Torture Tested: Hard Cells

Mon, Oct 26, 2009

We beat the silicon out of five mobile phones that claim they can handle excessive abuse.

By Stan Horaczek, Photos by Jeff Harris

Sanyo Pro-700

The smallest handset of the group is a slightly more rugged version of Sanyo’s humble Pro-200 flip phone. [$90*; sprint.com]

Samsung Rugby

Abeefy phone intended for the job site, with a glove-ready keyboard and a bright screen that’s still visible in sunlight. [$180*; wireless.att.com]

Sonim XP3.20 quest

Billed as the “world’s toughest cell” but saddled with a dinky screen and awkward user interface. [$499; toughestphone.com]

Motorola Tundra

Abig, burly phone that meets the military’s 810Fspecs (like the Sonim, Samsung, and Casio). [$200*; wireless.att.com]

Casio G’zone Boulder

Outdoors-ready, with a built-in compass and ability to survive underwater for 30 minutes. [$150*; verizon.com]

*price with two-year contract.

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Test 1: Hard Fall

Each phone dropped onto concrete from four feet, then 10 feet.

We started with the most common cell mishap — the tumble onto a hard surface — and the carnage ensued. Adrop from four feet sent the Sanyo’s battery flying and killed the Motorola’s inside LCD. (The display revived two days later, permanently blurred but somewhat usable.) Then, from 10 feet, the Motorola’s battery popped out of its housing. The Samsung and Casio took both drops in stride, suffering only nicks and cuts. And we’re pretty sure we heard the untarnished Sonim laugh.

Test 2: Brick Drop

A standard masonry brick dropped onto each handset from three feet.

The abuse continued when our 5.9-pound gravity-fueled weapon left a big dent in the fragile speaker grill on the Samsung’s fascia. The Casio fared even worse: The only phone without a rubberized body, it suffered a cracked case and a bashed, broken camera. (No big loss — it’s a measly 1.3 megapixels.) This time the Sanyo and Motorola escaped with only superficial scrapes, and the Sonim remained frustratingly pristine. Even its squint-inducing screen didn’t suffer a scratch.

Test 3: Extreme Weather

Ten hours in a zero-degree freezer, followed by 15 minutes cooking in a 200˚ oven.

After the phones spent a night in the icebox, we pulled them out from under the frozen peas to find four still working — the Sanyo’s battery had been completely drained by the vampiric cold. (Aquick charge and it came back to life.) Once thawed, we took them to the oven. Turns out the extreme heat was more like a day at the sauna than torture. Only the Samsung showed any stress — its rubber coating turned tacky as it started to melt.

Test 4: The Bath

First, a split-second dousing. Then complete immersion in a filled bathtub for 15 minutes.

Every phone survived the initial dunk with no issues, even the plucky Sanyo, the only handset here with no claims of being water resistant. That said, neither the Sanyo nor the Samsung were so lucky with the 15-minute soak — afterward, they wouldn’t turn on. Luckily, after some time spent drying out (two hours for the Samsung; a full day for the Sanyo) both saturated handsets came back to life with no side effects. Lesson learned: Never give up on a waterlogged phone.

Test 5: Big Crush

Four hundred pounds set on each phone (250-pound man plus two 75-pound barbells). Then, a run-over by a Hyundai Santa Fe.

The Casio’s external screen suffered some minor pressure damage under our man-mountain’s foot, but the others stoically bore up during phase one. Even the Samsung’s vulnerable speaker cover didn’t cave. That’s when we pulled the 3,846-pound Hyundai out of the garage, eager to see some phone guts. Sadly, not a single cell exploded. Four of the phones showed cosmetic blemishes, but the Sonim smugly shrugged off our Korean SUV’s drive-by.

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