Those who are still debating between the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and other smart phones should pay attention to this amazing news:
After slipping out of a skydiver’s pocket, one of Apple’s iPhone 4 units survived a 13,500-foot drop and can still make and receive calls.
Jarrod McKinney said he was in such a rush to “get out the door” of the plane on a recent skydiving trip that he forgot to secure his iPhone 4, CNN reports. “I just knew it was gone. Falling from that height? (What are) the chances of you finding something like that or even knowing where to look?” he said.
But, after touching down, McKinney used a “GPS tracking app” to locate the device, which had landed on the roof of a building roughly a half-mile away.
Skydiving instructor Joe Johnson called the phone as a joke and was surprised when the call actually went through. The device, which had been cracked once before after a tumble off a bathroom shelf, is still able to make and receive calls, despite the fact that its front and back glass surfaces had shattered. The handset had been protected by a Incipio-branded case that was broken on impact.
Looking at it another way:
When contacted for the report, Consumer Reports editor Mike Gikas quipped that McKinney had found a way to resolve the phone’s reception problems, which caused a firestorm of controversy last year. Dropping the smartphone from a plane is “the proved method for fixing the antenna problem,” Gikas joked.
Now if I could only get my ATT MicroCell to work. [Maybe drop it from a plane.-ed]
UPDATE: Apple is just now reporting more than double profits for the quarter with twenty million iPhones sold.
I not clear on the physical implications of the operating system. Is there some system call that hardens the case?
Well, after struggling with an Android phone for over 6 months, I finally gave up the ghost and went back to my little old Nokia “Shorty.” Couldn’t handle the aggravation anymore of dead batteries and the OS freezing. For the apps, it’s now the iPad. For major work, it’s still the laptop.
I’m not sure how definitive this could be without subjecting a Blackberry or Android(model?) to the same test. I am also not sure what features besides phone calls and the GPS locator still work. Conclusion. Not science!
So, if I drop my HTC Thunderbolt from 13k feet, and it can still receive calls, and make calls via a blueTooth device is it equal to a iPhone? I mean come on. It may have been able to receive a call, but since the screen was shattered, I fail to see how it could be even remotely usable outside of receiving a call or using the blueTooth. The article said nothing about being able to make calls outside of using another device as the interface. The war of who is better is silly on its face. They are essentially equal. I chose a non iPhone because I didn’t want to give money to apple.
I’m impressed, but had the screen survived and been usable, then I would really be impressed.
iPhone, like all things Apple, has been, remains, and will for the foreseeable future be, the choice of people who value form over function.
If you drop an iPhone in the woods and Helen Keller picks it up, will AT&T charge you double?
Umm… That’s hte hardware, not the OS. Doesn;’t really prove anything except that Apple’s OEM does a good job.
Sounds like the Incipio case should be getting the credit here, not Apple.
Let it be noted that this fellow was breaking the law by operating a cell phone while flying. . . . . . .
What’s an added bonus, the Apple will most likely replace his unit for free. I dropped my iphone4 on the sidewalk last week, shattering its glass face completely. I took it to the nearest store thinking I would have to pay to get it repaired (it’s out of warranty) and after quickly looking up my sales history and lack of warranty claims, the Genius guy said he’d happily replace it for free this time. I was impressed.
iPhone vs Android? This is a false comparison. iPhone is a single hardware/operating system product, whereas Android is an operating system that can run on many different phones. You can’t break Android, it is software!
When you get the test results from the Android phone being dropped from a plane, let me know.
Is it really the last word, though? Let’s drop an Android phone from 13,500 feet and see what happens. Then maybe we can end this debate that nobody really cares about.
But even after being broken in two, the IPhone still couldn’t run more than one app at a time. My android based phone can run multiple apps. And since I don’t sky dive, I’ll take using multiple applications over being able to survive a 13 thousand food plunge.
Form over function…. Hmm. That comment really doesn’t make much sense in this context, does it? For one, the article just talked about how the iPhone still functions after being dropped from a freaking plane. Two, every other smart phone just copies Apple’s phone and tablet designs, i.e. smart phone buyers are buying the iPhone’s looks if not the name. So where’s the line?
Apple haters will just have to find another way to put down Apple users, I guess.
(This comment typed on my uberfunctional and very sleek iPad 2.)
The real difference between iPhone and a Droid phone, is that if you dropped your Droid phone skydiving and it functioned after you picked it up, nobody would write an article crowing about it.
And Android is the phone of socialists everywhere that believe source code wants to be free, man.
Interestingly, one of the biggest cheerleaders for Android is Eric Raymond, a staunch opponent of socialism.
Or maybe just the phone of people who preferred Verizon’s service and therefore couldn’t use the iPhone (until recently).
A common, and stupid, misconception.
Or it could be Android users prefer having some say in what they use on their smart device beyond what Steve Jobs wants to allow you to use. Maybe an app that isn’t ultimately PC, or maybe a MP3 from some site other than iTunes.
Or maybe they don’t want their movements tracked and stored by a large corporation for use for something beyond the owner’s control. Not like Apple is thinking about your privacy/security or rights. Funny how that is.
Nice geeky comment from Chuck–the survivability of the iPhone is due to its hardware, not the software.
An entertaining story, nonetheless.
That said, I am struck (no pun intended) by how dangerous this could have been to people on the ground. Although it landed on top of a building, the iPhone could have landed on top of someone’s head–with grievous results. I hope skydivers have a personal code of safety like gun enthusiasts which goes all out to protect innocent bystanders.
Until the same test under the same conditions is applied to a Blackberry (what model?) or a phone with the Android operating system (again, what model?) this cannot be labeled a definitive test. Cute story, but nothing of actual substance. Conclusion? Not Science!
They’re just phones, people.
Before we get to the last word, seems we need to chuck some Android phones and Blackberries out of airplanes…
Fustian, it’s really the phone for techno corporatist-collectivists. Source code wants to be free, but your data wants to be harvested and turned into someone else’ revenue stream.
As far as the “form over function” argument: really? Oh, the hackneyed truisms of the programming world. The design of a tool changes the tool’s use. Back in the day, people used this argument to note that MS-DOS performed a lot of tasks better than Mac-OS. The environment got in the way of the processors. Problem was, that was only in the hands of technical users. If other people actually wanted to be productive, you eventually had to design around users.
Doubt it? Ok. Then show me your command-line smartphone. Go on. I want to see you enter c:\\system\apps\calendar\launch.exe. It’ll be super fast, I’m sure. Pure function.
Actually, it’s not. Command-line is still a form. It’s just one that has been superceded by other forms better able to perform certain functions.
I have a better idea. Let’s drop all of the Apple fanboys out of planes and see if they can still receive calls.
And then, there are the rest of us who are perfectly happy with a phone that just makes calls reliably, and relish our $29.99 monthly bills.
I’m dating myself here, but a cell phone is like an umbrella – better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah; ten miles through the snow each way to and from school every day, uphill both ways and we liked it, yackety shmak. Get off my lawn.
Well, if I plan on sky diving on a regular basis, and I need to bring my phone along cause I might miss an important Facebook notification while at 13,500 feet, I’ll look into seeing if Incipio makes a case for my android phone.
Now that Verizon sells iphones, that does take coverage and reception out of the decision equation. As I see it, iphones still lack in a number of ways. They don’t come out with hardware updates as fast as phones made by HTC, Motorola, Samsung, etc. iphone apps usually cost extra unlike android apps which are usually free. In fact I have had an android phone for a year now and have yet to pay money for an app. Really, the only advantage an iphone has over android is that pretentious snobs might think you are cool if you are seen using one.
It shouldn’t have to be this way, but some people feel an uncontrollable need to feel good about themselves; to value pride over humility. They are and always will be an affliction to the human race.
If Mythbusters tried to recreate this fall/recovery they would likely fail, and pronounce the myth “busted.” Yet it survived. Pretty cool.
Reading this story, however, I don’t see how Android has any part in it. Apple builds a glass box that shatters on impact, thus protecting the electronics that allow phone calls to be made.
Who uses their smart phone for mere conversation? I throw away hundreds of minutes every month. It’s all texting and apps now, as far as I can see. And I doubt this shattered iPhone could do either after the fall.
Just a note. People have survived multi-thousand foot falls too… not everyone, just a few.
My iPhone got ran over by a car once and the only damage were some minor scratches on the screen. The thing is tough!
If I dropped my HTC Thunderbolt from 13,500 feet, the battery would be dead before it hit the ground. I’d never find it.
I recently exchanged my 3 year old Blackberry Storm for an HTC Incredible 2 Droid phone and I absolutely love it. Much easier to use than my Blackberry, sooooooo much faster, sooooooo many free apps, a phenomenal 8mpx back camera and also a front camera for face to face conferencing, and no comparison on ease of use compared to my Blackberry, which I now look back on as really clunky. I’m on Verizon.
A friend who bought one of the first iphones and has traded up with each new release and I sat down and compared the two, feature by feature, and I’m sorry to say for him, my Incredibble 2 came out way ahead.
Eat you hearts out iphone users.
The entertainment is always a funny business.