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A bit fragile?

TheWheelMan said:
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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This is the problem with the iPad in general. Apple makes it to look like a beautiful piece of art without regard to it's daily use.

My nephew dropped my Asus netbook off his lap onto the tile floor while it was running. It slipped. And yet the thing continued to run just fine. A tablet must be even more durable. This is the device we use to replace books. They should be able to withstand being dropped and knocked about. A short drop off the couch or a counter is a must for a tablet. It is a tool not a piece of art.

FWIW I too dropped my iPad1 off the vanity sink onto the tile bathroom floor a month after I bought it. It was within it's original Apple folio case and closed at the time, playing some audio. It never scratched, bent or stopped working.

The reason I ruled out the smart cover is because it offers no so sort of protection whatsoever. Instead it lulls you into a false sense of security thinking it is attached to the device. I'm waiting for the massive recall when we learn too many people broke their screens because all they gripped was the smart cover and the magnet pulled off.

I. Picked up a nice folio cover from Acase for $15 that holds my iPad2 securely and offers back, front and side protection. Incase offers one with a similar stand to the smart cover.
 
I had an original iPad fly around 30 feet off the top of my wife's Ford Edge (left it there when I was getting kids in car) which is 6 foot tall. Hit a curb. Dented the back slightly. No glass breakage. It was in a walmart-purchased HP sleeve. Sure, got lucky that it landed on the back, but I was for sure it was dead. Come to find the real danger was the guy on the bike who picked it up right before I got there... he kindly returned it... Didn't hurt that I pulled up fast in my truck... It can be intimidating.

I don't think the new one to be FRAGILE, but I can't see it surviving the same. I will not be testing it though. :)
 
dru106 said:
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!
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I can attest to this! (well except my iphone. It seems to be build pretty soild.)
 
One of the reasons Ihave waited to upgrade from ipad1 is that I am waiting for quality control issues to be resolved, and also waiting for (horrer) strories of ipad2 durability.

Making things thinner and lighter usually comes at the risk of making them more fragile.

With a 5yo and 9yo using my ipads on a daily basis, durability is important. I have TPU cases on them, and they have survived drops from 3 ft onto hardware floors without a scratch or a dent.

I am wondering if ipad2 would survive similar torture tests?

Making the ipad thinner just doesn't seem important to me... The ipad1 still seems incredibly thin to me. Plus, once you put a TPU case on the thing, it bulks it up anyway.

Anybody with an ipad2 in a tpu case (hard candy style) want to volunteer to do some torture tests for me?:D:D:D
 
There is no question in my mind that the iPad 2 is more fragile compared to the iPad 1 due to the new dimensions. The aluminum frame around the bezel is very thin and I think would dent/bend on impact much easier compared to the iPad 1. I also suspect the flat surface of the back is more susceptible to dents compared to the rounded back of the original. The glass is thinner, apparently flexes better, but I don't think it's known how sensitive it is to shock/impact.

All in all, I think it adds up to being a little more susceptible to damage, but I'm sure the right case can bring it up to something close to the original.
 
An iPad falling 4 feet onto a solid floor (i.e. very little give on landing) will hit the ground at just under 11mph and experience forces in excess of 706 newtons on the area that hits the ground.

That's equivalent to a kilogram-force of around 72kg or the same as someone weighing 158lbs standing on the area that took the hit.

It's not really surprising if they break under those conditions...
 
surprise! Glass and aluminum will break and dent if dropped from 4 feet onto a hard floor. Who would have thought? :rolleyes:
 
Phil A. said:
An iPad falling 4 feet onto a solid floor (i.e. very little give on landing) will hit the ground at just under 11mph and experience forces in excess of 706 newtons on the area that hits the ground.

That's equivalent to a kilogram-force of around 72kg or the same as someone weighing 158lbs standing on the area that took the hit.

It's not really surprising if they break under those conditions...
Click to expand...

and the area that took the force is likely a point or ~1cm line.
like a person standing on a nail
 
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