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A bit fragile?

jayducharme said:
I really didn't have a specific point, except to maybe have others share their opinions and experiences.
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I think it would have been beneficial to state that in your first post.

jayducharme said:
The iPad is meant to be a portable device and so should be slightly rugged.
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That is absurd. You cannot have rugged without adding bulk. Add bulk and people bitch.
jayducharme said:
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.
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Your iPhone could have suffered the same fate given another fall with different trajectory on the drop.
jayducharme said:
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.
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The Smart Cover:
It claims to be smart, it claims to be bright, it claims to cover and protect. It does not claim to circumvent damage. It does not specify how it protects but logic would tell me that a cover that covers only the front of a device is not going to protect the device from a fall of any kind.

Your friend had an accident, c'est la vie or some **** like that.
 
I say the OP should drop all his electronics from 4 ft high and then get back to us about the iPad's fragility.
 
fizzwinkus said:
Would you drop your watch from chest height onto concrete?
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I would do that with a G-shock, no problems or concerns ;) This is coming from a watch nut though, so ask me if I would do the same with an Omega, Tag, or a Breitling.....no way :eek: Shameless plug for watch reviews.... www.youtube.com/dougfnj

Bottom line is, the cover wasn't meant to protect it in that fashion, it's a cover, it keeps the screen from getting scratched, and allows you to put your iPad in a bag with something else and feel a little more secure than if you had nothing covering the screen. It was obviously a bad drop. You could probably drop it from 10 feet the right way and nothing happens, and at the same time drop it the wrong way from 6 inches and have the screen shatter. When your dealing with dropping glass, I don't care how strong that glass is it will be fragile if the impact occurs the right/wrong way.
 
jayducharme said:
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.
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Ah, but the smart cover did protect it. Are there any scratches on the shattered screen? If not then the smart cover did it's job.
 
foodle said:
Lenovo and a few other laptop companies do pretty extensive torture tests. For example, here's a Lenovo freefall test from quite high with the laptop on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCwwDacNk1U&feature=related

It's not worst case, since the laptop lands flat on its bottom instead of a corner. Still pretty impressive. Using non-rigid outer materials does have its advantages, although its not as pretty.
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that's a good point, and a good example of how an object is more susceptible the more densely packed it is.
 
DougFNJ said:
I would do that with a G-shock, no problems or concerns ;) This is coming from a watch nut though, so ask me if I would do the same with an Omega, Tag, or a Breitling.....no way :eek: Shameless plug for watch reviews.... www.youtube.com/dougfnj
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hehehe. i wear a traser p6502 long life. nothing like an omega or breitling, but nowhere near the size or bulk of a g-shock. i wouldn't expect it to happen from a drop like that, but still would not be surprised if the sapphire glass cracked. there's very little built by man to withstand drops like that.
 
I don't know how the iPad could be more rugged and still be aluminum, glass and exceptionally thin.

If "rugged" was the primary requirement then it would be an inch thick, made of rubberized material with a plastic display and it would probably survive a fall like that. Of course, your friend wouldn't know it because he wouldn't have purchased such an ugly device.
 
I bet if someone shot they're iPad with a shotgun, they'd come here and complain that it should have been built to take gunfire.
 
When apple designs something, durability and longevity don't seem to be high on the list. But 4 feet is quite a drop for most gadgets.
 
I actually feel their getting much better with their durability and longevity.
This comes within reason though. As John Siracusa says, apple designs a little core. That way, if people want something tiny, they just use the core. If they want more protection, more battery, more anything else, they add to their core. I know if the iPhone or iPad had more protection built in, I would not like it nearly as much because it would be bigger and heavier.
 
Gomff said:
When apple designs something, durability and longevity don't seem to be high on the list. But 4 feet is quite a drop for most gadgets.
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It's a consumer computing device, not a tool of war. And I've seen nothing to indicate it's short on durability or longevity. Throw your PC down from 4 feet and see how well it runs afterwards.
 
Gomff said:
When apple designs something, durability and longevity don't seem to be high on the list. But 4 feet is quite a drop for most gadgets.
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They've made subtle durability enhancements (there were many from the iBook to the Macbook), but seriously, 4 feet is a very good fall for any gadget. Apple admittedly does not make Toughbooks.

The Unibody upgrades were massive durability upgrades. Pretty much the entire purpose of that changeover. Remember, worse durability means more support costs for Apple, so they have a financial reason to improve durability.
 
TheWheelMan said:
It's a consumer computing device, not a tool of war. And I've seen nothing to indicate it's short on durability or longevity. Throw your PC down from 4 feet and see how well it runs afterwards.
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Durability and longevity are not the sole properties of hardware designed for military purpose.

You can't have been reading these forums much if you've missed all the complaints about unibody laptops getting dinged and dented from being carried around school in a laptop bag. Then the following stories about apple geniuses refusing to fix anything on the machine because it has been "damaged".

You must be high if you think glass and aluminium are durable materials.

Besides, I already said that 4 feet was quite a drop for most gadgets
 
People who's lifestyle or habits require extra protection should buy some. Those that don't need to worry about being clumsy can use a thin and light device.
 
Gomff said:
Durability and longevity are not the sole properties of hardware designed for military purpose.

You can't have been reading these forums much if you've missed all the complaints about unibody laptops getting dinged and dented from being carried around school in a laptop bag. Then the following stories about apple geniuses refusing to fix anything on the machine because it has been "damaged".

You must be high if you think glass and aluminum are durable materials.

Besides, I already said that 4 feet was quite a drop for most gadgets
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My point was that a device made of glass and aluminum isn't supposed to be all that durable against rugged usage, so I didn't think they were any less durable than they should be. They seem to withstand normal usage just fine, however. Remember, I was responding to your comment about those things. Now if you want to talk about other Apple products, you're right, I don't know much about them.
 
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