The new Nokia Lumia 900 is hard as nails -- literally. The screen can not only survive having nails hammered into it, it can even be used in lieu of a hammer when there's some nailing needs doing.
Nokia set out to prove the toughness of the Lumia 900's screen by heading down to the hardware validation lab with a hammer, a two-by-four and some nails. The phone emerged unscathed from being nailed, thanks to its toughened screen.
Press play on the video below for the proof:
The Failure Analysis Specialists at Nokia -- no jokes please -- got the idea when they spotted a video made by Sonim. Sonim makes tough phones designed to tackle extreme conditions and has been demonstrating phones by hammering nails into them for years. But this is the first time we've seen a consumer smart phone repeat the trick.
There's no doubt Sonim phones are harder than Chuck Norris' inside leg, but like most journalists we take a perverse glee in doing damage to the self-styled "toughest phones in the world". One of my favourite moments in this business was when a colleague of mine smashed a Sonim XP2 Spirit while performing the nail test. Oh, how we laughed. And then ran away.
Like Sonim phones, Nokia's Lumia phones have displays made from Corning's Gorilla Glass, the toughened glass that protects the screen of many smart phones, tablets and laptops these days. The Samsung Galaxy S2 and Galaxy S3, the HTC One X and the Asus Transformer Prime -- to name but a few -- all benefit from the protection of a simian-strengthened screen.
We should of course point out that using your phone to address a pointy bit of metal is a bit daft and will almost certainly void your warranty, so if you do copy this video and things go pear-shaped, don't tell Nokia that's why you need a new phone. And don't blame me, either -- as my mother used to say, "If the UK's best technology website told you to jump off a cliff, would you do that too?"
What's the worst thing your phone has survived -- or indeed not survived? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.
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Comments 16
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Jed McInnes 21 May, 2012 22:40
One of my favourite tech moments was when my mate came in saying his phone was indestructable and to prove it threw it across the room. His phone never worked the same again!
Peter Hudson 21 May, 2012 23:59
you really can say what you want about Nokia but their hardware is always top class.
anonymous 22 May, 2012 08:34
Wish it was running android
anonymous 22 May, 2012 09:29
but still, it's not Android....
anonymous 22 May, 2012 09:37
Will it blend?
damien2501 22 May, 2012 09:39
Windows 7 is way better than bloated android. Android is slow sluggish, android phones have better hardware but they need it to run it at a reasonable speed with everything runnin in the background and patches of code everywhere so it fits on each individual phone. Shall I go on? Windows and iOS are clean and clinical in what they do.
anonymous 22 May, 2012 09:50
I would tend to disagree with the comment that all Nokia hardware is top class from my, and judging from the internet forums a lot of others, problems with the nokia c3 touch and type. That screen, not so good against nails. Or finger nails. Or a gust of wind
anonymous 22 May, 2012 12:02
I call ** on this. My Lumia 900 has a crack in it from just being in my pocket (along side my keys) I love it to death, there just has to be some scratches on it. Also, response to the question, I ran my nokia n-gage qd with my old lincoln town car. Small scratch on the key pad and corner was all that came out. Love Nokia.
pongscript 22 May, 2012 16:09
@anonymous 22 May, 2012 09:50,
that is because c3 touch and type is a budget phone.. thats what you should expect from that price point.. on the other hand, Lumia feels premium and durability premium.. Unlike IPhone which is aesthetically premium but not on toughness.
anonymous 22 May, 2012 17:04
@ anonymous 22 May, 2012 12:02
It won't have been impact damage (as proven in the video) The 900 is quite a large phone, it can twist/flex a fair bit if you sit on it with it in your pocket.
Having dropped a friends loaner 900 from head height onto a metal vent, I can vouch for the impact resistance of the screen
anonymous 23 May, 2012 05:53
lol notice the caller. its Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop. ;)
Obviously a fake there.. but good one..
anonymous 23 May, 2012 08:33
You'll never nail the damn thing in if you keep moving it around the screen like that. Keep it in one place man!
anonymous 27 May, 2012 11:59
A terrible two's twin boys test would be better. Neither my wife's N8 nor my E71 have survived unscathed. A hammer and nail are no comparison.
anonymous 13 October, 2012 18:30
Lumia 900 would have passed the drowning test if the reviewer kept the phone in rice for 24-48 hours (like they did to samsung s3), but they kept lumia 900 in rice for just 20 minutes. It should have been in rice for 24-48 hours so that it will survive. Jeff Cannata (Cnet reviewer) hates Nokia and windows. He intentionally killed it.
anonymous 13 October, 2012 18:31
survive. Jeff Cannata (Cnet reviewer) is a idouche.
anonymous 21 January, 2013 14:54
I hope the ring and vibrate means what it says, I have a 710 and have missed many calls because of the single virbration when in ring mode. Is the font in contacts any bigger than the 710? phone are also used as a directory. I am a fan of Nokia but the 710 is going to be dumped ASAP.