question Mobile Phones

[LiamC]

Based upon reading this thread (and quite a number of others) I went out and got a HTC Incredible S. My previous two Samsung phones gave less than stellar service This is my first smart phone so we'll see how it goes. I love the ease of use. And tethering. And being able to seen the screen in daylight. But I worry about dropping it... "my precious" OK, now I carried that a bit too far...

 

[LunarMist]

Don't they they have a rubberized slipcover/case or something for impact protection?

 

[LiamC]

It does, but I am unwilling to perform a crash test

 

[ddrueding]

These guys make the best protective cases I've seen so far.

Not cheap, though.

 

[LiamC]

Actually, that looks pretty damned impressive & useful. Thanks for the link.

 

[ddrueding]

Glad to help. I don't use them myself; I can't stand the extra bulk and haven't actually broken one yet. However, it did keep a Droid alive after being stepped on by a horse.

 

[Howell]

It does, but I am unwilling to perform a crash test

Willingness aside, let us know how it performs when it happens.


I did not use any cover for my 3GSs and te case got a bit beat up and I eventually cracked the glass. The back of the iP4 case is glass so I couldn't chance it. That and the antenna problem practically requires a case.

 

[Howell]

These guys make the best protective cases I've seen so far.

Not cheap, though.

Otterbox are tough indeed but bulky.

This is the Incredible version of the case I got for myself.

 

[LunarMist]

How far of a fall would produce 3Gs with that protector?

 

[Stereodude]

How far of a fall would produce 3Gs with that protector?

On which component are we measuring the g's?

 

[LunarMist]

I'm not but it seems that a 3Gs is low.

 

[Howell]

I'm not but it seems that a 3Gs is low.

Is low for what? Are you not familiar with the version of the iPhone immediately precending the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS?

 

[time]

A phone dropped from about 3ft (900mm) will be traveling at up to 4 meters per second by the time it hits the ground. On a hard surface, I'd guess it would be ceasing downward motion within 20mS (1/50 second, maybe much less, I'm just guessing). That's 200Gs.

To experience 3Gs, you'd have to drop it from a height of 0.2mm. This is why 4Gs is so much better, you can drop it nearly 1/100 inch before the case cracks.

 

[LunarMist]

Is low for what? Are you not familiar with the version of the iPhone immediately precending the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS?

The amount of force from falling and hitting the base object. Is that the level of wireless? I may be confusing the units.

 

[LiamC]

Otterbox are tough indeed but bulky.

This is the Incredible version of the case I got for myself.

Thanks for that alternative Howell

 

[Mercutio]

I bought a Galaxy tablet last week. I'm going to give it out as a gift, but from the little bit of playing around with it, I think it's a little bit heavier than I would like and I don't think the battery lasts all that long (maybe eight hours, rather than the claimed 12). As a general purpose media access device, it's not bad at all. I used it to listen to music, as a web browser and an ebook reader and it was certainly fine for all those tasks.

 

[Chewy509]

My 3yr old son has become quite technology adapt recently, and has an old Nokia 6310i mobile phone for play. He let me know that the battery was flat and it should be charged, as it wasn't making the same kinds of noises that our other mobiles or home phone does.

So I dug out an old Nokia charger for it, plugged it in, and it charged fine. It even powered up fine, and inserting a SIM card was able to initiate a call! (The SIM was removed befor he was allowed it back).

This phone has been a toy for him for the last 2 years, so has been dropped, thrown, drowled on, dog has chewed and numerous liquids split on, and yet this 8 yr old phone still works fine.

In finding a Nokia charger, I also came across an old Nokia 3120 mobile (6yr old), charged it up, inserted a SIM, and it worked fine as well! This Nokia 3120 has beaten around quite severally over it's life, and was replaced with a SE K800i about 4yr ago. The 3120 also had all the information in it's internal storage present as well! (Contacts, call logs, backgrounds, all still present). This phone hasn't been charged or power applied for at least 3.5 yrs.

So why the f*(&^(*&(*&k can't these phone manufacturers make stuff that would last like this today?

 

[Mercutio]

I'm quite certain that every mobile phone I've ever owned will still turn on. Some of them don't work any more because the networks they used are no longer in use, but I've never broken a phone. I'd say mobile phones are generally quite durable and reliable, now that I think about it.

 

[time]

I'd say mobile phones are generally quite durable and reliable, now that I think about it.

You're excluding iPhones, obviously.

 

[timwhit]

You're excluding iPhones, obviously.

I would guess most smartphones are less durable than feature phones. Though I think the Blackberry Curve I had was built pretty well, I only used it for a year though.

 

[time]

I think the key-less touchscreen phones might actually be more durable. The lack of keys and buttons also means a lot less places for water to penetrate.

I can't recall having a phone that failed completely, or at least, without something else going wrong first. We've lost phones to faulty keys/buttons/joysticks, faulty microphone/speakers, and intermittent reception problems. The one that got dropped in a toilet exhibited a combination of those symptoms. And of course, obsolescence.

We've had several phones each from Motorola, Nokia and Sony/Ericsson; as well as a few from Samsung, Siemens, Alcatel, Blackberry and Garmin-Asus. Some seemed to get dropped an awful lot more than others; I now think that the slipperiness of the back has a lot to do with that, so I'll always be looking for a non-slip back in future.

The only phone that ever developed a crack was a Nokia 5110. I left it on top of my station wagon and drove off. It fell off when I went around a curve at about 50km/hr and it was then run over by a truck. I had to stop traffic to retrieve it.

The case was split, but ironically, the display problems that plagued this model had disappeared. The phone was completely usable and we eventually retired it simply because newer phones were nicer. Has to be one of the toughest consumer phones ever made, reminded me strongly of the legendary HP calculators that could withstand drops onto concrete from great heights.

 

[ddrueding]

Yup, the 5110 was a tank. I had users trying to break them so they could get upgrades without luck.

If a phone you want has a slick back, take a look at the aftermarket. Many have textured battery covers available.

 

[Mercutio]

You're excluding iPhones, obviously.

I am? The only broken smartphones I hear about with anything like regularity are Blackberries. My working theory about that is that people are breaking them in order to get sexier phones.

 

[timwhit]

I have seen a lot of smartphones with cracked screens.

 

[Handruin]

You're excluding iPhones, obviously.

Are you suggesting they are less durable?

I am? The only broken smartphones I hear about with anything like regularity are Blackberries. My working theory about that is that people are breaking them in order to get sexier phones.

My girlfriend has been through 3 blackberries in less time than I've had a single iPhone that hasn't broken yet. My last Samsung broken while I was hiking. I'm not exactly sure how, but somehow while in my pocket, it broke. Every other phone has survived.

 

[Sol]

I'm kind of surprised by the (unintentional) blackberry damage. The ones I've seen appear to be built like bricks. (They certainly perform like bricks, albeit with a less intuitive user interface.)

 

[timwhit]

I'm kind of surprised by the (unintentional) blackberry damage. The ones I've seen appear to be built like bricks. (They certainly perform like bricks, albeit with a less intuitive user interface.)

My experience is the same as yours.

 

[Handruin]

She could be rough on her phones. I remember one no longer turned on, another no longer charged, but the last one wasn't clear to me. This is her work phone, so it's possible she doesn't use the same regard as with a personal phone.

 

[time]

Are you suggesting they are less durable?

Of course; it's common knowledge, supported by service statistics.

I mean more particularly the iPhone 4, BTW.

 

[Chewy509]

Of course; it's common knowledge, supported by service statistics.

I mean more particularly the iPhone 4, BTW.

If the iPhone is that bad, why are people still buying them? (Except for the general case, that people want bling and not function).

Mind you the local mobile repair kiosk at the local mall does a very steady stream of trade fixing cracked screens, particularly for anything i-something. Have seen a few nokia and HTC screens in their window, but the majority seem to be iPhone screens.

 

[Sol]

Beyond the back being glass and hence behaving like it's made of glass I don't think the iPhone4 has been substantially more breakable than any most other smart phones.

I would definitely contest that it's lack of durability is common knowledge and I'd be pretty surprised if there was strong statistical evidence which I'd never seen as well.

On the other hand, I've long since stopped being surprised by the bone-headed reasons that people have for buying phones and iDevices, and if the iPhone4 was well known as being horribly fragile I would be completely unsurprised if people kept buying them by the truckload anyway. There have been some very good reasons not to buy an iPhone4 over the life of the device and none of those appear to have made a great deal of difference to its popularity.

 

[Stereodude]

If the iPhone is that bad, why are people still buying them?

Because iProducts are fashion accessories, not things people buy because they're the best choice on the market.

 

[LunarMist]

iphone is very nice for some purposes.

 

[mubs]

Many of the newer phones have "gorilla" glass which they claim is unbreakable. You certainly don't want to find out, but I guess it is much, much tougher than the standard stuff. I remember reading a news report about the gorilla glass made by Corning; it was invented several decades ago, but at that time they couldn't find an application for it. Corning dug into their archives for new product ideas and found the formula and commercialized it recently.

 

[ddrueding]

The Motorola/Nextel i1 is supposed to have that, and it couldn't survive hitting the road at ~35mph.

 

[mubs]

How many things could, DD?

 

[LunarMist]

Glass is not necessarily the main problem at such high speeds. At some point you would be carrying a large and heavy phone in an enclosure which is not very convenient.

 

[ddrueding]

Not saying it should have, just that it didn't. We were talking about toughened glass, and I set an upper bound

 

[LunarMist]

There are other strong glasses, too, but the advantage of that one seems to be the low thickness.

 

[MaxBurn]

My blackberrys have actually been pretty good in the durability department for past phones. My current one is a bold 9650 and I worry about it because you can squeeze the sides and watch the screen distort. We are all issued otter cases but I don't like that it turns the phone into a massive rubber brick. I have a normal leather/fabric belt slip pouch that protects it fine. Of course I don't carry that phone much, it is of no use to me unless I am on call with the company.

I do worry about the iphone 4 a bit with glass front and back, I have a sidio active x which is a much thinner version of an otter but still rubber/plastic. Dropped the phone a couple times on linoleum with that and it protected perfectly. Still feel it is too big with that though and generally I use the apple bumper around the house and only change to the big case when traveling.