Cops’ phones can drop on the pavement, be left on the roof of a patrol car, or be sat upon, all of which can damage the phone beyond repair. They can also be contaminated with hazardous materials or bodily fluids. What if you had a smartphone you could power wash, if needed, to get it clean?
Sonim makes smartphones, accessories, and applications intended for the kind of harsh environments that police and other first responders face every day. Their smartphones function more or less like any other Android phone, but will resist damage from most drops, temperature extremes, and immersions. A Sonim smartphone goes beyond MIL-SPEC and is IP68 and IP69 rated to survive immersion in up to two meters (about six feet) of water for up to an hour — it can even be power washed.
I recently received two Sonim phones for evaluation — models XP6 and XP7. Here’s a summary of what I discovered.
Some Basic Specs
The face of the XP6 is about 60 percent display and 40 percent mechanical/hardware keypad. The XP6 is intended to serve not just as a smartphone, but to replace a portable radio entirely. Sonim designed the XP6 for heavy push-to-talk users who need to broadcast instant communications to groups or headquarters.
The XP7 is slightly larger, and has a display that covers most of its face, with three mechanical buttons on the lower portion. Both have an external speakerphone that looks like an antenna or “ear” on the top right edge of the device. This was designed so that the smartphones’ 100+ decibel speaker can perform at top level even while in a case or pocket.
The smartphones are similar in height and width dimensions of an iPhone 6, but are about three times as thick and twice as heavy.
Specialized and Standard Apps
Both phones have hardware buttons on the sides for power on/off, push-to-talk, volume control, and camera trigger. There is also a “Sonim Protect” hardware button that serves as a distress alert. When pressed, the phone will send a notification and current GPS coordinates at an emergency call center. The alert can also be sent if the smartphone detects it is in freefall, on a heavy impact, or if the phone crosses a user-configurable geographical boundary. The Sonim Protect service requires a separate subscription.
The phones run on the Android platform (a Google product), so they have built-in applications for Google Mail, Drive (documents), web search, and so on. Other apps are available through the Google Play store. Memory capacity available to the user is 12 GB.
Applications and capabilities are very similar on both phones, but I found the XP7 much easier to use. The XP7 uses a touchscreen keyboard similar to the one on an iPhone. Since this product is made for outdoor workers, the XP7 touchscreen responds when wearing gloves - even when they’re wet. The XP6 has a T-9 numeric keypad to enhance push-to-talk applications and a smaller SwiftKey full keyboard for email, browsing and text-heavy applications.
Battery and Signal
Battery capacity on both phones is 4800 mAh, or about 2.5X the capacity of an iPhone 6. With moderate use, the battery should last a couple of days between charges. The battery is user-serviceable, so a worn-out battery won’t obsolete the smartphone. Sonim claims 45 days standby time and 16 hours of talk time on the XP6, and 1000 hours (~41 days) standby and 40 hours of talk time on the XP7. Either way, that’s more power reserve than you’ll see with most smartphones.
Charging is done via a proprietary cable that positions itself and attaches magnetically to the lower back of the phones. It’s by far the best charging cable design I’ve seen, and is unlikely to be damaged by disconnecting it too forcefully. The cable and a USB wall plug module are included with the smartphones.
The smartphones I had worked over the AT&T network. Calls were as clear as any other quality cell phone, but the signal is always going to be limited to the coverage of that carrier.
Solid for Police Use
Sonim makes several models of both phones, each designed to work on a specific part of the globe. The XP7 is compatible with Band Class 14, and therefore FirstNet ready. Both smartphones connected readily to several Wi-Fi networks I tried, and to a Bluetooth headset, using low energy Bluetooth 4.0. There is a rubber-covered port for a hardwired headset. Both smartphones are also NFC compatible, although that standard seems to be slow to expand through the United States.
The XP7 has two cameras. One faces forward at 1 MP resolution, fixed focus. The rear-facing camera is an auto-focus with 8 MP resolution. The XP6 has only a rear-facing camera with 5 MP resolution, and is fixed focus. Both will take still images and video.
Retail price on the XP6 from AT&T is $524.99 without a contract, or $149.99 with a two-year contract. The XP7 is currently available in Canada through Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility. If your agency would like to purchase XP7 smartphones, you can contact Sonim directly until the smartphones are made commercially available in the United States. If you’re acquiring these for a public safety agency, it’s likely your purchase price will be governed by whatever contract you have with the carrier.
These smartphones are ideal for agencies that use the cellular network and talk groups for regular or specialized communications. The smartphones are as durable as any you will find, have great battery capacity, and cost only a little more than you would pay for a comparable smartphone. They are also backed by a three-year comprehensive warranty which adds a lot of value to the investment. Look back and count up how many phones you have issued and then replaced because of breakage, and then look into Sonim.
