N97Geeks ran their unit through a harsh regime of durability tests, starting with a key’n'coin scratch test, followed by a cereal dunking and water submersion tests. As you can see in the video of the latter test above, the N97 doesn’t take too well to water, sort of like any other smartphone.

To its credit, at no point did the N97 seem particularly fragile, I guess. From the looks of it, these guys are looking to finish off their already-crippled $US700 phone by testing other edgy theories (Will it break when you smash it? Will it melt when you melt it?, and they’re taking suggestions. Have at it. [N97Geeks—Thanks, Paul!]

I really don’t know if this photo is staged or not. And quite frankly, I don’t care, because knowing–and loving–dogs, this is how things should be. At least, if we are talking about Jones here. Screw training, lips be damned. [Dark Roasted Blend]

The inventor, going by the name Advanced Engineering, is selling 4- and 8-story kits that both support rebuild and re-implosion. He says he’s run out of funding to ship the product, but before his site went down due probably to intense interest, he was still selling a few kits for around $US60. We hope he gets enough cash money to keep making these toys, it’s a great idea and we’re sure he’d have a market for it. [Boing Boing Gadgets]

Here’s a look at a handful of different tests and what each one tries to accomplish.

Liquids

Nokia places a phone under a bunch of needle-sized water dispensers and then lets it drip all over the phone, which tests for resistance in situations like rain, or splashing from a pool.

The humidity simulation, which tests the durability of phones in up to 95% humidity, is helpful in determining if a phone will hold up in particularly damp areas like South and Central America, where gadgets don’t have the longest lifespan.

Nokia also tests how the phone reacts to various liquids, creams and gels (lotions, hand sanitisers, etc…), since stuff like that tends to accidentally spill while sitting in a purse or backpack with the phone.

Sturdiness


Tests for bending and twisting are pretty straight forward and self explanatory. Still, you can’t help but cringe to see a phone placed in such an unnatural position. Nokia says when you have your phone in your back pocket and you sit on it, it’s susceptible to bending.

One of the cooler stress tests that exists is the Drop test—not only because it uses a giant friggin’ machine, but also because they record the drops using a camera that can record 100,000 frames per second, which is 3,000 times faster than the normal video camera. The videos are then analysed frame by frame, determining the degree to which a device becomes distorted upon impact. Check it out.

When Nokia drops a phone, they drop it from about the height of a shirt pocket onto concrete, since that’s a likely scenario for dropped phones. They also attatch a phone under a steel device that pushes down 100 newtons of force.

Wear and Tear

Nokia has a series of wear and tear stress tests, when gauge the phone’s ability to take bumps, scratches from daily use. Dust testing involves throwing a handful of phones in a dust filled box and letting everything co-mingle. How much dust gets inside? And do buttons stop working when foreign substances get under the surface? This is where you find out.

They also let phones roll around in a bunch of pieces of hard, pointy plastic to see where it might scratch, scuff or crack under duress. These pieces are like plastic chocolate chips and bite-sized pyramids, and they’re pretty sharp. This phone met an unfortunate demise in the name of quality control.

***

Other weird tests include rubbing a piece of denim up against a phone to test the effect of friction when the phone rubs up against your clothes and subjection the phone to temperatures ranging between -40 and 85 degrees Celcius; this determines whether or not the phone can survive in the most extreme conditions on earth.

When testing is finished, they have a battery of analytic procedures to determine how well or how poorly a phone held up. This includes analysing a phone under electron microscopes, 3D X-rays and X-ray Spectroscopes to check for any related damage; possible micron-sized soldering cracks, component failure or any breakdowns in the materials.

As you can see, these tests aren’t lightweight by any means, and most of my Nokia phones over the years have been pretty durable. What about yours? [Nokia on Giz]

Tell us what you think in comments, and stay tuned for some mobile destruction here on Giz!

[Help Gizmodo Destroy the Sonim XP1]

So, I’m partnering up with ex-Giz ed (and current Kotaku guest-ed) Seamus for a fun-filled day of attempted mobile phone destruction. And while we both have some rather creative ideas on the best way to introduce the phone to our friend pain, we want your help.

Let us know in comments how you think we should try and annihilate this thing. keep it realistic – we don’t have access to the LHC at the moment remember. The best ideas will be attempted, and we’ll video the whole thing and upload it next week.

And for those of you who are interested in the figures, the press release for the XP1 is below:

Crazy John’s brings world’s toughest phone to Australia

September 2008

Crazy John’s, Australia’s mobile phone experts, announces the Australian launch of the world’s toughest phone, the Sonim XP1.

Built for action, the Sonim XP1 is designed to withstand shock, water, wind, dust, dirt and extreme temperatures and is the only certified phone engineered specifically to meet the needs of mobile phone users who work and play in demanding conditions.

Crazy John’s has brought the Sonim XP1 to Australia to fill a gap in the market, by delivering a rugged phone to meet Australia’s outdoor culture. The GSM phone features IP-54 certification, mil-spec approval, bluetooth and is Push-To-Talk enabled.

“If you’re standing on a construction site with a welding tool in your hand, or hiking in the great outdoors, you really don’t need a fashion accessory or multimedia device,” explains Head of Marketing for Crazy John’s, Matt Scriven.

“You need a dependable working tool like the new XP1 which has been built for extreme conditions.”

Research conducted by XP1 manufacturer, Sonim Technologies indicates that 70 per cent of outdoor workers refrain from using their phones in the workplace because the phone might break. A further 40 per cent of people have broken their mobile phone in the last year, with most common reasons including damage from humidity, dropping and crushing the phone.
“The Sonim XP1 is the only phone in the world engineered for people who work and play outside; people in need of an unbreakable phone. After victorious launches across Europe, it’s time to show Australia how tough this phones really is,” said Bob Plaschke, CEO of Sonim Technologies.
“The Sonim XP1 has been shot with a Glock 9mm and a Remington rifle. This phone has been put in the oven, strapped to a rocket, used as a hockey puck, used as a hammer, kicked like a football, dragged behind a boat, driven over by multi-ton trucks, and still it survives. We challenge anyone to try and break it!”
As well as being shock and water-resistant, the Sonim XP1 is backed by an unconditional three year warranty.

“Should you find an extreme condition that takes the XP1 beyond its limits, just take it back to any Crazy John’s store for a ‘no questions asked’ replacement,” added Matt Scriven.

The Sonim XP1 is available at Crazy John’s for FREE on the $49 Crazy Cap with $310 credit included each month, or outright for $549.

For further information about the Sonim XP1 mobile phone visit www.crazyjohns.com.au or visit any of Crazy John’s retail stores across Australia.

Visit YouTube to see just how hardcore the Sonim is www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_ReG7YhRNo

Check out www.toughestphone.com for more information

Yup, that glowing mess was once a hard drive.

Thermite’s a blend of iron oxide and aluminium, and when it goes off it’s pretty crazy, reaching iron-melting temperatures in seconds, and spitting gobbets of metal everywhere. So don’t try this at home. Really. ‘Cause it might not stop reacting at the bottom of your PC case, and molten metal dropping through your floor is just bloody dangerous. [Hackaday]

* See? The dogs too.

In fact, I can already imagine Facebook’s status worldwide:

“Jason is taking off his pants as he watches the city turn into flames”
“Jesus is trying to repent quickly of all his sins and having his last Margarita”
“Brian is liveblogging the incoming tsunami. It’s cool”
“Mark is trying to finish Mario Galaxy II before the asteroid hits”
“Adam is looking for his bong”
“Matt is reading the NYT. Wha’?”
“Benny is looking for Tracie for a last snog”
“Strider is commenting in Brian’s liveblog”
“Lindsay Joy is watching her Lego minifigs melt”
“Curves is keeping it cool, like always”
“OMG Ponies is OMG”

Have your own favourite California earthquake video or your future Apocalypse Facebook status? Post it in the comments.