Sonim XP3300 Force User Reviews

iljajj posted on 31 Aug 2011, 15:19

8

The Sonim XP3300: Throw me around, and I will smile at you

iljajj has owned it for less than 3 months before publishing this review

You can easily recognize a smartphone owner by the panicky way he looks for a power plug. Not so with the XP3300: its battery life is epic, allowing you to go without external juice for two weeks or so. As I work in an office much of the time, I mostly leave my phone in my bag - even at its loudest setting, the speakers freak out my co-workers due to the volume.

But best of all is its durability. I'm not a builder or an oil rig worker, although I do go out to paleontological digs fairly often. But I don't really NEED something as indestructible as this per se. However, it's so nice having a device that I can be casual about, leaving it in my bad, throwing it on the table when I get home, sitting on it when it is in my trouser back pocket, etc. Many of today's gadgets are waaay too fragile, and my motor skills aren't very good with fragile.

Internet's not much to write home about, although the turn-by-turn navigation works very well, is very precise and quick to pick up a GPS signal. As a phone (i.e., for talking and texting), its' brilliant: call quality in my device is great (and much, MUCH better than the XP3) but what most surprised me was how well they had implemented texting. I'm a happy customer.

Cons? Well, I've been unable to change the text notification tone and, as I said, a somewhat less overwhelming ringtone volume would've been nice. The camera's not great (But, again, superior to that of its predecessor).

Build quality 10/10 "I need to hammer in a nail. Can I use your phone?"

Reception 8/10 "3G sucks. Voice rules"

Call quality 9/10 "Don't yell. It's only a pneumatic drill"

Internet 6/10 "The interWHAT?"

Multimedia 6/10 "Aw, I never really did like the moving image in that movie. I'm more of a soundtrack man".

Camera 6/10 "Why did you make a photograph of Mount Rushmore?" "That's not Mount Rushmore, it's my kitchen sink".

UI speed 10/10 "Done that".

Everyday usage 9/10 "We're thinking of getting married"

Text input 8/10 "Yeah, I think I'm the first person to write his Ph.D. on a phone. A bitch getting the footnotes right, though"

Display 8/10 "Size isn't important. It's what you with it that matters"

Battery 10/10 "Mom, my phone's nearly dead, gotta go" "But we only spoke for twenty hours or so? Don't you love me any more?!?"

Pros

• Epic build quality
• Call quality
• Battery life
• Three-year, no-questions-asked unlimited warranty
• GPS
• Responsive interface
• VERY LOUD RINGTONES
• Text input

Cons

• Sometimes confusing interface details
• VERY LOUD RINGTONES
• Only 2MP Camera
• Pricey

iljajj alternatives:

Motorola Brute i686

Sonim XP3 Quest

Sanyo Taho

Samsung B2100