Landrover S1. . . how tough is it really?

Well how tough is it? I've had this phone since december now, and whilst I did some initial testing to check general toughness (throwing in water etc) I'd been wanting to push it a bit further. I was working this weekend, and one of the kids I was working with spotted my phone clipped to my belt. This sparked off a series of "Sir can I smash your phone on the ground" and "Sir can I tip my drink on your phone". Now whilst not keen on letting a group of lads from Stoke boot my phone around part of me was curious to see what would happen. And given it had a 3 year guarantee on it with the tagline "you break it for any reason we replace it" I was tempted. Later on in the day we were up in the high ropes tower doing the "parachute jump" (very cool indeed and worth checking out www.stanleyhead.org.uk, weekend bookings available :) )and one of the kids said "Sir if your phone is that tough then proove it".

Never one to back away from a challenge, I looked over the edge of the tower to check for people below(see pic) then promptly dropped it over the side of the tower. If nothing else this achieved a loud gasp from the group of lads in question. But what was even more impressive was when I got back down to the ground and inspected the phone, not only did it work fine, there was not even a scratch on it! Impressive!

During the weekend I did a number of other tests on the phone, including dropping it out of the bouldering room abseil hatch onto concrete, dunking it into my tea, leaving it in the freezer, and various other horrible things, and it still works perfectly.

The only problem I experienced is that if you drown it in water, water can get into the speaker hole, best way I've found it to leave it upside down for a short period to allow water to drain out. I should add this doesnt damage the phone just water getting stuck in the the hole!

Awesome piece of kit!

Landrover S1 Rugged Mobile

RRP £299.99

Before reading this review take a couple of minutes to watch these 2 videos. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uYjoybi4ts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65ND2zj6JyE

Done? Excellent. I bought one of these last week (I say bought, it actually was available as a free upgrade on my contract). However the phone boasts a number of features that caught my interest from the start.



The landrover X1 also branded as the Sonim XP3 has the following features:

- 2MP Camera with Flash
- Built-in GPS with SIRF
- Torch Light
- FM Radio
- Sonim Applications
- MSD Card Slot (up to 2 GB)

Nothing special right? Not really. However it’s the phones ultra tough and rugged build that makes the phone the perfect phone for outdoor workers. The phone boasts the following rugged features:

1. Dust proof – due to its non porous casing, meaning even micro dust particles cannot work their way into the phone over long periods.

2. Ultra long battery life – 1500 hours (yes 1,500 hours) of standby time and 18 hours of talk time

3. Built in GPS

4. Submersible in water up to 1 metre

5. Impact proof – withstands repeated drops from 2 metres high on to concrete

6. Works in extremes of temperature (-20oC to + 60 oC)

7. The camera works under water (that’s just cool!)

8. And best of all the phone has an unconditional 3 year guarantee




The phone itself its very substantial. When holding it, it just feels tough. If you are one of the many people like me who can’t stand small buttons on phones when texting, fear not, the S1 is big finger friendly! Now I should make the point now that if you are one of these people who like your phone to have the latest blinged up to date menutouchscreenslicklookingshiny interface. . . you will be very disappointed with this phone. Comparing it to cars this phone is more like a tank. . . however going into war I would rather be in a tank than a Ferrari. The interface is easy to use, texts are easy to send, calls are easy to make and the selection of ringtones is suitably crap.

The phone comes in a small land rover tool box with a belt clip, charger, software and PC cable. It’s quick to charge, and very easy to use (I had this one up and ready to use, with all my contacts copied across from my old phone in about 30mins). Overall I will sum this phone up with a quote from the telegraph newspaper dated Jul 2009.
“The staff at the sun newspaper managed to break one of these phones. . . under the weight of a 3 tonne fork lift truck. Prior to that it survived being baked in an oven at 150 degrees, being left in a pint of beer for an hour, being put in a washing machine, and being thrown out of a second floor building window”