1. dalton4L's Avatar
    iPhone plunges 13,500 ft from skydiver's pocket - and lives �€� reghardware

    Guys iPhone fell from 2+ miles high and still worked.
    Last edited by dalton4L; 07-19-11 at 04:45 PM.
    07-19-11 01:41 PM
  2. CGI's Avatar
    I read that article yesterday... amazing. The screen was shattered... but it worked.
    07-19-11 01:51 PM
  3. dalton4L's Avatar
    Yeah it was #1 trending on Yahoo like thirty minutes ago. It says the glass broke from his toddler knocking it off a bathroom counter, not from the fall.

    Or am I reading it wrong?
    07-19-11 01:56 PM
  4. soccernamlak's Avatar
    Yeah it was #1 trending on Yahoo like thirty minutes ago. It says the glass broke from his toddler knocking it off a bathroom counter, not from the fall.

    Or am I reading it wrong?
    I'd imagine it broke twice. A crack/chip from the bathroom counter fall; the destruction of all glass in the photo from the fall 13k feet up.
    07-19-11 02:07 PM
  5. Deathcommand's Avatar
    /start trolling.
    Only an iPhone user would put his phone in his pocket without zipping the pocket.
    /end

    But in all reality, it had a case on.
    That should be more expressed here.
    Last edited by Deathcommand; 07-20-11 at 02:16 AM.
    07-19-11 02:12 PM
  6. dalton4L's Avatar
    I'd imagine it broke twice. A crack/chip from the bathroom counter fall; the destruction of all glass in the photo from the fall 13k feet up.
    That's what I thought too, it just isn't very clear.
    07-19-11 02:22 PM
  7. chiefbroski's Avatar
    Any phone easily reaches terminal velocity in less than 5 seconds. It doesn't matter if its 500 ft or 13000ft. And in most cases the phone works fine even if the glass is shattered.

    Plus, I'd bet my Storm would survive better than an iphone during any fall. I've dropped that badboy from over 6 feet numerous times and just some scratches.

    People can hate all they want, but the Surepress screen absorbs shock from a fall much much better than a rigid piece of glass. And if you have ever seen a Storm, the screen moves around a bit. May seem like shotty workmanship, but that phone can take abuse!

    I've seen sooo many iphones with shattered screens. Not many Storms.

    And I still say Blackberry is more durable. I'd bet if I did the same with a soft case on the screen on my Storm would not shatter anywhere close to as bad.
    07-19-11 02:28 PM
  8. BoldtotheMax's Avatar
    Okay, now someone with a Berry go skydiving and forget to zip their pocket and let's compare the damage, lol!

    I am amazed someone went up there with their phone.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    07-19-11 03:55 PM
  9. Tom Slick's Avatar
    I am amazed someone went up there with their phone.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Yeah, was he expecting to take a call on the way down lol? I'm also amazed by how how many people drop their phone in the toilet. WTF?

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    07-19-11 04:05 PM
  10. ridesno159's Avatar
    iPhone plunges 13,500 ft from skydiver's pocket - and lives • reghardware

    Guys iPhone fell from 3+ miles high and still worked.
    13,500 ft = 3+ miles? Really? Maybe time to go back to math or science class, or just use Google more often...

    And yes, a BlackBerry would do much better in that sort of fall. Cool story though, laughed when I seen it last night...
    07-19-11 04:28 PM
  11. _StephenBB81's Avatar
    Okay, now someone with a Berry go skydiving and forget to zip their pocket and let's compare the damage, lol!

    I am amazed someone went up there with their phone.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    8330 in an otterbox feel about 1000m down a mine shaft, no damage to the phone what so ever except battery was dead when it was recovered many hours later.

    Otterbox was modified to have a plexiglass screen protector though.

    That was a great phone...

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    07-19-11 04:42 PM
  12. dalton4L's Avatar
    13,500 ft = 3+ miles? Really? Maybe time to go back to math or science class, or just use Google more often...

    And yes, a BlackBerry would do much better in that sort of fall. Cool story though, laughed when I seen it last night...
    Nah, I meant to put two, my bad. Thanks for pointing that out though.

    Also, it would be "laughed when I saw it last night." You have my back, I have yours.
    Last edited by dalton4L; 07-19-11 at 04:49 PM.
    07-19-11 04:45 PM
  13. Rootbrian's Avatar
    The phone's enclosure is glued together, which explains how durable it is. Not all phones are made the same way. Interesting.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    07-19-11 07:48 PM
  14. BBThemes's Avatar
    i love how they leave it right to the end to point out it was in a case lol
    07-19-11 08:07 PM
  15. jytvyj's Avatar
    Any phone easily reaches terminal velocity in less than 5 seconds. It doesn't matter if its 500 ft or 13000ft. And in most cases the phone works fine even if the glass is shattered.

    Plus, I'd bet my Storm would survive better than an iphone during any fall. I've dropped that badboy from over 6 feet numerous times and just some scratches.

    People can hate all they want, but the Surepress screen absorbs shock from a fall much much better than a rigid piece of glass. And if you have ever seen a Storm, the screen moves around a bit. May seem like shotty workmanship, but that phone can take abuse!

    I've seen sooo many iphones with shattered screens. Not many Storms.

    And I still say Blackberry is more durable. I'd bet if I did the same with a soft case on the screen on my Storm would not shatter anywhere close to as bad.

    Thank you for stating this! I wanted to state this... .5mv^2=mgh doesn't apply here.

    And that it was in a case.

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9700 using Tapatalk
    07-19-11 09:16 PM
  16. chuckh0308's Avatar
    BB's stop bullets, so...



    In all seriousness, I think most phones would survive that kind of drop; at least enough so that they can still function. In fact, I would venture to say that many would do better physically, though you may have to go on an additional search for the battery and cover.
    07-20-11 12:09 AM
  17. soccernamlak's Avatar
    Any phone easily reaches terminal velocity in less than 5 seconds. It doesn't matter if its 500 ft or 13000ft. And in most cases the phone works fine even if the glass is shattered.

    Plus, I'd bet my Storm would survive better than an iphone during any fall. I've dropped that badboy from over 6 feet numerous times and just some scratches.
    Well 6 feet is a lot different than 500 feet or 13,500 feet


    For fun or people's general information if they are curious....

    If I ran my calculations correctly, assuming:

    - Weight of iPhone 4 is 137 grams
    - Drag Coefficient is about .6. Without experimentation, there's be no way to actually know this, but assuming the iPhone 4 is tumbling randomly, it would be between somewhere from worst case (1.28 or so) to a flat plate parallel to the air flow (.01).
    - Cross sectional area is .006785 square meters
    - Dropped from 13,500 feet

    Terminal Velocity of 28.3464 m/s = 63.4 miles per hour when it hit the ground.

    Of course, I'm ignoring the slight change in air density as the iPhone came closer to Earth and the fact that the drag coefficient is constantly variable assuming a tumbling iPhone, but it's quick none-the-less.

    As further fun facts, it would take a bit over 3 seconds to reach this speed. In fact, the quickest the iPhone 4 could reach this terminal velocity is 2.889 seconds (if we assume the acceleration of the iPhone is 9.81 m/s^2, which is isn't, because this is in pure free fall without drag).

    (In all honesty it depends on the acceleration of gravity based on this terminal velocity. It would take 4.586 seconds assuming an acceleration of 6.18 m/s^2, which is assuming the iPhone is a particle and the viscosity is 1.78e-5 kg/m*second at 15 degrees Celsius. Again, the viscosity and density of air will change as the iPhone drops meaning that the iPhone's acceleration due to gravity will change, which in combination with drag force, means the terminal velocity of the iPhone will change as well as it falls to the Earth. Main point being here is the phone was moving pretty quickly; however, it would take in a perfect world 41 meters to reach terminal velocity (assuming initial velocity of 0, acceleration due to gravity perfect at 9.81 m/s^2, time of 2.889 seconds to reach terminal velocity, and no drag force). Real world, of course, would take a further distance, 65 meters or so.)

    (Finally, another fun fact: depending on how the skydiver was oriented falling to the Earth, the skydiver would probably hit the ground first were it not for parachutes; terminal velocity for humans can be up to 120mph, which means you'd see your iPhone "falling upwards" as you fell to Earth.)


    Equations for those curious: NASA
    Last edited by soccernamlak; 07-20-11 at 12:20 AM. Reason: Links
    07-20-11 12:18 AM
  18. mobibiz's Avatar
    Hi friends, well I'd say only an Iphone user would be so careless as to drop the device from such an height, maybe he was too frustrated with it and threw it away! We Blackberry users are smarter and we don't subject our devices to such foolish accidents. Still, our devices perform much better and are quite tough for us.
    07-20-11 12:24 AM
  19. ekafara's Avatar
    Well 6 feet is a lot different than 500 feet or 13,500 feet


    For fun or people's general information if they are curious....

    If I ran my calculations correctly, assuming:

    - Weight of iPhone 4 is 137 grams
    - Drag Coefficient is about .6. Without experimentation, there's be no way to actually know this, but assuming the iPhone 4 is tumbling randomly, it would be between somewhere from worst case (1.28 or so) to a flat plate parallel to the air flow (.01).
    - Cross sectional area is .006785 square meters
    - Dropped from 13,500 feet

    Terminal Velocity of 28.3464 m/s = 63.4 miles per hour when it hit the ground.

    Of course, I'm ignoring the slight change in air density as the iPhone came closer to Earth and the fact that the drag coefficient is constantly variable assuming a tumbling iPhone, but it's quick none-the-less.

    As further fun facts, it would take a bit over 3 seconds to reach this speed. In fact, the quickest the iPhone 4 could reach this terminal velocity is 2.889 seconds (if we assume the acceleration of the iPhone is 9.81 m/s^2, which is isn't, because this is in pure free fall without drag).

    (In all honesty it depends on the acceleration of gravity based on this terminal velocity. It would take 4.586 seconds assuming an acceleration of 6.18 m/s^2, which is assuming the iPhone is a particle and the viscosity is 1.78e-5 kg/m*second at 15 degrees Celsius. Again, the viscosity and density of air will change as the iPhone drops meaning that the iPhone's acceleration due to gravity will change, which in combination with drag force, means the terminal velocity of the iPhone will change as well as it falls to the Earth. Main point being here is the phone was moving pretty quickly; however, it would take in a perfect world 41 meters to reach terminal velocity (assuming initial velocity of 0, acceleration due to gravity perfect at 9.81 m/s^2, time of 2.889 seconds to reach terminal velocity, and no drag force). Real world, of course, would take a further distance, 65 meters or so.)

    (Finally, another fun fact: depending on how the skydiver was oriented falling to the Earth, the skydiver would probably hit the ground first were it not for parachutes; terminal velocity for humans can be up to 120mph, which means you'd see your iPhone "falling upwards" as you fell to Earth.)


    Equations for those curious: NASA
    I miss physics from high school : (

    It was the most interesting class there. Thanks for the write up.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    M.Rizk likes this.
    07-20-11 01:59 AM
  20. belfastdispatcher's Avatar
    How come nobody is giving credit to the incipio case it had on? this would be good advertising for them.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    07-20-11 02:26 AM
  21. lax42's Avatar
    Thats tight, but the glass shatter from like 4 ft falls man it's annoying
    07-20-11 05:50 AM
  22. soccernamlak's Avatar
    I miss physics from high school : (

    It was the most interesting class there. Thanks for the write up.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    You're very welcome! I miss it as well, although I did have the luxury for further study at the university level. Once you start delving into the quantum realm, it becomes increasingly fascinating, but increasingly difficult (in my opinion).

    How come nobody is giving credit to the incipio case it had on? this would be good advertising for them.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    I thought about this. On the one hand they could argue that their case helped soften the blow to the phone; hence it still working after flying through 13000 feet of air. On the opposite end, a few things pop up in my head that would make them pause before jumping on the bandwagon:

    1. How much did the case help? You can't be sure really unless you dropped two iPhones (one with case and one without) from that sort of height and compared the damage. Although if you take the advertising approach, you could say it helped, but never specify the amount, so long as you don't guarantee the phone working.

    2. More importantly (in my opinion) is the fact of a tagline. "Yes, you can drop your phone from 13,000 feet, the screen will crack like heavy veins and you'll need to replace the screen / phone anyways and you won't be able to really see or use the phone, but it still works!" I guess it depends on whether having a working phone after that (barely usable) is considered victorious over it not working at all, although I think the best solution is not to get into that predicament in the first place



    I could see the use of a working phone after that drop being to get the data off (if a backup hadn't been done in a while) or perhaps use it (depending on the screen condition), but based on how frequently I back up my data, I'd personally would have considered it a loss as soon as I saw the phone floating away from my pockets
    07-20-11 05:52 AM
  23. homer1475's Avatar
    It may have still been operational, but from the looks of the picture it is in no way useable. So its still a steaming pile of poo that has to be replaced. No idea why anyone would tout this as the toughness of an iphone. I'm sure most 1 piece phones would fair just as well if not better.
    07-20-11 06:37 AM
  24. kbz1960's Avatar
    Works but so useful with a shattered screen.
    07-20-11 06:43 AM
  25. belfastdispatcher's Avatar
    It may have still been operational, but from the looks of the picture it is in no way useable. So its still a steaming pile of poo that has to be replaced. No idea why anyone would tout this as the toughness of an iphone. I'm sure most 1 piece phones would fair just as well if not better.
    Sure, it rings, but can you answer?

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    07-20-11 06:59 AM
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