Mobile Phone News:

Roughly about a year ago, you may well remember that a mobile phone was released that shocked me. It shocked me because it was quite simply the toughest, hardest, most stupidly rock solid mobile phone in the history of, like, everything.

It was, of course, the JCB Tough Phone, and it struck a chord with you guys, judging by the number of comments on the original post. As many of you are aware, the JCB Tough Phone was actually a re-badged Sonim XP1. Well, now, they’ve brought out a new mobile phone, and it’s got one aim.

The Sonim XP3 Enduro is out to be an even tougher, even more invincible mobile phone than its older brother. And what that means, in practice, is that where the JCB Tough Phone was billed as being splash and shock resistant, this new Sonim XP3 is shock resistant and waterproof down to a depth of 1m.

Basically, if the JCB phone was Chuck Norris, this is Underwater-Robot-Ninja Chuck Norris…

(EDIT: It appears that it also gives you full internet access, as it comes with the awesome - and I know, because I use the same browser - Opera Mini web browser preinstalled on the phone! So, ignore sites who say it doesn’t do web access, Sonim’s own website confirms it does, and does it WELL!)

And it begs an interesting question, as well, because the original JCB Tough Phone performed far beyond its safe limits. They said it was splash proof, but I’ve seen one work when submerged in beer. They said it could survive a drop of two metres, but I’ve seen one survive a drop of two floors. So, the question is:

The first JCB mobile phone actually outperformed the level of toughness it was supposed to have, so… how much more insanely hard-wearing is the new Sonim XP3 actually going to be?

More to the point, if it comes down to it, what would it actually take to kill a Sonim XP3? Clearly not water, as the video below shows:

Mind you, spare a thought for that poor fish. It must’ve felt like Sarah Connor when the Terminator was after her! Well, whatever the case, it seems I was wrong when I said, about the JCB phone, “Mobile phones don’t come any tougher than this.”

With the coming of the Sonim XP3, it would appear that they do!

And no matter what anyone (well, Clive) says, the configuration of the black bits round the top of the phone DOES look like Mr T’s head…

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