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iPhone 4 Drop Test with Bumper Case
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Wow, electronic devices don't like being dropped from a substantial height.
Fancy that.
Is there a case that protects from stupidity?
Using a bumper for iPhone protection is like wearing nothing but a tube top on a motorcycle.
Fancy that.
Is there a case that protects from stupidity?
Using a bumper for iPhone protection is like wearing nothing but a tube top on a motorcycle.
An iPhone 4 owner in Japan was operating the phone with one hand and dropped the phone on a train platform.
Even though it was encased in an Apple bumper, the glass is not as strong as Apple says it is.
This owner had added a strap to the bumper, but was unfortunately not using it at the time.
Repair/replacement cost 22,800 yen (about $260 USD).
- Japanese article on K-tai Impress
Seriously though. I dropped my nokia (can't remember the model) and the screen cracked falling on carpet, Let alone a HARD surface. From what I recall, the phone was made of a type rubber too. Supposed to be one of those water resistant and shock proof phones, and a small drop on carpet buggered it completely.
It all depends how you drop it, what angle, height, where it falls and how hard.
I'ts hard to determine these things. I've dropped my uncased 2g iPod touch on concrete about... lets see, 9 times now. And it's still in perfect condition despite the small dent on the back casing. Like I said, it all depends. No device is INVULNERABLE.
Simple answer. Don't drop it!
It all depends how you drop it, what angle, height, where it falls and how hard.
I'ts hard to determine these things. I've dropped my uncased 2g iPod touch on concrete about... lets see, 9 times now. And it's still in perfect condition despite the small dent on the back casing. Like I said, it all depends. No device is INVULNERABLE.
Simple answer. Don't drop it!
I dread to think what Apple must have known was wrong when they released iPod socks then.
Still, at least we now know that fashion accessories do not make something unbreakable.
Michael.
Use a Speck Candyshell and it is very difficult to break your iPhone. I've take some horrendous spills with an iPhone 3GS outfitted with the candyshell and it is still fine. Got one for the iPhone 4.
Well, it had better protect it seeing how bulky it is (but I like the bulk it adds.)
The Apple bumper is only a thin strip of hard plastic that fits rather loosely. I'm not surprised that I gives minimal protection.
Well, it had better protect it seeing how bulky it is (but I like the bulk it adds.)
The Apple bumper is only a thin strip of hard plastic that fits rather loosely. I'm not surprised that I gives minimal protection.
That is the key. OK, front glass breaks w/ bumper. But would an iP4 break w/ a case that had more lip? A back? This video wastes an iP4 for nothing, not even science. Disappointing b/c I'd love to know if a case really does offer more protection than a bumper or if it's just a placebo.
On topic, I have dropped my 3 year old N73 about a thousand times, sometimes while running, and although the exterior is a bit scarred, it works fine! Nothing smashed, nothing cracked, oh, and I never drop a call from holding my phone. And I was video calling (anywhere, without wifi) 3 years before the "revolutionary facetime".
Concrete Fact
I thought I was sliding my iPhone 3G into my back pocket but it was actually sliding down the outside of my pants pocket and headed straight to the concrete I was standing on.
The glass cracked a lot but the phone was still completely usable. I had recently removed the old case it was in because it was worn and looked ugly. I guess I took a little too long to replace it.
Ironically, I then had to buy a case right a way to get the plastic cover to hold the glass into place and the glass splinters out of my fingers. I have used it for five months now and it has started loosing pixels in one spot.
I have five months to go on my contract or move to a new iPhone 4, if I want to pay 200 bucks to get out of my contract.
I tell people that the only thing that broke when I dropped it was the "fun" It's not fun anymore. But it still a 1000 times better than the NOKIA that it replaced.
It cost me 250 dollars to get out of that contract to move to the iPhone 3G in the first place. Funny how I was willing to pay 250 then but not 200 now. I guess a busted up iPhone 3G is still way better than a NOKIA schmart-fone.
So let's see, what have we learned?
If you love your phone, get a nice case, I recommend leather
and above all, keep off the concrete.
I thought I was sliding my iPhone 3G into my back pocket but it was actually sliding down the outside of my pants pocket and headed straight to the concrete I was standing on.
The glass cracked a lot but the phone was still completely usable. I had recently removed the old case it was in because it was worn and looked ugly. I guess I took a little too long to replace it.
Ironically, I then had to buy a case right a way to get the plastic cover to hold the glass into place and the glass splinters out of my fingers. I have used it for five months now and it has started loosing pixels in one spot.
I have five months to go on my contract or move to a new iPhone 4, if I want to pay 200 bucks to get out of my contract.
I tell people that the only thing that broke when I dropped it was the "fun" It's not fun anymore. But it still a 1000 times better than the NOKIA that it replaced.
It cost me 250 dollars to get out of that contract to move to the iPhone 3G in the first place. Funny how I was willing to pay 250 then but not 200 now. I guess a busted up iPhone 3G is still way better than a NOKIA schmart-fone.
So let's see, what have we learned?
If you love your phone, get a nice case, I recommend leather
and above all, keep off the concrete.
It what way does it 'just prove' it? It's a fact you can choose to interpret to reinforce your existing beliefs, but that isn't proof.
Aluminum ceramics (aluminum oxynitride) are being looked at for bullet-proof glass replacements. They can take a .50 round, but cost $10-$15 / square inch. http://science.howstuffworks.com/transparent-aluminum-armor4.htm
Gorilla glass (which is used by the iPhone) is said (by Apple) to be almost as hard as sapphire (a marketing term aluminum oxide) but who cares? What you want here is toughness, not hardness.
Perspex is better if you want shatter resistance. Unfortunately, it scratches. Often, it's hard things (like glass) that are good at resisting scratches, but break if you drop them.
It seems that some people have missed the point of the video, at least as I understood it. It was to test Apple's iPhone4 bumper, not the iPhone. This test demonstrates that the bumper offers nil protection when dropped at a normal holding height on concrete (I assume the same goes for many hard surfaces, like a mall floor, driveway, parking lot) you know, places where people tend to traverse. I'm assuming nobody else has pointed this out, out of utter disbelief.
PS. I want to point out that I've dropped a Nokia n810 at least 5 times on a hard surface, and it never cracked, just small dings on the corners.
PS. I want to point out that I've dropped a Nokia n810 at least 5 times on a hard surface, and it never cracked, just small dings on the corners.
Neither of those are metals, Aluminium Oxynitride and Aluminium Oxide may contain the metal element Aluminium but it then becomes a non-metal solid. IE, it no longer shows characteristics of a metal element/compound/alloy, which is defined as "a good conductor of both electricity and heat". (I won't pretend to know about Chemistry for a second, my study is mainly in Physics and CompSci. I'm really just parroting 11th year Chemistry)
Well the bumper actually offers 100% protection to the area it covers - the softer aluminium band. How the hell is it supposed to protect what it doesn't even cover?
Why don't we see the other stories of naked iPhones being thrown at walls, falling off of truck hoods onto cement, being dragged on concrete, and dropped from a few feet repeatedly without a scratch? These were stories reported by major news outlets, but the only ones regurgitated all over the net are these ridiculous ifixyouri stunts.
The glass is reasonably scratch resistant and also very flexible (as shown in Apple's iPhone 4 video). The problem is that the flexibility is absolutely useless for this particular design, since there is zero flexing allowance for energy absorption once the glass has been glued to a hard surface. On impact the glass is caught between a rock (the ground) and a hard place (the phone), so to speak.
Even though it was encased in an Apple bumper, the glass is not as strong as Apple says it is.
I don't know, perhaps by protecting the back and sides the same way? God knows the aluminum backing is so much more important than the glass front... How about giving the bumper a small amount of space between the glass and raised border (above the glass) so it's not flush with the concrete.
That would work pretty well, but the back isn't aluminium, it is glass
I think the bumper is more directed to scratch prevention (and signal protection???) - the iPhone glass won't scratch with keys in your pocket, however the metal band will.
