Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
CoolStoryBro.jpg
 
Yeah! From what I'm reading, everyone that drops their phones breaks instantly!

Actually what we are mostly reading is about people who's phone dropped and broke. How many unreported cases of dropped but unbroken phones are out there, no one knows. So we get a skewed, unclear picture. Even still it's glass so cover for me lest I one day end up with a cracked screen and be :( .

Glad to hear no damage to you. I think that is one of the first reports of fall/no damage. Maybe the second. I think David Pouge dropped his.
 
Weird. I never drop my phones, but of course, iPhone 4 drops within a few days of having it. It dropped from about 3 feet from a shelf to the wooden floor. It seems someone called and it vibrated off the shelf.

I freaked out, but nothing was wrong.

(knock on wood ;))

Weird, same thin happened to me this morning, except it was my alarm. ~4 foot fall on the corner onto wood floor, no problems.
 
I've experienced the same slide off uneven surface issue. Yesterday I left my iPhone 4 on top of my ipads portfolio case came back and it had slid off. Put it back and after a few minutes it did it again. I think it might be the micro hamsters running on the wheel that gives it that extra battery life. Kind of like a hybrid car.

But seriously it had me scratching my head until I found this thread.
 
Same thing happened to me last night. I put it on the table sitting next to my recliner, which has thick cloth on top of it...it was probably sitting an inch and a half away from the edge, and somehow managed to slide itself off within 5/10 minutes.
 
The iPhone 4 moves if its not on a level surface. Not when someone calls, or you get a message, it just moves on its own. I'm sure it is caused by the gyroscope, but it's good to know if you don't want your phone to fall.

That is one serious imagination you have there. The iPhone 4 doesn't actually have a gyroscope in it. Don't believe me? Check the teardowns and tell me where it would be, then explain why it wouldn't impact battery life, and lastly tell me what the point of an orientation stabilizing device would be when that's not what Apple claims it does in the first place!

No, what the iPhone has are sensors that measure axial motion. Just like the Wii controller. They're completely passive devices. Steve called them gyros just because it's a catchy term. Hint: Safari doesn't actually contain nitro, either.

All phones move down hard surfaces that slope when they vibrate! Put it on something soft and not only won't it move, but it won't rattle and startle you awake, either. Goodness but the iPhone 4 paranoia is getting out of hand!
 
I think its just the slickness of the back. On another note, I have read a lot of these threads and the glass doesn't seem to break unless the iphone falls on it's corner? Is anyone else noticing that?
 
All phones move down hard surfaces that slope when they vibrate! Put it on something soft and not only won't it move, but it won't rattle and startle you awake, either. Goodness but the iPhone 4 paranoia is getting out of hand!

I'm not paranoid, I think it's kind of Magical and revolutionary but I'm still blaming it on the extra battery life hamsters.
 
Just to let you all know, it's not the gyroscope causing them to fall...

Just a bit of simple history. There are basically two types of gyroscopes. Mechanical ones, and digital ones.


Mechanical:
cyp-gyro.jpg


Digital:
1547454


Guess which one the iPhone 4 has... really, just take a guess. It's actually the digital one shown above. It's known as a MEMS Gyroscope.

Good article in general about MEMS Gyroscopes: http://knol.google.com/k/a-glimpse-at-mems#
Another good article on the gyroscope used in the iPhone: http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-e...makes-3axis-digital-gyroscope-with-one-sensor

Yea, sadly there isn't a spinning disk *as you would expect inside your phone going at thousands of rotations per minute. Go ahead, pick up your phone. Do you feel anything moving inside? Can you rotate your phone and feel resistance? Can you set your phone on a corner and it stay upright? Nope, you can't.

The reason it's falling is due to negligence or the vibrator, but even then, it's still negligence.

*There are moving parts, but on the micro level.
 
Glad it didn't break either. They are definitely slippery litte suckers. I normally put mine on the arm of the couch, but not anymore cause it keeps sliding off lol.
 
The reason it's falling is due to negligence or the vibrator, but even then, it's still negligence.

Bro,

I'll go toe to toe with you on this. It isn't negligence, it is called training. People have been trained with the first three versions of the phone to treat it a certain way. The incredible slipperiness of the back on the fabulous iP4 is a new thing. Treating this phone in ways that we have been trained is going to end in a lot of smashed glass. In my case, if the floor hadn't been covered with a rug it could have been broken on my second day. I did nothing different than I have done with any other iPhone version nor have other posters who have had similar falls. My test case were I watched what was occurring, I can assure that there was no vibration and the phone sat static for upwards of ten seconds. Once it started moving, it moved similar to how a high quality pan slips across a ceramic top stove on a thin film of water. I was surprised, to say the least. I know Apple is making magical stuff, but violating the laws of physics will have till wait to v10 or so. :D

As someone pointed out earlier in this thread, if nothing else, this thread will raise owner's awareness about how slippery the back is. Finally, thanks for assisting me in choosing between your two examples of positional sensors. :rolleyes:

p.s. I have never broken a piece of gear through negligence in my over half century of life.
 
Bro,

I'll go toe to toe with you on this. It isn't negligence, it is called training. People have been trained with the first three versions of the phone to treat it a certain way. The incredible slipperiness of the back on the fabulous iP4 is a new thing. Treating this phone in ways that we have been trained is going to end in a lot of smashed glass. In my case, if the floor hadn't been covered with a rug it could have been broken on my second day. I did nothing different than I have done with any other iPhone version nor have other posters who have had similar falls. My test case were I watched what was occurring, I can assure that there was no vibration and the phone sat static for upwards of ten seconds. Once it started moving, it moved similar to how a high quality pan slips across a ceramic top stove on a thin film of water. I was surprised, to say the least. I know Apple is making magical stuff, but violating the laws of physics will have till wait to v10 or so. :D

As someone pointed out earlier in this thread, if nothing else, this thread will raise owner's awareness about how slippery the back is. Finally, thanks for assisting me in choosing between your two examples of positional sensors. :rolleyes:

p.s. I have never broken a piece of gear through negligence in my over half century of life.

I do have to say it's a slippery booger for sure. I leave it flat on every surface except in my car. I really can't wait until I get my bumper or the Otterbox Defender case comes out for it so it doesn't play slip-n-slide all day.

Leaving this guy on any type of incline is just asking for trouble.
 
This is where I keep mine. Right next to my bed. Minus the dog though.

CanopyDogBed.jpg
 
I usually set my phone on top of my wallet when I arrive home. Twice in row I walked by were I had left my iP4 only to find it on the ground. Next time I set my phone on top of my wallet I stood and watched. The phone was absolutely static for 10 seconds then it started sliding. There was no visible vibration. Could the gyroscope be causing this? My solution make sure that my iP4 is laying flat on it's back.

This exact thing has been happening to me since I have a habit of setting my phone on my leather wallet. I think the back is just slick enough that it slides very easily on anything.
 
It moves

I really think it does move. I actually think someone with a video camera could record it happening. I had it on the left arm of my chair that has big thick flat but padded arms like on a sofa. Maybe 5 minutes later, it had slipped off and landed on the rug (whew). I placed it back on the arm, lining it up carefully with the seams, set it right smack on the flattest part, and it shifted to the left - the top end going left. No calls, no alarms no vibrations. Yes, I know this sounds crazy, and if I hadn't read so many posters saying similar things, I wouldn't have believed it, but I'll bet someone can catch it in action. And that would be cool.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.