Is the iPhone one of the most physically hardy phones?

[fuzzybabybunny]

First I had a HTC Sprint Mogul. A couple small drops and it's toast. Then I get an HTC Touch Pro. A recent 2 foot drop onto concrete because it slid out of my shirt pocket has broken it badly.

I have a friend who's got an iPhone. He's dropped it tons of times onto concrete and has numerous cracks to prove it. Still runs like a champ.

Are there any other Sprint compatible phones out there that are as hardy as the iPhone? I gotta say, after having used cheaply constructed HTC phones with the shitty WM OS, I'm ready to move to the iPhone as soon as it's offered in CDMA and I can use SERO with it.

 

[bonkers325]

try the pre?

 

[gorcorps]

I've dropped mine a decent amount and nothing bad has happened as of yet. I have a couple friends that had 1st gen iphones that dropped them, and cracked the screen but it still worked perfectly fine other than the crack you could see.

Get an iphone + screen protector + http://www.switcheasy.com/products/Rebel/Rebel.php and it's indestructible

 

[zerocool84]

It's my conclusion that any sliding phones will be easier to break than non-sliders.

 

[pm]

One time while running really late for an airplane, I was running full speed through Denver Airport and my iPhone fell out of the jacket pocket that I had over my shoulder, launched through the air, flew in an arc literally 5 or more feet off the ground, landed on the tile floor of the airport and slid on it's face 20 or more feet across the floor. I picked it up and there wasn't a scratch or anything else wrong with it (the metal on the edge was very slightly scruffed). Another time I had it balanced on the top rim of the shower playing music and when I got out of the shower I opened the door and my iPhone fell from the top of the shower to the ground, landed on the tile floor and again there was no marks (although the headphone jack wasn't totally round after that and it was a little more snug plugging and unplugging headphones... but aside from that, nothing). Both times it was out of it's case.

The iPhone seems like a particularly tough phone - although I saw someone drop theirs in a restaurant about 4 feet off a table onto a stone floor and he cracked the screen.

As zerocool said, any phone that slides open should always be more fragile than one that is just a single unit. But the material build quality on the iPhone seems particularly strong.

 

[shortylickens]

There are quite a few reports on Daily Tech that say the things have an overheating problem. But apparently thats only on the 3G S models.

 

[pm]

I bought an iPhone 3G S yesterday and I can confirm that it runs very hot. I was using Google Maps, playing music and using 3G data and it got hot enough that I started to really worry about the device. Turning off 3G solved the problem (switched to EDGE).

 

[erwos]

Comparing a phone with a total of one physical button to a phone that has like 50+ physical buttons is a bit unfair. Way more stuff to break.

That said, my HTC Apache, which the grandfather of the TP so to speak, has survived a fair few drops. Ditto for the wife's Mogul. You might just be getting unlucky.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: erwos
Comparing a phone with a total of one physical button to a phone that has like 50+ physical buttons is a bit unfair. Way more stuff to break.

That said, my HTC Apache, which the grandfather of the TP so to speak, has survived a fair few drops. Ditto for the wife's Mogul. You might just be getting unlucky.

I guess, but the iPhone has that nice, big screen that's almost just asking to be scratched/cracked/broken. Haha, I also remember those old Texas Instruments TI-83 graphing calculators I used to use in high school. Tons of buttons and people would drop them a shit load, and they always came out fine.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: pm
I bought an iPhone 3G S yesterday and I can confirm that it runs very hot. I was using Google Maps, playing music and using 3G data and it got hot enough that I started to really worry about the device. Turning off 3G solved the problem (switched to EDGE).

Do you know if it stopped charging while hot? My Touch Pro gets hot with the GPS software on, and once it gets above a certain temp it stops charging. So yes, I have been on the phone with it plugged in and it has ran out of power...

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
There are quite a few reports on Daily Tech that say the things have an overheating problem. But apparently thats only on the 3G S models.

From what I've read it's not a hardware issue, and OS 3.1 beta has already been passed around to developers that supposedly fixes this problem as well as a couple other small things.

I thought it was only an overheating problem with charging though. I didn't know it was overheating from general use like pm experienced.

 

[pm]

Mine was during general use - I wasn't charging it at the time. I was talking to someone else here at work who said the same thing with theirs. It gets hot while it's charging too.
Overall it's a much hotter phone than any I have ever owned - including my 1st gen iPhone.

http://www.informationweek.com...ml?articleID=218400230

Users have said through various blogs and forums that the overheating tends to occur while using applications that tap the iPhone's GPS and 3G wireless components. Apple has not acknowledged a heat-related problem with its popular smartphone, but the company has posted some advice on preventing iPhones from running too hot.

That was my experience too - using it in the car, not charging, while using 3G and the GPS and Google Maps. Although it seems to get really hot playing some games too - like Peggle. I turned off 3G and used EDGE for data and held the phone over the AC vent for a minute or two and it was fine after that.

 

[boomhower]

In reference to the original question my Diamond has taken a beating and kept on ticking without any issues, heck it is even a refurb. HTC's sliders do seem to be much more fragile.

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
I gotta say, after having used cheaply constructed HTC phones with the shitty WM OS, I'm ready to move to the iPhone as soon as it's offered in CDMA and I can use SERO with it.

That is just never ever ever going to happen for a couple reasons. First whenever AT&T loses the iphone it will go to Verizon. Second, if my some incredibly strange series of events Sprint got the iphone you would not be able to get it on SERO. SERO is dying, plain and simple. They will slowly but surely limit what phones you can get on it until it becomes pointless unless you want a dead simple dumb phone.

I am also sick and tired of WM which is why I am switching to BB next week and getting the Tour.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: erwos
Comparing a phone with a total of one physical button to a phone that has like 50+ physical buttons is a bit unfair. Way more stuff to break.

That said, my HTC Apache, which the grandfather of the TP so to speak, has survived a fair few drops. Ditto for the wife's Mogul. You might just be getting unlucky.

I guess, but the iPhone has that nice, big screen that's almost just asking to be scratched/cracked/broken. Haha, I also remember those old Texas Instruments TI-83 graphing calculators I used to use in high school. Tons of buttons and people would drop them a shit load, and they always came out fine.

Just get a case.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: boomhower
In reference to the original question my Diamond has taken a beating and kept on ticking without any issues, heck it is even a refurb. HTC's sliders do seem to be much more fragile.

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
I gotta say, after having used cheaply constructed HTC phones with the shitty WM OS, I'm ready to move to the iPhone as soon as it's offered in CDMA and I can use SERO with it.

That is just never ever ever going to happen for a couple reasons. First whenever AT&T loses the iphone it will go to Verizon. Second, if my some incredibly strange series of events Sprint got the iphone you would not be able to get it on SERO. SERO is dying, plain and simple. They will slowly but surely limit what phones you can get on it until it becomes pointless unless you want a dead simple dumb phone.

I am also sick and tired of WM which is why I am switching to BB next week and getting the Tour.

If the iPhone moves to CDMA for Verizon couldn't I just unlock it and use it on SERO?

 

[pm]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

If the iPhone moves to CDMA for Verizon couldn't I just unlock it and use it on SERO?

I would doubt it. Although everything is possible, and Verizon is a big player, I doubt there will be a CDMA iPhone.

First the general rumor on the internet is that the iPhone AT&T exclusivity agreement will end in roughly June of 2010. http://www.engadget.com/2008/0...vity-extended-to-2010/

Second, in their Q2 2009 investor conference call Verizon stated that they will roll out LTE (the next-gen network for Verizon which is compatible with the next-gen network from AT&T, T-Mobile and most of the rest of the world) in late 2009 with a nationwide roll-out in mid-2010.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2347071,00.asp
For more on LTE read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution

I would think that the intersect with Verizon and LTE and the iPhone will occur next year with an LTE iPhone compatible with Verizon's new network. Which will still be incompatible with Sprint's CDMA/WiMax network... The advantage over an LTE iPhone is that it will again show that the iPhone is on the leading edge of network bandwidth improvements - ok, with the exception of the 1st gen one anyway - and it will be compatible with most of the world's networks. LTE roll-out in the EU and Asia should be well under way by next summer - since in both continents there are already limited roll-outs in place.



I need to bookmark this post so that I can say "see, I called this last year" when it happens next summer.

 

[Synomenon]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: erwos
Comparing a phone with a total of one physical button to a phone that has like 50+ physical buttons is a bit unfair. Way more stuff to break.

That said, my HTC Apache, which the grandfather of the TP so to speak, has survived a fair few drops. Ditto for the wife's Mogul. You might just be getting unlucky.

I guess, but the iPhone has that nice, big screen that's almost just asking to be scratched/cracked/broken. Haha, I also remember those old Texas Instruments TI-83 graphing calculators I used to use in high school. Tons of buttons and people would drop them a shit load, and they always came out fine.

Yes, the phones you are comparing the iPhone to have many more buttons / mechanical parts. Plus the iPhone has a glass screen while these other phones don't.

I like WM. I always feel frustrated when I have to use someone's iPhone. Just feels too restricted.

Also, if Verizon got the iPhone good luck trying to get someone at Sprint to add that iPhone's ESN # to Sprint's database.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: pm

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

If the iPhone moves to CDMA for Verizon couldn't I just unlock it and use it on SERO?

I would doubt it. Although everything is possible, and Verizon is a big player, I doubt there will be a CDMA iPhone.

First the general rumor on the internet is that the iPhone AT&T exclusivity agreement will end in roughly June of 2010. http://www.engadget.com/2008/0...vity-extended-to-2010/

Second, in their Q2 2009 investor conference call Verizon stated that they will roll out LTE (the next-gen network for Verizon which is compatible with the next-gen network from AT&T, T-Mobile and most of the rest of the world) in late 2009 with a nationwide roll-out in mid-2010.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2347071,00.asp
For more on LTE read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution

I would think that the intersect with Verizon and LTE and the iPhone will occur next year with an LTE iPhone compatible with Verizon's new network. Which will still be incompatible with Sprint's CDMA/WiMax network... The advantage over an LTE iPhone is that it will again show that the iPhone is on the leading edge of network bandwidth improvements - ok, with the exception of the 1st gen one anyway - and it will be compatible with most of the world's networks. LTE roll-out in the EU and Asia should be well under way by next summer - since in both continents there are already limited roll-outs in place.



I need to bookmark this post so that I can say "see, I called this last year" when it happens next summer.

Ahhhhh.... I see. Well, if it pans out in this way it may be the end of SERO for me. Which is way too bad considering I still think it's the best valued plan ever.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: IsLNdbOi

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: erwos
Comparing a phone with a total of one physical button to a phone that has like 50+ physical buttons is a bit unfair. Way more stuff to break.

That said, my HTC Apache, which the grandfather of the TP so to speak, has survived a fair few drops. Ditto for the wife's Mogul. You might just be getting unlucky.

I guess, but the iPhone has that nice, big screen that's almost just asking to be scratched/cracked/broken. Haha, I also remember those old Texas Instruments TI-83 graphing calculators I used to use in high school. Tons of buttons and people would drop them a shit load, and they always came out fine.

Yes, the phones you are comparing the iPhone to have many more buttons / mechanical parts. Plus the iPhone has a glass screen while these other phones don't.

I like WM. I always feel frustrated when I have to use someone's iPhone. Just feels too restricted.

Also, if Verizon got the iPhone good luck trying to get someone at Sprint to add that iPhone's ESN # to Sprint's database.

I never knew that Sprint would actually deny the addition of an ESN number. They could tell from the ESN that it's an iPhone and tell me to screw off?

BTW, are people actually using unlocked iPhones with non-AT&T GSM carriers?

I admit that I will miss WM to a certain extent. All the crazy little tweaks and programs you can add onto it make it very functional, but the phones themselves suck and the core OS sucks compared to iPhone. I'm in love with the large screen of the iPhone which makes things like ebooks and GPS and video all the more awesome. My Touch Pro already has a pretty big and high res screen in the WM world, but it is only about HALF the surface area of the iPhone (actually, the iPhone's screen is about the surface area of the entire front FACE of my phone...)

 

[Synomenon]

The TP2 will have a larger screen. Most of the front of the device will be taken up by the screen. The custom ROMs that some of the chefs are churning out (like MightyMike from PPCGeeks) are great.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: pm

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

If the iPhone moves to CDMA for Verizon couldn't I just unlock it and use it on SERO?

I would doubt it. Although everything is possible, and Verizon is a big player, I doubt there will be a CDMA iPhone.

First the general rumor on the internet is that the iPhone AT&T exclusivity agreement will end in roughly June of 2010. http://www.engadget.com/2008/0...vity-extended-to-2010/

Second, in their Q2 2009 investor conference call Verizon stated that they will roll out LTE (the next-gen network for Verizon which is compatible with the next-gen network from AT&T, T-Mobile and most of the rest of the world) in late 2009 with a nationwide roll-out in mid-2010.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2347071,00.asp
For more on LTE read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution

I would think that the intersect with Verizon and LTE and the iPhone will occur next year with an LTE iPhone compatible with Verizon's new network. Which will still be incompatible with Sprint's CDMA/WiMax network... The advantage over an LTE iPhone is that it will again show that the iPhone is on the leading edge of network bandwidth improvements - ok, with the exception of the 1st gen one anyway - and it will be compatible with most of the world's networks. LTE roll-out in the EU and Asia should be well under way by next summer - since in both continents there are already limited roll-outs in place.



I need to bookmark this post so that I can say "see, I called this last year" when it happens next summer.

I'm calling it this way: You'll see an LTE BlackBerry first.