Smashed iPhone "not so cool looking"

What happens when a shiny new iPhone meets the edge of a table? You guessed it -- that nasty piece of business up above. Fans, we know it looks painful, and haters, we know you're loving it, but we should all have a little sympathy for the unlucky guy who made this mess completely by accident when he tried to answer his phone while it was still plugged in, causing the short cable to whip Apple's glass-screened device right out of his hands. Don't fret too much though, because the kind folks at Apple apparently replaced the smashed phone for free, and as far as we know, the gentleman learned several valuable lessons.

[Via Akihabaranews]

[Sushi @ Jul 2nd 2007 6:52PM]

free replacement, how lucky!

[brendan Sheehan jnr @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:51PM]

I find it strange how a table (probably made of wood?) could do that, when PC world couldn't get the sidewalk to do it: http://www.pcworld.com/video/id,545-page,1-bid,0/video.html Ah well, at least he got it fixed.

PS, if you live through the ad at the start of this video you deserve a medal. I fucking hate this ad in particular, nearly as bad as that Windows Mobile dickhole tied to a lamppost. I'm not usually a violent guy, I'm mostly quiet, but I'd punch both these guys if I ever met them in person.

[blot @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:08PM]

Not strange at all. The sidewalk is a flat surface and if the iPhone were to fall flat on the sidewalk, the force would be distribute over the surface area of the face of the phone. The iPhone landing on it's corner would, most likely, cause the most damage because the force wouldn't be spread over a large area.

They said this hit the edge of a table, but it looks more like it hit right on the corner. The force from the iPhone smashing into it would be focused at the point the corner came in contact with it, much more than the force of dropping it onto a flat surface.

[TVGenius @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:26PM]

Hey, they actually show a time other than 9:42?

[bw @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:49PM]

blot is right, pressure = force/area, so landing on the sidewalk (while also having the frame of the iphone taking nearly all the load) shouldn't break the screen. Poor iphone, but lucky it's not lindsay lohans iphone.

[MrGam3r @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:54PM]

The guy probably just smashed it on pupose cuz he got a fingerprint on the screen. Look at the top left of the screen. lol

[MrGam3r @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:54PM]

The guy probably just smashed it on pupose cuz he got a fingerprint on the screen. Look at the top left of the screen. lol

[MrGam3r @ Jul 2nd 2007 9:02PM]

stressing the point lol :) (well not really - im just a klutz...who knows - i might accidentally add this twice too.)

[ryanworrell @ Jul 3rd 2007 12:10AM]

This is the second case like this. there was an article on Gizmodo where a chick dropped her's form 2 ft up right after buying it and cracked glass. Apple replaced her's free too. And on note of PC World, guess they were wrong, I am sure he was being easy with it dropping it on that cement too. I dunno, wtf, w/e iPhone is still FTL

[Alex @ Jul 2nd 2007 6:53PM]

Apple may have replaced one screen, but how much are they going to charge once this sort of thing becomes more commonplace? Glass is tough, but one good sharp edged contact and you'll see more of this in the future.

[nikster @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:51PM]

erm, i don't think any kind of plastic screen would have fared any better here - you'd need a lot of force to break the screen like this. a plastic screen would not shatter as easily but it would end up with a big hole in it nonetheless.

yes i have destroyed a plastic screen before ;)

there are materials that would maybe be stronger than this glass - lexan or some other really tough plastic. but that's not what they make phone screens out of.

[Shaun @ Jul 2nd 2007 6:54PM]

omg why you do that? :l

[tekdroid @ Jul 2nd 2007 6:56PM]

a replacement for free? That is brilliant service to the early-adopter crowd, no matter if you love or hate Apple and their products.

They didn't have to do that at all. Satisfying the spendy crowd is probably worth it for Apple, though. Win/win.

[Kax02 @ Jul 2nd 2007 10:44PM]

I doubt it was service to the early adopter crowd, when you have a new product on the market you're doing everything to generate good press no matter what your cost is going to be. If it means taking it on the chin for some defective units and someone's slip-up in handling of their phone, they're going to do it.

Right now it's more of a good will tour to keep their name bright and shining in the public eye since I doubt for a second that any news outlet would hesitate to eat them alive over a bad situation right now.

[Ty @ Jul 2nd 2007 6:57PM]

And the lesson learned is.... Throw a stone at a stray dog in the road, And that dog will never take food from you again.

[Emceay @ Jul 3rd 2007 1:55AM]

Is the stray dog Apple? Is the stone the lawsuit over ipod nano's scratchable surface? Is the food the consumer's money? Or are you just blowing smoke?

[Fruition @ Jul 4th 2007 12:56PM]

Well I don't know about you but the lesson I learned is: Throw an iPhone at a stray dog in the road, And Apple will replace your iPhone for free.

[Ty @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:00PM]

I am going to make a ZunePhone wallpaper out of that photo.

[Zach @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:00PM]

That does it. I'm waiting for iPhone 2.0 and the new MagSafe connector.

[booyaka @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:01PM]

The same thing happend to my Sidekick 3 the first day I had it. I had it in my pocket and my leg hit the corner of a table and it cracked the screen. Luckily I said it came in like that when it was mailed to me so it was replaced for free. :D

[snowglyder @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:02PM]

So what happens if Apple doesn't replace the unit, and someone continues to use the phone until they can afford to replace it, and cuts their ear on the broken glass on the next phone call?

I sense law suits ahead...

[J. Henry @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:18PM]

Uh, not a legal leg to stand on.

What happens when you get in a wreck but keep driving anyway, and end up impaling yourself on a piece of metal that got bent out of shape?

Absolutely nothing, because it's your own damn fault for continuing to use it when you KNOW it may be of harm to you. The iPhone is not sold in that manner, so Apple isn't accountable - the same way that they wouldn't be responsible for a murder if someone somehow turned the iPhone into a shank.

[Chris M @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:55PM]

iShank?

I'm feeling it.

[Sean Hamilton @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:13PM]

thats pretty nasty looking.

hey engadget, when will we find out who won the iphone? my razor just took a crap on me (once again, i have a feeling hitting it isnt going to make it work again like it did last time...)

[Ergy JB @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:14PM]

I would have cried

[Grant @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:14PM]

and i remember when people criticzed me when i made note that the glass screen was a bad idea.
and there you go, the toughest glass is still glass.

[brendan Sheehan jnr @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:57PM]

Well if you sell between 400,000 - 700,000 units in the first weekend, it's nothing out of the ordinary to have one of two of them break accidentally. I personally would rather risk a glass screen that can't scratch, then a plastic one that gets scratched to shit.

[greg @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:15PM]

When i think of buying the iphone, this is what im worried about. My last two phone, a year after having it, it was in my pocket and i caught the edge of a desk the first time and the second a stairwell and both outside screens were cracked. Unless i can find a flip hard cover for the iphone i probably wont buy it.

[Homeboy @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:19PM]

Replacing the iPhone for free to this guy is nothing but a markting stunt my Apple's maarketing department who wants the iPhone hype to keep steaming.

[J. Henry @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:21PM]

How is it a marketing stunt? It's not marketed information. The source of this story isn't an Apple press release going OH HAI LOOK WHAT WE DID OMG, it's come from somewhere else.

Could it be... could it just be... GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE?

Honestly, I'm neither pro- nor anti- Apple - I'll judge each and every product I buy, thanks - but you anti-Apple zealots would do a lot better if you put some thought into your claims.

[Bob @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:58PM]

It's marketing, they know that the blogs will pick this kind of stuff up and run with it. Word of mouth is very powerful, especially these days. But marketing stunt or not I wouldn't have any problem if I was this guy!

[Alejandro @ Jul 2nd 2007 9:03PM]

It's not a marketing stunt, but a P.R. stunt. The positive press generated WILL help keep the iPhone phenomenon hot. Now, don't get me wrong, I think it's brilliant --just not something that's sustainable in the long or even medium term. Guess what? Free replacements for maybe the first 500 cracked screens... but who will be the first unlucky schmuck?

[Chris @ Jul 3rd 2007 12:41PM]

So someone from Apple marketing just happened to be at the store where this guy took his broken phone? Or perhaps the sales rep at the store called the marketing department to find out what to do? Whatever...

[FIR3BRDRACR @ Jul 3rd 2007 5:09AM]

ill be the first to say ive never been an apple fan at all, especially not after working PC tech at a major retailer (certain legal contracts will not let me disclose which ''geeks'' i worked for ;])
about 95% of the time, if there was an iPod/iMac problem, they would refuse to fix it due to it being the ''customer's fault''
however, my sincerest congrats to Apple for this one!
im glad they are starting to put the customer first again
kudos!

[Rob @ Jul 5th 2007 1:04PM]

Aren't you a bright one? Maybe Microsoft should hire you as head of public relations.

[jborneman @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:19PM]

Hah! Awesome.

Yup, I'm a hater and this picture makes me practically giddy.

[humpty @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:19PM]

And thats why you dont make the entire front surface of a cell phone out of FREAKIN GLASS.

[WDUK @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:21PM]

That is quite nasty, and with glass it is slightly more dangerous. But it would take a lot of force to do that, this guy was just unlucky.

To be honest, that could have happened to any phone, plastic can shatter too. The advantage with the iPhone over the normal plastic screens, is that glass won't scratch as easily, as demonstrated by the stress tests.

[Shawn Wildermuth @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:22PM]

So Apple's highly touted magnetic power supply cables aren't good enough for iPhone's? I thought that's what Apple was complaining about in the AvW commercial? Interesting that the iPhone is more expensive than an Apple laptop ($600 phone + $2K of service/year). It should be more protected than the laptops, no?

[Waruwaru @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:47PM]

"Everything is just kinda thought out":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE9wQUL9zYs

[thegimp @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:23PM]

So this is the person who gets credit for introducing the first "iRefurb" to the market. Finally an apple phone for those of us without deep pockets.

[Anto @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:24PM]

DER! What do you think happens when your iPhone hits your table..........
What a bunch of f**king idiots!! Change the F**king record. YAWN YAWN.

[Megan @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:29PM]

They had to have known this was bound to happen. You figure, we have all dropped a cell phone at least once. Maybe not had broken it, but then again, glass breaks easier then most screens

[Mervyn Mabini @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:39PM]

awesome!!> A+ for holding down the shards of glass with tape.

[Marcos @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:52PM]

Maybe they need magsafe for dock connectors. :)

Also, this is a could reason to buy on an Amex (purchase protection I think it's called) or some other platinum/diamond whatever card that has 90 day accidental damage coverage.

[anderesp @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:56PM]

everyone is bashing Apple for putting glass on their iPhone.
Motorola also puts glass on their Krzr.

why all the hate?

[Jon @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:55PM]

The hate started when Steve Jobs announced the Iphone and all the Apple fanboys started invading almost every post non-Apple Iphone post and started making wild claims about their godly product.

[anderesp @ Jul 2nd 2007 11:51PM]

i see you're not much fan of the iPhone. no worries, Samsung will just copy it like every-other product they steal from Motorola. ;)

[Shawn B @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:04PM]

scary, i would have cried. I am being ever so careful with mine :) hope hope!

[jay sea @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:12PM]

actually if you look at where the point of impact was... (looks near the ear cutout)... thats probably the weakest spot structurally. im guessing thats why it broke as it did.

we'll see how they hold up to real world abuse.