On Fri, 01 Apr 2011 20:06:04 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
Jeff Liebermann wrote:

Incidentally, LG phones are generally good quality, fairly easy to
fix, and tend to survive.

As I was leaning over a railing, talking on it, my LG slipped from my
hand and fell 14 feet onto concrete. It landed flat. Back came off,
battery popped out. Nary a scratch and works perfectly since.

Have you noticed that most cell phones have rounded corners and
bottoms? The rounded corner distributes the inpact load over a larger
area of the case than it would if it were more box shaped. However,
that doesn't seem to be a design feature in smartphones, which more
closely resemble a box due to the requirement of having a large
rectangular screen. Drop a smart phone, and they're history. The
number of cracked screens on the iPhone and Droid should offer a clue.
They do have somewhat rounded corners, but with a metal frame, any
edge impact transfers directly to the glass screen.

There are some better ideas, but these will need to wait for a change
in public acceptance of what a cell phone should look like:
http://gadgetsin.com/bugatty-cell-phone-shaped-as-bugatti-veyron.htm
http://www.porhomme.com/2008/12/the-concept-handgun-with-built-in-cellphone/
http://www.thedesignblog.org/entry/dya-cell-phone-slides-diagonally-to-make-or-receive-a-call/
http://www.cellfoam.com
etc...


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558