby time means you are sorted with one charge for all but the most lengthy expedition.

My father-in-law is a plumber, and goes through a phone every year at least through wear and tear. With networks less keen to subsidise handsets, SIM-free is a great alternative.

And the ‘Quality protective cases’ are uniformly large and ungainly, obscuring ports, buttons, screens etc. The good ones cost a lot too, and none of them protect phone internals from shock if dropped. People have used them because in the past they HAD to, not because they wanted to. The Sonim is the first (OK, the old SEM sharkfin was a good try) phone for those who give their mobiles a punishing, but don’t want the faff of a) insurance replacements b) cost if no insurance is had c) the mucking about and downtime of getting a new mobile d) getting tied to yet another contract to get it cheap/free.

Mark, do you hassle people who buy watches waterproof to 30m? or cars that can do 150MPH? Or jackets insulated to -20? or cameras that can blow up images to the size of a billboard?

All the above are highly unlikely to ever be needed by just about anyone. But a phone that can survive being dropped on the footpath or in a puddle unscathed, as many times as you like? Actually, really, useful.

Mike

Good find – at €170 that’s a lot of competition for the Sonim. No GPS though, for people looking for the man-down function, and about half the battery. The review I read mentioned a 1m drop test rating. The Sonim is 2m. ‘scuse my physics, but I believe that makes the Sonim considerably tougher on paper, in a lab. Is Samsung stretching their figure while Sonim play conservative? Or vice-versa? Or are they both on the money?

I’d like to see a crush/drop test shootout. I wonder if Samsung would be up for it? C’mon Tim!…I mean, TRMP!

And Pieter – you/Mark are right and wrong – No-one NEEDS this phone. In fact, all you NEED is oxygen, food and water. No-one NEEDS any kind of phone, ever. But they make life easier/safer/more enjoyable. Some people spend time in the outdoors or in harsh work environments, and for them phones this tough are very useful.

Mike

Mark, I disagree with your blanket statement that IP57 protection is “never need[ed] or use[d]“

I partake in Adventure Racing. Mobiles are always on the compulsory kit list. I've only done single day races, but even these involved 3hrs of running and 3hrs of MTB riding in fairly atrocious conditions. After a few hours of gale-force rain even the most expensive triple-layer Goretex kit is sodden. My trusty but rather expensive N95 8GB was well-wrapped in a special waterproof case, but if I needed to use it, the chances of it getting dropped by numb, wet fingers into mud/water would have been pretty high. Bye-bye £500 phone. I would have liked to take snaps as I trotted along, but it was just too wet/windy to risk it. My wife called me half way through the day, and this required a lot of faffing to get the phone out and shield it from the pouring rain to answer.

No matter how good your waterproof case is, there is a chance it will leak due to even a pinhole. When it is being bashed about inside a rucksack for days along with other kit the chances of springing a leak are pretty good.

So when a phone comes along at £300, that will stand up to anything, AND has a 3-year no-quibble warranty, I say it's a sure-fire bet for the AR crowd – and it's a large crowd these days too. Ditto mountaineers, kayakers, sailors, fell runners – in fact anyone who ventures seriously outdoors and needs comms.

Plus the 75-day standby time means you are sorted with one charge for all but the most lengthy expedition.

My father-in-law is a plumber, and goes through a phone every year at least through wear and tear. With networks less keen to subsidise handsets, SIM-free is a great alternative.

And the 'Quality protective cases' are uniformly large and ungainly, obscuring ports, buttons, screens etc. The good ones cost a lot too, and none of them protect phone internals from shock if dropped. People have used them because in the past they HAD to, not because they wanted to. The Sonim is the first (OK, the old SEM sharkfin was a good try) phone for those who give their mobiles a punishing, but don't want the faff of a) insurance replacements b) cost if no insurance is had c) the mucking about and downtime of getting a new mobile d) getting tied to yet another contract to get it cheap/free.

Mark, do you hassle people who buy watches waterproof to 30m? or cars that can do 150MPH? Or jackets insulated to -20? or cameras that can blow up images to the size of a billboard?

All the above are highly unlikely to ever be needed by just about anyone. But a phone that can survive being dropped on the footpath or in a puddle unscathed, as many times as you like? Actually, really, useful.

Mike

Please elaborate on nowhere near as tough. I believe the 2100 has the US millspec. rating
and the EU bla bla labels. Or is this not your point ?

Good find – at €170 that's a lot of competition for the Sonim. No GPS though, for people looking for the man-down function, and about half the battery. The review I read mentioned a 1m drop test rating. The Sonim is 2m. 'scuse my physics, but I believe that makes the Sonim considerably tougher on paper, in a lab. Is Samsung stretching their figure while Sonim play conservative? Or vice-versa? Or are they both on the money?

I'd like to see a crush/drop test shootout. I wonder if Samsung would be up for it? C'mon Tim!…I mean, TRMP!

Excellent comment, I’ve spent a lot of time in the moutains over the years, often going away for a couple of weeks at a time, and this would certainly be a great option for me as I wouldn’t have to worry about charging it, taking much care of it etc. I think a lot of mountain rescue teams would snap this thing up.

I spent several years working in oil exploration in West Africa, we’d have bought dozens of these for our crews. They’re built for a specific user base who work in unusual places and conditions. Regular users wouldn’t begin to imagine the uses for this phone but those of us who have need of them can see many more.

It’s a great price and an amazing warranty, I expect them to shift as many as they can build.

J.

Point taken….

Excellent comment, I've spent a lot of time in the moutains over the years, often going away for a couple of weeks at a time, and this would certainly be a great option for me as I wouldn't have to worry about charging it, taking much care of it etc. I think a lot of mountain rescue teams would snap this thing up.

I spent several years working in oil exploration in West Africa, we'd have bought dozens of these for our crews. They're built for a specific user base who work in unusual places and conditions. Regular users wouldn't begin to imagine the uses for this phone but those of us who have need of them can see many more.

It's a great price and an amazing warranty, I expect them to shift as many as they can build.

J.

#Sonim CEO Bob Plaschke writes on his blog – “The eagle-eyed among you will notice that it looks pretty much the same as the XP3. In fact, from the front, it looks so much like the XP3. The fun stuff is happening round the back. You can read fully blog at – http://toughestphone.typepad.com/bobs_blog/2009….So I think #LandRover S1 looks like XP3, but its not the same phone branded as S1. XP3 doesn't have camera I guess.

Interesting. I was actually pointing at the XP3 Quest though, not the XP3. Their product page shows different information for each, with the Quest having the digital camera you mention.

Interesting. I was actually pointing at the XP3 Quest though, not the XP3. Their product page shows different information for each, with the Quest having the digital camera you mention.

That was one cool video! Now if I can just get my hands on one of those S1, I too will strap it on to my LR and make my own, LOL.

Really Tough….!

http://nokia-betalabs.blogspot.com/

Really Tough….!

http://nokia-betalabs.blogspot.com/