My iPhone is Toast
Posted on: August 1, 2009Posted in: Blog
Author: Cali Lewis58 comments so far
When I woke up this morning, I thought it was going to be pretty close to a perfect Saturday. I was wrong.
It started out great. We got up, went to the farmers market and picked out some juicy looking peaches for me, and some tamales and tomatoes for Neal. When we got back, I decided to take my first bike ride of the Summer I threw an iPod Nano in an arm strap, and my iPhone in a pouch that I keep on the handlebar to keep it from falling out of my pocket, and headed out. The wind in my face felt awesome and I was having a great time! Then I felt the chain start to come off my bike. It had happened before, so I knew what was coming. I hit the brakes, jumped off to the side and caught the bike before it hit the ground. No harm done. I tried, but couldn’t fix the chain myself, so I walked the bike to the bike shop. As I started walking, I looked at my phone to check the time. It was 1:34 PM.
I pulled my phone out of the pouch on the handlebar when I left the bike shop and was shocked to see my phone was shattered. It wouldn’t even turn on. What the heck happened? It was fine after the almost-crash. Did the phone screen have a delayed reaction? Did the heat do it? Did something happen while the bike shop was working on it? I have no idea, actually, but it is what it is!
Just yesterday, I was saying I was looking into other phone options because of the GV Mobile situation. I hadn’t made the decision to actually switch phones yet. I kind of wanted to see what Apple and AT&T would do. Heck! The FCC is looking into Apple’s decision to remove GV Mobile from the App Store. I kind of expect Apple to reverse itself next week. It appears my decision to leave the iPhone behind may have been made for me. 
The Nokia N97 will be arriving in the mail in a few days for a review. Will it win me over? Or if Apple changes their mind and puts GV Mobile back in the App Store, will I upgrade to the 3GS? Will I choose the Palm Pre or maybe an Android phone? At the moment, I have no idea. I’ll see how the next week plays out and will keep you updated!
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August 1st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
My prediction says you’ll upgrade to the iPhone 3Gs. I finally got one and I haven’t put it down since.
I’ve seen the Nokia N97, Palm Pre, and Android phones.. they’re all great phones, but and they really can’t compare to an iPhone.
Choose your phone addition.
August 1st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
The nokia n97 looks sweet, but I got used to the qwerty keyboard on my nokia e71, I don’t think I could go back
I would definitely go for an android phone right now, but I think I’ll wait for the HTC hero
Sorry about your iPhone. As an apple fan-boy myself I know it’s a shame to see something from that company getting broken
Good luck on the phone hunt.
August 1st, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I think you should have gone straight back to the bike shop and got them to pay for the damage to your phone. It’s obvious that they must have done it.
August 1st, 2009 at 3:43 pm
If you wanna root the Pre, there are some great apps. I think you will be more comfortable with an Android phone though. The G1 is clumsy, but probably the best alternative to the iPhone.
Pre’s app catalog still only has 32 apps and they are all from mainstream developers. The homebrew apps are great, but rooting the Pre on the Mac has proved to me a rough process.
Good luck.
August 1st, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Sorry to hear of the demise of your iPhone. Having used an N97 I will be interested to hear your thoughts about it as Nokia seem to regard it as an iPhone competitor (based on some quotes I have read online). In my experience it falls short of the iPhone, I am not sure if you have access to the HTC Hero in the USA but in my view that’s a good iPhone alternative.
August 1st, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I my heart breaks for you, and the idea of a new contract with AT&T…ehh! but do you really really want to not have an iphone? you know they are going to put GV up at some point for sure. Come on… don’t leave the iside..:-)j/k but seriously… the 3GS is sweet.
for your next bike ride..
http://www.iskin.com/fuzeiPhone3G/
August 1st, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Sorry to hear that. I hope you have success in choosing the right handset that will work good for you. From what I’ve read the Nokia N95 is one cool phone.
g
August 1st, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Sorry to hear of the demise of your iPhone. Will be interested to hear how you get on with the N97 as Nokia believe it to be an iPhone competitor having read some Nokia management comments on line (having used one I wasn’t convinced). Not sure if you have it in the USA but the HTC hero is a credible alternative.
August 1st, 2009 at 3:52 pm
If the google voice bungle really bothers you, go with the phoneInfoWorld called the most open mobile platform, the Palm Pre. Even without rooting, I’ve installed lots of homebrew apps. The developer community will continue to flock as long Palm maintains openness.
August 1st, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I guess you iPhone broke your fall… Ergo your were not hurt… Ergo you should definitely buy another iPhone.. It would keep you from being hurt! ;o)
August 1st, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Dropping the iPhone because of one app not getting approved seems like an incredible overreaction to a situation where you don’t have all the facts. You’ll be switching phones every quarter if you hold other brands to the same criteria (where you must be in total agreement with their business practices, or you’ll bail).
August 1st, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I guess your iPhone broke your fall… Ergo you were not hurt… Ergo you should definitely buy another iPhone.. It should keep you from being hurt! ;o)
August 1st, 2009 at 3:56 pm
We can’t have nice things.
August 1st, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Sounds like this will go down as one of the great mysteries of modern times.
August 1st, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I’m sorry about your phone. I too lost an iphone due to water damage (had a great time taking it apart seeing the water indicators clearly meant that apple wouldn’t do apple corin’ thing). I will be watching for your review and how you feel post-iphone. I think you will find a better phone however I will be interested in the computer-like qualities you find.
I agree with Stephen Convery, you should go back to that bike shop … it clearly was struck by or pinched by something.
August 1st, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Of course you will stick to the iPhone. It is so you, Cali.
August 1st, 2009 at 4:03 pm
If you have a warranty on the iPhone, take to it your Apple Store (some now do on-site glass replacement) to see if replacing the glass fixes it. Regardless, if the phone is under warranty, get it fixed/replaced and id you replace it then it up for sale.
In my case my 2 years is up in July 2010. My plan was to keep my 3G and wait until then to see what Apple’s next move is at that time (4G, Verizon, ???).
As of right now I am going to wait to see what the FCC will do – if anything – to Apple over the Google Voice apps issue. I have GV Mobile on my 3G and I’m content to remain in a holding pattern – for the moment.
August 1st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
I have a 3G, and my wife just got her 3GS. I haven’t been impressed with the Pre and would never own another Nokia phone. I have used the Android and while there are some nice features, it doesn’t compare to the iPhone on too many levels to be taken seriously (yet). And then there is the Apps. Regardless of the GV, and your personal feelings about the issue, no smartphone will be a legitimate contender until they have even a “semi serious” amount of App offerings in their stable. So at this point, it looks like you’ll probably go with the 3GS…or not, what the heck do I know?!!
Good luck and R.I.P. Cali’s iPhone
August 1st, 2009 at 4:09 pm
ouch, sorry to hear =( I will say that the Palm Pre you will probably like, but not love. And definitely won’t stay because of the lack of cool apps.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my Palm Pre, but I have this inkling feeling you probably would not be all too happy with it w/ the 1.0-ness it has.
I’d say run w/ the myTouch (what a terrible name). Do a real say 6 month review of it, heh. Tho, honestly, the HTC Hero would be a better test, but timing obviously doesn’t bode well.
August 1st, 2009 at 4:11 pm
I agree about the bike shop. If it was fine before you went in and not when you came out, it’s a pretty strong indication it happened there. But then, they may claim you should not have left anything valuable/fragile with the bike.
Regarding ditching the iPhone because of GV, it does seem an over-principled position. Every tech company has done dumb and bad things. If we all stand by our principles none of them would exist any more.
Count how many years you lived without GV/GC.
Also consider that you are lucky enough to live in a country where you have access to cool stuff like GV, where you get every Apple product the day it launches, where cellular data is affordable, where just about any technology you hear about is available to you.
Many of us have no access to GV in the forseeable future, have to wait for Apple devices and services and pay through the nose for any type of internet access.
August 1st, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I would suspect your walking in the sun and heat caused the temp in your handlebar pouch to climb to dangerous levels. I carry tools in mine and have had to wait for them to cool off before I could use them. Uneven heat can do a lot of damage to the screen on phones, not just the iPhone. I had the screen on an old phone crack from being left in the car for an afternoon so I can feel your pain.
I too will be interested to see what you think of various phones. Maybe you could get them to lone you phones for review on Geek Brief.
August 1st, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Most importantly, I’m glad you were able to get off the failing bike without getting hurt. For us gadget people, it’s a strange thing to keep one device as long as you’ve used an iPhone. I get the itch to change sometimes, but I have yet to find one I think I’ll like better. I look forward to hearing what you decide.
August 1st, 2009 at 4:22 pm
With all the products you have sold for them Apple should give you a phone.
Lets start a protest, we won’t buy Apple products until Cali gets a phone!
August 1st, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Really hope Cali gets rid of the iPhone and moves to some lesser platform. Perhaps the iPhone, sensing Cali’s negativity, just commited suicide.
In the meantime, I have no respect for pretend journalists that spread rumors.
August 1st, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I have a blackberry and the gv works great. I hope you get an awesome new phone to show us. But I also hope I don’t lose my gv :/
August 1st, 2009 at 4:43 pm
I don’t think the iPhones can compare to the Android phones. The Android phones have a ton more features, and the ability to run any app you want on _your_ phone, and the cell phone companies and Google actually encourage it!
A real keyboard is also very handy.
August 1st, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Cali, I’m so sorry to hear about your iPhone
I understand many people in the tech industry are talking about switching to another type of phone as a form of protesting against Apple, but c’mon, it’s not worth it. I used to have a Nokia E61i and it was a great phone, except that Symbian is still lagging behind Apple and Blackberry as an OS. My best friend bought an E71 and the leap was minimal. All comments I’ve read about the N97 seem to agree on the fact that the phone suffers from lack of processing power and other flaws. Personally, the iPhone is the best mobile experience I’ve had. I don’t think there’s any other device or mobile OS out there good enough to make me switch, even in spite of Apple’s stubbornness.
I’m also pretty upset at the whole GV incident but ditching iPhone because of this would be like ditching Mac just because Apple won’t allow me to instal OS X on any hardware I want. Besides, you’re not ditching your Kindle even after the whole 1984 incident, right?
During one of your latest GeekBrief episodes you mentioned that should Google make GV available through Cydia, maybe that meant it was time to jailbreak. I jailbroke my iPhone and honestly it’s the best thing I could’ve done to it now that its warranty has expired.
A great example of this is the iDisk app Apple released this week. Everybody’s comments on it has been that “it’s almost there” as it doesn’t allow you to actually download files from iDisk, which sucks. Well, there’s an app in Cydia called Discover which connects to iDisk (or any other similar services) or a computer in your network and it allows you to do pretty much anything you want with your files, including downloading and uploading files to iDisk.
Maybe jailbraking is the way to go?
August 1st, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Sorry to hear the bad news. Have heard an increasing number of stories of screens shattering. Not sure if it is abnormal.
As for GV, why not just Jailbreak? Painless, completely reversible and you can get GV Mobile from Cydia.
August 1st, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I would love to see you get a G1 or other Android phone. I love my G1 and think Android inspired GeekBriefs would be sooo fun!
August 1st, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Sorry about your iPhone. If you’re thinking of a new phone, maybe an Android?
I’m actually an iPhone developer and submitted a free Google Voice app long ago but never had any response whatsoever only to hear this news about apps being rejected. And I am very disappointed. I like CocoaTouch as my dev platform, but am seriously thinking of moving to Android or something else.
I look forward to your new phone!
August 1st, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Nooooo! I’m surprised your not crying Cali!!! I hope you decide on different phone. You can influence many of us geeks, and keep the growing trend of switching to another phone. Competition is good! Its easier to switch after hearing some good reviews from you!
August 1st, 2009 at 6:00 pm
A dead iPhone. What a shockingly sad sight.
August 1st, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Your first bike ride of the summer? You need to work less and ride more! Summer is almost over. Have you looked at GPS solutions for your iPhone of from Garmin? I am a GPS freak and have recorded my bike rides since 2003 online. Many of thee tools have improved over the years. Garmin Connect is OK, but still very new and could use some improvement. Trimble Outdoors is really reliable and fast. The Garmin Edge 305 is my favorite GPS for bikes, but I’d use an iPhone if I had one. Unfortunately I cannot use my Touch since it has no GPS capabilities. Too bad it cannot connect to my Delorme bluetooth GPS… I could talk all day about GPS stuff — Thanks for all you do! Bye.
August 1st, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Sad about the phone but the Google Voice cop out is lame. With 65000+ applications, to dump it is as stupid as it gets.
August 1st, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Try the iPhone case by Monster….it is by far the best. IMHOpinion
August 1st, 2009 at 7:15 pm
I’m very curious as to what you end up doing. My guess is you’ll realize just how good you have it with the iPhone regardless of GV. If you don’t go with the iPhone then at least you won’t have to worry about ever spending too much time looking at apps when you have some free time – instead you could, er, well, there’s always belly button lint for entertainment
August 1st, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I know how constantly you used your iPhone Cali. But we’d all rather see the phone cracked up than you!!! It is very strange though that all was well when you checked the time.
I hope you are enjoying your peaches!
August 1st, 2009 at 9:09 pm
I would definitely go with an Android phone. I have a HTC Magic myself but the Samsung I7500 is also very nice (and has a 3.5mm jack).
August 1st, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Take a look at RAM Mounts – they just came out with an iPhone mount (I have one) that works with many of their mounting systems for your dash, bike, motorcycle – just about anything. They are very sturdy and simple.
August 1st, 2009 at 11:50 pm
While I feel bad about what happened to your iPhone, I’m glad to see more tech people exploring Symbian-based devices like Nokia N- and E-series phones. I trust that you will put the N97 through its paces and share a fair review with us.
August 2nd, 2009 at 12:44 am
Hey Cali
sorry to hear about your iPhone. I love mine and would hate to see her get hurt!!
I havnt tried it out yet but there’s a google voice app on cydia. This does require you to jailbreak your iPhone. But you being a geek and all this shouldn’t be a problem. I have jailbroken my brand new 3gs and everything works perfectly. The tools have gotten very reliable and really easy to use. Hope this helps. All the best.
August 2nd, 2009 at 1:31 am
Well ’tis a shame it happened but happens to us all at some point something we become so used to breaks and we wonder why it was so important to us. I never bought into the idea of the ‘Jesus’ phone nor am I really an Apple fan boy. Yes I appreciate some of their tech as being innotive and certainly the marketing is very smooth, but lets not forget the success of the iphone really lays at the feet of the developers who made apps for it. But that is where the trouble comes. Having apps that only fit into Apples ethos is all very good for promoting Apple and further fueling the myth but it also shuts out small time developers with a particular itch to scratch that want to do it on an iphone. GV is perhaps the ultimate conclusion to this. Apple are fine when they are making the money and taking the credit for developers success, but woe betide anyone making more capital out of that success than they.
I’d hope Cali, that as a technical zealot, you will weigh up carefully the needs of the consumer vs the needs of the company in your choice. Personally I do like the Palm Pre and enjoy the freedom to develop my own personal scratch. Isn’t it about the freedom to choose what you want to use rather than being told what to use that is cool?
Wait to hear your brief about the subject
Take care
August 2nd, 2009 at 5:27 am
Get the iPhone 3GS you’ll never look back.
August 2nd, 2009 at 8:09 am
I’ve had an iPhone since day 1 and can’t imagine having anything else ever.
August 2nd, 2009 at 11:02 am
If you are interested I can fix your phone for you! I’m a repair technician for a company that specializes in apple products!
August 2nd, 2009 at 2:35 pm
@talkingDigital – The Pre is already rooted. There is no rooting to be done. You will have to turn on dev mode for homebrew apps to install. Download QuickInstall from the PreCentral forums. The download my job search if you want.
QuickInstall: http://forums.precentral.net/homebrew-apps/194832-webos-quick-install-v1-0-a.html
Jobr: http://forums.precentral.net/homebrew-apps/194863-jobr-job-search-v0-7-5-7-28-a.html
Hope this helps.
August 2nd, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Hi Cali,
Trust me, the N97 is the worst phone I have used for many, many years.
Get another iPhone.
Kev
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:11 am
My 3GS goes into an iSkin Revo2 (w/screen shield snapped in place), then inside a ziploc bag, and then into my saddle pouch when I ride. I don’t plan on taking calls during a ride–it’s all I can do to hang on to the wheel in front of me some days.
May get an Otterbox for rides, though. Those cases are tanks.
As for the chain, an N-Gear Jump Stop (http://www.gvtc.com/~ngear/whatis.html) does the job for me–no more chains dropped onto the bottom bracket.
Oh, and as others have mentioned, you can get the screen replaced–that will cost you a LOT less than a new phone (iPhone or otherwise).
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I never got a iphone since it was on ATT, but i got me a iPod touch instead, jailbroke it and was happy with just that. I had a HTC Pro for a while and switched to Palm pre. I rooted it and so far i like what i can do. yes the pre has little apps as of now, but as long as its not restricted like apple, and has good support, it should be great.
remember, the pre store just came out! iphone didn’t have one for about a year or so.
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:36 pm
[...] you follow me on Twitter, you saw on Saturday that my iPhone was shattered, so I’ve been thinking about which phones I might like to replace it with. The LG-BL40 is one [...]
August 4th, 2009 at 11:47 am
[...] few days ago, Cali mentioned on her blog (and tweeted about it, too!) that her poor ol’ iPhone has finally bit the [...]
August 4th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I would never part with my 3GS. Cali, it is well worth the money.
August 5th, 2009 at 5:24 am
Cali, just watched your episode about your broken phone. I’m a hard core techie and I’m seriously into gadget phones. Having done the home work THE phone to beat all phones is the Nokia E71. Yes I have the iPhone, yes I have the iPod Touch and yes I have every other phone OS out there (ok, I never went Android) so I know what I’m talking about. The iPhone is pretty. Very pretty. But once you’re over the “pretty” phase and get your tech head back on the E71 is THE best phone on the market. It has the lot. In fact there inst a gadget that the iPhone (or any other phone) has that the E71 doesnt have (bluetooth, wifi, gps, 3g, 3meg camera and video, even infra red!) Takes micro sd cards (I run mine with a 16GB card)…ok it doesnt have an accelerometer. Big deal. I know which way is up
Running Symbian S60 mean’s there is a ton of software out there, some awesome stuff (oh, being a techie you might also appreciate that the E71 can keep phone memory and sd card encrypted at all time’s ala TrueCrypt meaning loosing it doesnt mean your data is just out there, and you can remote lock it via a text message if you loose it. It even texts you back to tell you its locked).
You mentioned the N97. Fear not, I’ve researched that too. VERY nice phone BUT, once again pipped by the world’s best phones brother, the E72! (E72 due out any day). Again, the iPhone and N97 are pretty, but we’re techie. The E72 keeps all the goodies of its sibling but brings a 5MP camera and electronic compass to the game AND as far as I can tell has the fastest internals out there (OK the CPU is 600MHz, twice that of the E71 and there are other 600MHz phones out there, BUT the 3G is rated at OVER 10Mbps! – so when networks finally pull their finger out and crank up 3G this puppy will race. Here in the UK 3G is already at 7Mbps plus and talking to someone in T-Mobile UK their preparing for 10Mbs roll out).
So to some up. E71/E72 functionally as good as your laptop. Use with the Nokia folding keyboard and it really is a laptop replacement (skype, twitter, email, facebook, its got it all).
…if you made it this far could you add me on twitter?
– bryanajones
August 6th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Cali, huge props and respect for you if you can manage to use that Nokia symbian phone for other than making calls. I used an E71 and was given an E66 slider to take on a trip and getting through those menus and trying to remember where something is hidden in the nest of menus is too much for me.
BTW– forget voice dialing I think you need to be a native speaker of Finish to get that to work.
August 8th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I checked out the Nokia N97 by viewing this youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-6YcXoRDG0 and it looks nice — nice camera/video features. Overall — my opinion is that the iPhone is and will continue to be the hottest computing device on the market; so choose the iPhone 3GS. Apple’s made some mistakes, and I believe they’ll right their wrongs re: GV app. I’m one for underdogs, but — owning Apple products feels like “being part of the family” … don’t leave the family Cali!
(On a related note, you may want to discuss the broken iphone with the bike shop — seems they “may” have some liability.)
August 13th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I thought the 3Gs was the only iPhone available in white!I mention this because to me it looks like the photo above, from the bottom is white ~ but your claiming that is an older iPhone ~ Sorry confussed
September 9th, 2009 at 8:04 am
[...] a month ago, my iPhone shattered. I don’t know if it was the heat or if the bike repair shop accidentally smashed it. It [...]
September 17th, 2009 at 5:49 am
[...] you follow me on Twitter, you saw on Saturday that my iPhone was shattered, so I’ve been thinking about which phones I might like to replace it with. The LG-BL40 is one [...]