X

Breaking the unbreakable phone

A BBC reporter at CES breaks the rugged Sonim XP3.2 Quest Pro.

Kent German Former senior managing editor / features
Kent was a senior managing editor at CNET News. A veteran of CNET since 2003, he reviewed the first iPhone and worked in both the London and San Francisco offices. When not working, he's planning his next vacation, walking his dog or watching planes land at the airport (yes, really).
See full bio
Kent German

The XP3.2 Quest Pro: not so durable after all Sonim

Leave it to the BBC to show us how it's done. At CES, BBC reporter Dan Simmons managed to break the display (click on the link for the video) on the seemingly indestructible Sonim XP3.2 Quest Pro. Simmons accomplished this feat after bashing the phone against the side of an aquarium in which it had previously taken a swim.

I have to hand it to Simmons. I've tested the previous Sonim XP3 Quest (we have our own video) and it survived whatever punishment we could throw at it. I dropped it 14.5 feet onto a concrete floor, I tried to hammer a nail into its display and I stood on a box with the phone underneath.

Simmons, however, managed to end its life. Apparently, it took him quite a while to do so, but he still managed to break the unbreakable. We still think the XP3.2 Quest Pro deserved to be a nominee in the cell phone category for CNET's Best of CES awards, but we'll have to subject it to even more torture next time around.