Nokia 3720 classic review: Handle without care

Nokia 3720 classic stress tests

Alright then, it's about time we got real busy with the 3720 classic. There may be no news in that basic S40 package but the toughness tests will hopefully show its true worth. The Nokia 3720 classic is IP54 certified for dust and water-splash resistance. By the way, Nokia official promos included shock tests too. Well, so did we.

We didn't even bother leave the office for the first tests - other than to get some beer. The truth is, the 3720 classic doesn't hold its liquor but hey, that's actually a compliment for a rugged phone. We drowned the phone in a plastic beer mug. Then we put it under running water. At the end of both tests we had a perfectly working phone with only one temporary issue - the raspy loudspeaker. Anyway, in about ten minutes the phone restored its original sound. The 3720 classic wasn't bothered by the liquid treatment.

Next on our schedule was running the 3720 classic over with a car. Having done that to the Samsung B2700, we were quite eager to see how the rugged Finn handles more than a ton and a half of weight. Apart from getting quite dirty and scratched on both ends of the rear panel, the Nokia 3720 classic showed no other evidence of damage. The front panel was absolutely intact, the protective lens glass had no scratches or any sort of damage. Considering that most of the phone's body is made of plastic it held up absolutely fine after the hit and run.

The handset looked quite ready for another round of torture actually, so we went on and kicked it around, slammed it against a concrete wall, buried it in mud and dust, threw it 4 meters up in the air and let it hit the ground.

The first series of kicking and slamming caused no visible harm. The second time though, which we recorded on video, inflicted some minor scratches at the bottom side and the front and rear panels were slightly ajar on the left side of the phone. That was easily fixable though with a gentle press on that particular spot.

The mud and dust, as you may have guessed, were taken with a grin. Our final shock test is a different story though.

The two attempts we did led to another detachment of the panels, which was again easily fixable. The metal frame was bent a bit around the plastic lid that covers the connectors at the bottom - it now can't be completely closed. This might lead to future problems with splash resistance we fear. The major issue however was the loudspeaker, which stopped working. Other than that, the phone is fully functional and its front still looks like new. Go ahead, take a look.

Nokia 3720 classic after the tests

At the end of the day, the 3720 classic did a great job. Water, mud and dust are no issue for the rugged Finn and that's its main purpose to begin with. The 3720 also is tough enough to withstand quite a bit of hitting and accidental drops. Maybe it is not as tough as the Sonim XP1, but it will sure survive most common accidents. Just be careful not to drop it from too high, the loudspeaker is its Achilles' heel.

We guess those promo videos by Nokia you may have seen are trustful, but we doubt they've done all that kicking, bashing, dropping and dipping all to a single phone.