Feature-wise, the Vodafone XP3 is notable for items that are absent. It doesn’t do 3G, it doesn’t have a camera, and for the life of me I couldn’t find a vibrating ring option anywhere. On the plus side, the ring volume was ear-splitting, so you won’t be needing a vibrate option to avoid missed calls.
So what you end up with is a sub-NZ$200 phone costing NZ$800 (less with a plan). You’re paying something like $600 for durability. Is it worth it? Probably. I can see this phone quite easily out-lasting four $200 phones, even if you’re an accident-prone plumber working around raw sewerage. Seriously.
Here’s a quick few seconds of XP3 abuse. The phone still works. Note: the quick cuts are not hiding anything, it’s just that my gimpy camera cut off the last couple of seconds of each video when I stopped recording.
So I leave it to you. I wouldn’t buy the phone, because I work in an office and stick a screen protector on any phone I buy. BUT, if you work outdoors and constantly break phones, the XP3 might be a valid investment.
