RSPCA officers were put on standby as David Cousins and
Emily Padfield subjected four rugged mobile phones to all sorts of
unpleasantness in a Farmers Weekly test.
Life can be nasty, short and brutish for such a phone on a farm.
It bounces around in tractors, gets a regular diet of dust and
every so often receives a good soaking. If it falls out of your top
pocket (let alone off the top of the combine) there's usually
unforgiving concrete waiting below to shatter its lovingly-crafted
components.
The answer to all this cruelty, of course, is a rugged phone.
But makers have been curiously slow to come forward with waterproof
and shockproof versions. Nokia had its 5210 and 5140 rubberised
phones, which went down well with farmers, but stopped making those
some time ago.
Then, two years ago,
JCB launched its Toughphone, made by Californian rugged phone
specialist
Sonim. UK firm
Durrocomm, meanwhile, launched the LM801 in late 2008.
Sonim then leapt to the head of the class with its even tougher
and more waterproof XP3 Enduro at about the same time. Finally,
Korean giant
Samsung announced it was replacing its Samsung Solid with the
new B2700.
So there is now a quartet of rugged phones out there, all
designed to take some serious abuse from farmers, builders and
other serial phone-killers. We got hold of all four to see just how
well they stood up to tough use.
In the line of duty... Mobile phones under wheel
pressure in our test
What is a rugged phone?
Good question. Broadly speaking, they are simply ordinary mobile
phone innards, but with a tougher shell and some effort made to
keep out water and dust.
Most (apart from the Samsung) have a rubbery bung that fits over
the headphone and charger sockets to keep water out. A membrane
over the keys ensures water doesn't get through that way, too.
They all have loud ringtones and earpiece volumes, presumably
because the makers know that they will often be used in noisy
environments. Some of them also have extra gadgets in keeping with
the outdoor life, including built-in torches, compasses, altimeters
and barometers. One even has a laser pointer, presumably for
temporarily blinding pursuing polar bears.
However, if you want a fully-featured phone, with MP3 player,
camera and internet access, you may find your choice limited. Only
the Samsung has all these, with the others somewhat more
Spartan.
Also, with the exception of the Samsung, you'll find that the
screen resolutions, graphics and operating systems are generally
adequate, but old school. For most farming users, that's almost
certainly a good thing.
The test
A small-but-determined
Farmers Weekly team ferried the quartet of phones to a typical
mixed farm in Warwickshire to see just how unpleasant we could make
life for them. Here are the tests we devised, and how each phone
performed:
1 FREEZER TEST
How would the phones cope with a spray of water then an hour in
the freezer? Brrr.
Durrocomm LM801 No problem
JCB Toughphone No problem
Samsung B2700 No problem
Sonim XP3 Enduro No problem
2 RING VOLUME/EARPIECE TEST
How easy was it to hear the ringer (and the other caller's
voice) in a New Holland T7050 running at 1500 engine rpm?
Durrocomm LM801 Loudest ring of them all – easy
to hear other person
JCB Toughphone JCB digger ringtone got
progressively louder and sound clear from caller
Samsung B2700 Call received loud and clear
Sonim XP3 Enduro Loud but a bit distorted
(maybe we had it up too loud!)
3 FAT FINGER TEST
How would a typical farmer's fingers get on with the phone's
keypad?
Durrocomm LM801 Nice distinct buttons, but
quite close together
JCB Toughphone Proper buttons – easy to use
Samsung B2700 Flush panel without raised
buttons. Bit of a finger-nail job but OK
Sonim XP3 Enduro Not bad, widely spaced
4 SCREEN DURABILITY TEST
How would the screen cope with a 20-second blast of fat sparks
from an angle grinder 18in away?
Durrocomm LM801 No damage (when we'd taken the
film off. Oops)
JCB Toughphone No damage
Samsung B2700 No damage
Sonim XP3 Enduro Slight pitting
5 TORCH TEST
How powerful were the dinky torches that are fitted as standard
to three of the four phones?
Durrocomm LM801 Weedy, but better than
nothing
JCB Toughphone Didn't have one fitted
Samsung B2700 Impressively bright. Best of the
three
Sonim XP3 Enduro Not bad. Second best of the
group
6 WATER TEST
How would the phones cope with a good hosing down?
Durrocomm LM801 No damage sustained
JCB Toughphone No damage sustained
Samsung B2700 No damage sustained
Sonim XP3 Enduro Water off a duck's back (in
fact the XP3 is the only phone officially rated to stand 30 minutes
at 1m water depth
7 JCB DROP TEST
How would the phones cope with a 6ft drop on to hard-packed
mud?
Durrocomm LM801 Bounced harmlessly
JCB Toughphone Didn't come to harm at all
Samsung B2700 Hardly noticed it
Sonim XP3 Enduro Drop, what drop?
8 POLARIS STRENGTH TEST
Being driven over by a 250kg Polaris ATV. No sweat to these
guys.
Durrocomm LM801 Muddy, but unbowed
JCB Toughphone A wipe-down and it was back to
normal
Samsung B2700 Shrugged it off
Sonim XP3 Enduro Came through with shining
colours
9 LAND ROVER STRENGTH TEST
How would the phones cope being driven over by a 1.7t Land
Rover?
Durrocomm LM801 Switched itself off, but came
back to life readily
JCB Toughphone Also switched itself off, but
fired up again fine
Samsung B2700 No obvious damage
Sonim XP3 Enduro No problems
10 CONCRETE DROP TEST
12ft on to concrete. No prisoners.
Durrocomm LM801 Rear display for compass,
altimeter etc broke. Phone itself still working, though
JCB Toughphone Screen stopped working but phone
functioned fine
Samsung B2700 No damage sustained
Sonim XP3 Enduro No damage sustained
RUGGED PHONE SPECS COMPARED
1 Durrocomm Condurro
LM801 |
OVERVIEW
As the relatively new kid on the block, the Durrocomm is similar in
looks to both Sonims and has a tough magnesium frame to protect
against shock. It also has extra features on a handy backlit screen
on the back, like an altimeter, compass and temperature
gauge.
Dimensions 115 x 53 x 23 mm
Weight 142g
Battery life Standby: 450 hours
Talk time 4.5 hours |
FEATURES
• Water, dust and drop resistant
• Dual band GSM 900/1800
• Texts, MMS, MP3 Player
• Torch, laser, barometer, altimeter, thermometer, compass
• FM Radio
• Mini SD Flash Card
• 2in TFT 176 x 220 pixel screen
• Bluetooth |
GOOD POINTS
• Big
buttons
• Large screen
• Back screen with gadgets
• Very loud ringer/speaker
• Handy wind-up charger |
BAD POINTS
• Basic display and screen quality
• Harder to navigate
• Fragile-looking plastic screws holding back on
• Charger socket flap slightly flimsy |
WHAT MAKES IT TOUGH?
• IP-X4
water proof (soon to be upgraded to IP67 according
to Durrocomm)
• IP-4 dust proof
•2m drop rated
• Magnesium frame and 3.5m wall thickness
Colours Green or Yellow
Price £160 inc VAT |
2 Samsung B2700
OVERVIEW
Smart to look at and compact compared to the others in the test.
Replaced the Samsung Solid at the start of 2009. Nice rubbery feel.
Several features you don't get on the other phones, like the 2
megapixel camera.
Dimensions 115 x 52 x 18mm
Weight 119g
Battery life Standby: 350 hours
Talk time 5 hours
FEATURES
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Texts, MMS, Email, WAP browser
• 2MP Camera, video
• 1.9in 256K screen 176x220 pixels
• Torch, compass, altimeter, pedometer
• MP3 Player/Video player
• FM Radio with RDS
• 30MB flash memory, microSD slot
• Bluetooth
GOOD POINTS
• Simple-to-use interface
• Comfortable keypad
• Loud speakerphone
• High quality screen
• Slim
BAD POINTS
• Buttons a bit close together and not distinct
• Non-waterproof battery flap?
WHAT MAKES IT TOUGH?
• IP-54 certified
• Shock, splash, and dust resistant
• Rubber seal round casing
Colours Black or Blue
Price Not announced yet
3 JCB Toughphone |
OVERVIEW
It's the one
everyone knows and has a JCB digger engine sound as one of the
ringtones. Smaller than the new XP3, the Toughphone is fairly
compact and neat, with nicely set out buttons and a simple
operating system. But it lacks a camera, MP3 player or torch.
Dimensions 96 x 50 x 22mm
Weight 130g
Battery life Standby: 200 hours
Talk time 4 hours |
FEATURES
• Tri-band GSM/GPRS
• Texts, WAP
• Bluetooth
• Twin speakers
• Screen 128 x 160 pixels
• 10MB flash memory |
GOOD POINTS
• Clear and
easy-to-use buttons
• Loud speakerphone
• Durable casing |
BAD POINTS
• Flimsy battery flap
• No torch/camera or radio
• Basic graphics |
WHAT MAKES IT TOUGH?
•
IP-54
• 1.65 drop rated
• Scratch resistant screen
• -20C to +60C rated
• Hardened rubber moulding
Colours JCB Yellow
Price £173 + VAT |
4 Sonim XP3 Enduro
OVERVIEW
Dubbed the world's first fully submersible commercially
available mobile phone, the XP3 is the XP1's (aka JCB Toughphone)
bigger, tougher brother.
It's waterproof to 1m and can withstand a 2m drop on to
concrete. Unconditional 3 year guarantee.
Dimensions 119.x 56 x 25 mm
Weight 140g
Battery life Standby: 320 hours
Talk time 5 hours
FEATURES
• Tri-band GSM/GPRS
• Texts, MMS and WAP browser
• 1.77in screen 128 x 160 pixels
• MP3 player
• Bluetooth
• Torch, altimeter, compass
GOOD POINTS
• Robust casing
• Loud
• Good-sized buttons
• Sealed battery connection
BAD POINTS
• Cumbersome; it's the largest of the pack
• Basic graphics
WHAT MAKES IT TOUGH?
• IP-57 certified
• MIL-810F (Military rating for rain, fog and salt air)
• -20C to +60C rated
• Anti-glare and shock resistant screen
• Rated to 2m drop on concrete
• Back attached by proper screws
Colours Black or Yellow
Price £245 inc VAT
The small print
There are a
couple of things you should bear in mind about these
tests |
1 Although the tests were as
thorough and fair as we could make them, they weren't remotely
scientific.
One phone being run over on concrete by a Land Rover, for instance,
may fare worse than another simply because a tyre cleat has come
down right on its weakest part. Or because it's hit at a slightly
different angle.
Equally, when you drop phones from 12ft on to concrete, it's the
luck of the draw as to whether they land on their front, side or
corner, all of which will have an influence on the shock loading
they get. |
2 The treatment we meted out to
the phones was somewhat in excess of what their makers specify.
Three of the phones, for example, are rated as splashproof, while
only the Sonim XP3 is rated as waterproof for 30 minutes at 1m
depth. Yet we gave them all a bit of a soaking. Also, as far as we
know, none of the makers specifies that you can run over their
phones with a Land Rover.
Why did we do it? To find out where their limits were, of course,
and to separate the merely great from the really terrific. And
because we're sadists and we don't get let out very
often. |
Conclusion
If you're looking for the latest, most sophisticated graphics
and operating systems, give these phones a miss. But if you want a
mobile that you can leave out in the rain, drop off the top of the
combine or accidentally stand on, these phones are brilliant.
Which is the best? |
• If you want the ultimate in toughness and
waterproofness, probably the Sonim XP3, though it's expensive and
physically quite large.
• If you want a simple, compact, tough phone that doesn't require a
degree in software engineering, the JCB is ideal. But don't expect
lots of bells and whistles.
• If you want an MP3 player and lots of gadgets, the Durrocomm
could be the one for you.
• Samsung has all the kit, a more modern-looking operating system
and stood up to everything we threw at
it. |
Contacts
JCB
- 0845 459 2009
- www.jcbtoughphone.com
Sonim XP3
- www.youpoc.net
- 01252 377 890
- www.sonimxp3.com
Durrocomm
- 01793 602 511
- http://www.durrocomm.com/
Samsung (on sale any day)
WIN A RUGGED PHONE
Got a good
tale of a mobile that survived appalling abuse around the farm? Or
one that come to a spectacularly sticky end? Post a few details
explaining what happened to our
phone comp and the
best story will win a rugged phone. A new one, that is, not one of
the ones we ran over. Or you can post your tale of miraculous
survival/sad loss to Farmers Weekly at the address on page 3 of the
6 February issue. |