Crosscall Trekker X3: How I destroyed a mobile in 10 steps (by mistake)
6.10.2017
Translation: machine translated
The manufacturer says about the Crosscall Trekker X3: "There are no limits to the device." The test shows that it has limits and they are not particularly high. Here you can read the tale of woe of my shared but short time with the Trekker mobile.
In my private life, I use an iPhone. In my private life, I accidentally destroy iPhones if they are not stolen beforehand. That's why the authorities chose a slightly more robust phone for my first smartphone review: The Crosscall Trekker X3. It's supposed to withstand a lot and be virtually indestructible. I'll tell you right from the start: this review is not going to happen. Because obviously the mobile phone that survives me has yet to be invented. So instead of a serious review, I'd rather tell you how you can destroy a smartphone and get away with it.
Step 1: Nod and smile when someone says "Don't break it"
"Hey Livia, here's your test mobile phone," says Senior Editor Dominik Bärlocher and tosses it to me. It lands a metre away from me, on the floor. It cracks quite loudly. Everyone in the office turns to look at us. My thoughts turn to the casting show "The Voice of Germany". With the chairs turning round and everything. But I pull myself together. The mobile is still on the floor. I ask myself what this is all about. Then I remember: it's a rugged phone. Of course it is. Haha. It's made to withstand things that would have put paid to any iPhone or Samsung Galaxy long ago.
Dominik says I should just test the mobile in everyday life. In the same sentence, without me mentioning anything, he also says: "Don't break it. We don't have permission from the product manager." I see myself as a pacifist anyway and destruction is not my thing. I nod and smile, and I actually mean it. Really.
I'm looking forward to the test. After the display of my iPhone 6 shattered due to an unspectacular fall from a height of around 30cm, I bought an iPhone 7. This was stolen a few months later. So I'm once again walking around with an iPhone 6 that has already been overhauled by generations, including the classic iPhone problem of a broken display.
So a rugged phone is just the thing for me. For once, I don't have to behave as if I had a raw egg in my pocket.
Step 2: Serious research
The Trekker X3 is the flagship of the French manufacturer Crosscall. At 230 grams, it is heavy in the hand and feels bulky. It's about twice as thick as my iPhone.
As an outdoor phone, however, the Brick certainly has its raison d'être. It is equipped with several sensors, namely: accelerometer, magnetic sensor, proximity sensor, light sensor, barometer, thermometer, hygrometer and altimeter. Half a weather station.
I don't know why I need a barometer. But it's certainly interesting for all amateur meteorologists.
The mobile feels resistant and robust. The manufacturer says so: There are no limits to the Trekker X3. It is the sentence that will later be our undoing.
Unfortunately, the Crosscall does not have a fingerprint scanner. I think that's a shame, it takes too long to unlock. Once I've entered my four-digit code, I have to confirm it at the bottom before the phone is unlocked. On the other hand, the device can be operated with gloves or wet hands.
Behind me, video producer Linus Konetsching is also doing research. He is watching a YouTube video in which the Trekker is thrown out of the window in a high arc. And of course it survives without a scratch. [[video:65837]]
The crash comes at 00:24. They even ride over it on their bikes. Who does that...
Step 3: Camera test
The camera has 16 megapixels at the back and 8 at the front. With a slightly longer press on the red button on the side of the device, the camera opens immediately from lock mode. Perfect if you want to take a quick snapshot.
The camera has face detection and what I particularly liked was that in addition to auto mode, ISO values, white balance and exposure can also be set manually.
Step 4: Freeze
The Trekker can withstand temperatures of up to minus 10 degrees, according to the manufacturer. Of course I have to try it out. When I get home, I put the phone in the freezer. My flatmates now think they're living with a lunatic. The freezer is also a good opportunity to test the thermometer. Freezing is no problem, the Göppel doesn't mind the cold.
What surprises me, however, is that the temperature displayed keeps fluctuating. Of course, I think it has to stabilise first with such a drop in temperature. After about half an hour in the freezer, it still shows 6 degrees. That can't be right. After all, an hour later, it shows 0.4 degrees below zero. Normally a freezer like this is around minus 10 degrees. But then I didn't want to leave it in the freezer any longer, after all I didn't want to break it... How naive I was.
Step 5: Washing up
The Trekker is IP67 certified. This means it can be submerged for 30 minutes to a depth of one metre and is also resistant to salt and chlorinated water. Even oil can't harm it. At first I was thrilled. Until Dominik informed me that the new Samsung and Apple mobiles are already IP68 certified. Well. But I didn't let that stop me and washed the Trekker with plenty of cleaning agent. It didn't bother the phone at all, it could even be operated under water.
Step 6: Take a shower
If you like listening to music in the shower in the morning but live with people who are blessed not to have to get out of bed at the crack of dawn, you may be familiar with the problem: listening to music with speakers is not an option, it would wake everyone up. I can play music from my iPhone, but it's not waterproof, so the music is too far away and therefore barely audible in the shower. The Trekker phone has solved this problem (at least for a short time): it is waterproof and plays music wonderfully in the shower. I can even change the song with wet hands. Simply great.
Step 7: Throw it around the office (carpet)
Back at the office, the mobile is the running gag: it is thrown at the unsuspecting victim and naturally falls on the person's floor. People are shocked until they are enlightened. We have carpeting in the office and the phone is always fine.
I'm starting to get cocky. Linus and Dominik are also throwing the phone around more and more. I really should have anticipated this.
Step 8: Go into the studio
For the video shoot of my first video review, we go to our studio. There, too, the item falls onto the concrete floor several times, but it doesn't seem to mind.
After the video in the studio, we go outside. After all, an outdoor phone has to be tested outside. On the way, we decide that after today's test, there should be a second test where we do so much damage to the device that it is sure to break. Nobody could have guessed that it wouldn't get that far.
Step 9: Drop test from a wobbly stack of pallets
The idea was to throw the mobile into a well or drop it onto gravel. On the way to the actual destination, we spot a wobbly-looking stack of pallets. It is an estimated two metres high. Dominik and Linus are thrilled and want to drop the phone from there onto the concrete. My enthusiasm is limited. After all, I'm the one who gets to climb onto the stack. Thanks to an acrobatic feat, which fortunately wasn't captured on video, I make it onto the pile. Incidentally, it's littered with wood shavings that were still sticking to my trousers hours later. Spits in your trousers are no fun. So much for that.
I drop the phone. What happens next is hard to describe. The mobile hits the edge first and lands on the display. I can't see the disaster immediately from my palette throne. But Dominik quickly recognises the disaster: He says, "it's broken", goes to the mobile and picks it up. His favourite pair of jeans rips in the process. Collateral damage.
The display looks like that of a typical iPhone. Totally shattered. The drop height was only two metres, maybe 2.50. In the YouTube video, it must have fallen five times as far. Absolutely incomprehensible to us. We are at a loss for words.
We make our way back to the office, depressed. Okay, depressed is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration. We laugh and make up excuses.
Step 10: Confession
Now there's only one thing left for me to do: confess. I have to tell the product managers that their mobile is broken. My first smartphone review and I'm smashing it. Crosscall, why are you doing this to me?
But actually, let's be honest, it's Linus' fault. It was his idea after all. Maybe I can get away with it. It's worth a try.
Testing devices and gadgets is my thing. Some experiments lead to interesting insights, others to demolished phones. I’m hooked on series and can’t imagine life without Netflix. In summer, you’ll find me soaking up the sun by the lake or at a music festival.
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