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A bit fragile?

jayducharme

jayducharme

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jun 22, 2006
4,780
6,957
The thick of it
I got a text from a friend today. He bought an iPad 2 with a smart cover last month. He accidentally knocked it off a shelf today, about four feet above the floor. The bezel dented and the entire glass shattered. He's not a happy puppy.
 
Last edited:
jayducharme said:
I got a text from a friend today. He bought an iPad 2 with a magic cover last month. He accidentally knocked it off a shelf today, about four feet above the floor. The bezel dented and the entire glass shattered. He's not a happy puppy.
Click to expand...

That's a pretty big drop for any electronic device. If he knew he was going to be careless, he shoulda got accidental insurance. I have a worth ave group policy for accidental and theft, just in case. Accidents do happen, as evident by your friend.

I wish him the best though and hopefully he can get it fixed at a decent price.
 
I wouldn't classify it as fragile because of a fall from that height. Depending on how it landed and what part of the device landed first has a lot (if not most) to do with if it will shatter or not. If it landed straight down on one of the corners, or even totally flat on the face or the back, I could see it shattering from that height. If it hit square along the entire side of any of the edges, it probably wouldn't have shattered, maybe just dented.

Gotta be careful. I really look at it as $700 I'm carrying around. I wouldn't leave $700 unguarded for any length of time, wouldn't let kids play with $700, but, I probably would be OK with dropping 7 $100 bills off a 4 foot drop- no problem :D.

Good luck to your friend.
 
jayducharme said:
I got a text from a friend today. He bought an iPad 2 with a magic cover last month. He accidentally knocked it off a shelf today, about four feet above the floor. The bezel dented and the entire glass shattered. He's not a happy puppy.
Click to expand...

What is the point of this post? Are you trying to say that a glass/aluminum device should be able to survive a 4 foot fall? Maybe on the moon, but we're on earth. Your friend should have invested in a case or been a bit more careful.
 
Exactly. How many electronic devices do we have that we would willingly drop 4 feet?

Would you do that with any laptop? That heavy duty (strong) aquarium?
How about that car battery right before you install it? A picture frame?
Your Pyrex indestructible cookware?

Would you drop your watch from chest height onto concrete?
 
Yeah, that's a pretty major fall. And the smart cover doesn't protect against drop damage at all, only scratches.

4 feet is about the limit for any electronic device. 1-2 feet is the range from which you could expect minimal damage.
 
i dropped mine less than 12" onto my ceramic tile floor last friday. the top right corner hit and dented, and the top left corner shattered (like it squished into the aluminum. I took it to the apple store saturday and showed them the backlight bleed (and the broken glass, of course), and they told me they would do a one-time swap. left 30 min later with a new ipad. if you have backlight bleed, this may be an option for your bud, too.
 
fizzwinkus said:
Would you drop your watch from chest height onto concrete?
Click to expand...

Yes, no problem.

I like and usually buy watches that I can throw up into the air as high as I can manage and they won't get damaged, apart from perhaps a small scratch if they hit the ground the wrong way.

I have no time for poser style "Bling" Look at my giant expensive watch dude. It makes up for my tiny penis type timepieces.

I just buy a light plastic sports type watch with a flexible plastic/rubbery strap that tells me the time accurately. Why would you need anything more?

It's a watch to tell you the time.
 
Piggie said:
Yes, no problem.

I like and usually buy watches that I can throw up into the air as high as I can manage and they won't get damaged, apart from perhaps a small scratch if they hit the ground the wrong way.

I have no time for poser style "Bling" Look at my giant expensive watch dude. It makes up for my tiny penis type timepieces.

I just buy a light plastic sports type watch with a flexible plastic/rubbery strap that tells me the time accurately. Why would you need anything more?

It's a watch to tell you the time.
Click to expand...


plastic happy meal toy watches don't count.
 
jayducharme said:
I got a text from a friend today. He bought an iPad 2 with a magic cover last month. He accidentally knocked it off a shelf today, about four feet above the floor. The bezel dented and the entire glass shattered. He's not a happy puppy.
Click to expand...

A device made of glass and aluminum.........yes, it's fragile. :D

He'll now learn to be a little more careful. It's no ones fault but his own to be painfully blunt. I think it's now common knowledge in this day in age to NOT allow a $500+ device be put into a situation where it can be dropped and damaged/destroyed. It's not a toy, don't treat it as such and just leave it on a simple shelf to allow to be knocked down. And yes, accidents happen. That's why a lot of retail stores offer accidental damage warranties along with it.
 
Seriously? If you drop any electronic device 4ft from the ground anything will break! try dropping your external hard drive, laptop etc and i guarantee it will break!
 
I had mine fall from about 3 ft to a tile floor this morning (dang cat). Only had a smart cover on it. Upper left corner got dinged, but otherwise all is well. 4 ft is a good fall. Them's the breaks. (;))
 
Piggie said:
Yes, no problem.

I like and usually buy watches that I can throw up into the air as high as I can manage and they won't get damaged, apart from perhaps a small scratch if they hit the ground the wrong way.

I have no time for poser style "Bling" Look at my giant expensive watch dude. It makes up for my tiny penis type timepieces.

I just buy a light plastic sports type watch with a flexible plastic/rubbery strap that tells me the time accurately. Why would you need anything more?

It's a watch to tell you the time.
Click to expand...

I didn't even know people wear watches anymore. Whenever you ask someone for the time, they always take our their phones.
 
iApples said:
I didn't even know people wear watches anymore. Whenever you ask someone for the time, they always take our their phones.
Click to expand...

I tend to find phones and swimming pools/sea don't mix that well really.
 
hey everyone. i fell 4 feet off a ladder and broke my arm, hip and damaged my back. i also have a concussion. am i too fragile?
 
If I dropped my iPad 4 feet, I would expect it to break, or get dented in some form.

We're talking about glass - a brittle material and aluminum, a malleable material that can easily dent.
 
Blorzoga said:
What is the point of this post? Are you trying to say that a glass/aluminum device should be able to survive a 4 foot fall? Maybe on the moon, but we're on earth. Your friend should have invested in a case or been a bit more careful.
Click to expand...

I really didn't have a specific point, except to maybe have others share their opinions and experiences. The iPad is meant to be a portable device and so should be slightly rugged. I've dropped my iPhone 4 feet (with a case on) and it didn't get damaged. Obviously, the iPad is a bigger surface and is heavier.

My friend had the smart cover, and it did nothing to protect the device. I told him he should have gotten a case instead, but that's water under the bridge now. Or he should have had insurance.
 
jayducharme said:
I got a text from a friend today. He bought an iPad 2 with a smart cover last month. He accidentally knocked it off a shelf today, about four feet above the floor. The bezel dented and the entire glass shattered. He's not a happy puppy.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but 4ft from the air is not a small distance. This does not suggest the iPad 2 is fragile! He was rather, a bit unfortunate.
 
fizzwinkus said:
Exactly. How many electronic devices do we have that we would willingly drop 4 feet?

Would you do that with any laptop? That heavy duty (strong) aquarium?
How about that car battery right before you install it? A picture frame?
Your Pyrex indestructible cookware?

Would you drop your watch from chest height onto concrete?
Click to expand...

Excellent points and good examples! I wouldn't imagine a casserole dish could survive a 4ft drop either! I'll tell you what would survive: a paper book.
 
jayducharme said:
I really didn't have a specific point, except to maybe have others share their opinions and experiences. The iPad is meant to be a portable device and so should be slightly rugged. I've dropped my iPhone 4 feet (with a case on) and it didn't get damaged. Obviously, the iPad is a bigger surface and is heavier.

My friend had the smart cover, and it did nothing to protect the device. I told him he should have gotten a case instead, but that's water under the bridge now. Or he should have had insurance.
Click to expand...

Cell phones are built to be a bit more durable, and a real case will honestly take most the impact.

Watch this video though:
http://www.realgeek.com/nokia-n79-drop-test-skow-motion-video/

Dropping a device sends shockwaves through it that you can't normally see. With that in mind, it's not surprise that the iPad shattered.
 
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