May 21st, 2010
I’ve only had my iPhone 5 months. It took me a while to get around to “needing” one, which might be surprising really since I work in the field of Interaction Design. Anyway, this post is not so much about how much I like my iPhone and all the awesome and wonderful things I can do with it – if you have an iPhone you already know what the device is capable of and no doubt you’re very fond of it. If you don’t have one, you’ve more than likely heard someone who does talk about how awesome it is.
If you’re an iPhone owner (iPhoner?), even if you’ve had it a while, you probably still enjoy the feeling of pressing that button and watching the screen come to life, as if you’re experiencing it for the very first time. Even holding it feels good, what to speak of when you slide your finger across the screen and that little “click” sound signals the device being unlocked to a whole range of possibilities – phone, email, camera, GPS, music player, music recorder, you name it, “there’s an app for that.” Of course, the sensation of swiping across the screen in general, whether you’re looking at a web-page, scanning your twitter feed, or playing around just for the sake of it – moving application icons or checking email, even though you just checked it – well using the iPhone just feels really nice doesn’t it?
What doesn’t feel nice is when you misplace your iPhone, or worse, when you drop it. I’ve only dropped mine a couple of times but that’s a couple of times too many. It’s an unpleasant feeling when that thing hits the floor. Time stops for a moment and you ask the question “is my iPhone OK?” You reach down to pick it up and, thankfully, it is OK. Maybe there’s a little mark on the corner or a scratch on the back, but what we really care about is that piece of glass at the front – the beautiful, shiny, touch-screen interface that makes the iPhone what it is. Imagine if something happened to that screen? Imagine how devastating it would be if that screen got damaged! Well that’s exactly what happened to mine yesterday morning when it landed flat and face down on the pavement.
My iPhone at around 10am yesterday
Like I said, I’ve dropped my iPhone a couple of times before, but those times when I picked the phone up I had the relief of finding it was fine. This time was different. I bent down and picked it up, turned it over and saw the shattered glass. I didn’t even inspect it further, I just put it straight in my pocket and stood silently, contemplating what had just happened. I’d just been talking on it a few minutes earlier. I’d just left the house and was standing at the bus stop. It was a “normal” day – I was on my way to work, iPhone in my jacket pocket, coffee cup in my right hand. I reached into my pocket with my left hand to take out the phone, it got snagged on the edge of my pocket, it slipped and fell, and now a few seconds later I’m standing in the same spot, coffee cup still in my right hand and iPhone back in the same jacket pocket. Everything was exactly the same but everything had turned upside down.
“It’s f***ed” I thought. “My 5 month old iPhone is ruined. I’ll have to buy a new one. Can it be repaired? How much will it cost? I only paid $199 for it but that’s because it was subsidized on a 3 year contract with Rogers. How much will it cost to buy a replacement? How much to fix it? Can it even be fixed?” A lot of questions ran through my mind.
At first I didn’t quite know what to do. I panicked a little and thought about going back to the house, which is just around the corner. But I had to get to work. I had an important client meeting and some deliverables to get ready beforehand. The bus was approaching. I told myself not to think about it – I’d already assumed I had to find a replacement and there was nothing I could do right now. I swallowed my misfortune, reached for my Metropass and got on the bus as usual, finding a seat near the back.
One of the reasons I had put the phone quickly back in my pocket at the bus stop was the presence of two other people a few steps away – one listening to his iPod and the other talking on his (not i) phone. The guy talking on the phone had looked over when the phone dropped and the other was already facing my direction and I didn’t want any attention so I picked it up and put it away, only glancing at the spider-webbed screen for a moment. The other guys must have thought nothing more of it.
After being on the bus for a few minutes – about halfway through the journey to Jane Subway Station – I took the phone out of my pocket and looked at it. The screen was destroyed beyond repair. Spider-web-like cracks covered most of the surface and there were even a couple of small pieces missing, revealing a glimpse of the circuit-board behind. Still assuming that the iPhone was dead, I pressed the button and to my surprise, the screen came to life. Very gently I touched the screen. The glass was still held together quite well and it didn’t move or make creaking, crunching sounds like you might expect of a piece of broken glass. I carefully made a quick a light swipe on the slider and the interface unlocked itself revealing my applications. I touched one – it worked. I closed the app and again lightly swiped across the screen. Aside from the obvious defect, the interface seemed fine and responded perfectly. The fact that if I touched the screen hard enough I might cut myself was reinforced by the tiny dusty particles left on my thumb. I blew the shiny specs away, locked the screen and put the phone in my pocket.
The subway ride was slow and painful. Problems on the line East of St. George Station were holding us up. I just wanted to get to a computer and phone so I could start finding out what my options were as far as getting my iPhone repaired – now I assumed that since the operation of the device as well as the touch screen interface were both working fine and it was just the glass that was broken, it must be possible to fix it. I assumed that if I called Rogers, or Apple or someone else, it might be possible to bring it back to life. I was also thinking of the work I needed to accomplish and the meeting at 1.
On most days I have my iPhone handy at all times during the subway ride. If I’m reading a book it normally just stays in my pocket, but at other times I’m normally holding my coffee cup in one hand and have my headphones on – reviewing echotel material or listening to other music. Sometimes I use the camera to take pictures or video. Yesterday morning I didn’t do anything much other than sit there, coffee cup in my hand of course, but no book, no iPod, no stimulation other than the coffee (which I’m not even sure I took a sip of) and the subway car, and my thoughts.
I seemed to drift off here and there, as I often do, and found myself to be either outside or deep inside of myself, processing thoughts and feelings. I saw a middle-aged woman sat opposite with her feet up on the seat in front of her and her bags on the seat beside her. I watched her move irritably when another passenger got on and she had to move her bags. I watched her grumble silently as another passenger got on and she had to move her bags again. “Ignorant lady” I thought. A young woman with blonde hair and dark sunglasses got on after a few stops and sat beside me. A guy opposite, sitting on the left hand side (my left, his right) of the three-seater, next to the door, kept looking over at her. At one point I swear he was taking pictures casually from his camera phone. The older woman who was still grumbling in her mind sat on the other side of the three-seater, directly opposite from me.
I watched little bits of the world go by in my slightly dazed state on the subway car. I felt slightly anxious but somewhat removed from the entire experience. I guess I just “rode it out” so to speak.
By the time I arrived at Osgoode I found myself now with a feeling of urgency. I wanted to get to the office. I didn’t rush, but I made good speed. I watched people go by. I saw a police officer tie her shoelace and then in a rush to get somewhere her self almost trip and fall. A voice inside told me to slow down and be cautious. The voice told me to be mindful. It seemed destined to be a strange day.
At the office I stepped into the drama that comes of interacting with the world and other people. I had to report to James, the Project Manager and speak with Chris, the Art Director. Everyone has their iPhone with them. I have to explain that I broke mine and I need to go make a couple of calls.
My first call was to Rogers. They’re pretty much useless I know, so I’m already on Apple’s site and searching Google for Broken iPhone Screen. Rogers can’t do anything for me – they pass me around from one department to another until a “Technical-Support” guy with a bad speech impediment tells me I “only” have four options. One option is to buy a new phone at a cost of $600 or so. I can’t remember the exact number because as I’m being told this I’m searching Craigslist to see how much I can find one for on there. I see that at least two people are selling brand-new still in the box iPhone 3Gs for around $450. Another option, Mr. Rogers tells me, is to get a replacement through the “Out of Warrany” exchange program, but this means I will have to accept a reconditioned model and they don’t have any iPhones at the moment – the next best thing would be a Blackberry. I don’t want a blackberry! I would rather pay $450 for a new iPhone on Craigslist, even if it does mean I have to Jailbreak it. Heck, I’d rather pay Rogers or Apple $600 or more for a new one or just go without. No Blackberry. iPhone or Bust. Literally!
Rogers’ third option is a little vague. I’d have to take the phone to a Rogers store – but not any Rogers store – only one which dealt with returns of devices like this. And the store wouldn’t be able to do anything for me right now, they would have to send the phone away or something (I could only make out certain words through the mumbled speech) and there was no way we could find out at this point how much the repair would cost, if in fact it could be repaired, or what exactly the procedure would be if it could. Apparently Rogers had “no data” on this type of incident. It sounded like my iPhone, which I’d already concluded had nothing wrong with it other than a broken screen, would have to be sent away to some lab somewhere so Rogers could tell me what was wrong with it and what the procedure/cost would look like. No idea how long this would take. NO DATA!
I’m not sure what the fourth option would have been. I hung up at that point, having already found plenty of data through Google during my half-hearted conversation with Rogers’ “support.” Broken iPhone screens are a very common occurrence. That I had already guessed by now. But I learned a little about how the iPhone is constructed and what parts go into it. I also learned that there are a number of small independent businesses in Toronto who repair iPhones and other such devices (yes Blackberries too) and deal with situations just like this one every day. Within half an hour of being in the office I had learned that my broken iPhone, which less than an hour and a half prior had seemed about at dead as I could possibly imagine, was going to be OK. One particular store – The TechKnow Space at Front and Spadina – told me they replace about 10 iPhone screens a day. It actually turns out to be quite a good business. I don’t know how much the parts cost from the supplier but I ended up paying $100 for a repair which took 45 minutes. It took me fifteen minutes or so to walk down there from the Grip office on John Street, and the same walking back, but it was lunchtime anyway.
I’d gotten off to a later start than usual yesterday morning and was waiting for the 9 am bus when that fateful moment came – when my iPhone fell to the floor and the screen cracked in dozens of little pieces. By 12:30 it was back to “normal” but in something of a different guise. The experience of dropping the phone just a few hours earlier taught me some important things – the most obvious being that I should definitely buy a protective case. In fact I didn’t want to take ANY chances from now on, so I not only bought the chunkiest, rubbery-est, most conspicuous case I could find, I also put a screen protector on this new piece of expensive glass to keep even scratches away.
My (now 'chunkier') iPhone a few hours later
I don’t know how anyone else feels, but I kinda like it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the way the iPhone looks on it’s own – without anything added to it. It’s sleek design and amazing touch-screen interface haven’t and probably won’t be rivaled by any other device on the market. That’s quite a statement I know, but it’s likely true. Still, there’s something about this “Chunky iPhone” that I like. It’s still an iPhone, but it’s in disguise. It still works like an iPhone, but it looks different. In some ways it’s a reminder of days gone by when all phones were truly chunky, and it even makes me think it looks something like a walkie-talkie. Compared with the “future mobile phones of the past” mine doesn’t exactly have that same kind of futuristic look, rather it looks more rugged – somewhat “military” even. Whatever the case (no pun intended) it gives me a relief that if the unforeseen should happen again, even though that $100 piece of glass is still exposed, this protective cushion might just spare me the shock and horror and the $100 needed to fix it again.
Like I said there are quite a few things that I learned yesterday morning, especially during those first moments after seeing the broken screen, and on the subsequent bus and subway journey. For now though I’m leaving this post with just a simple lesson learned. If you have an iPhone and you don’t have a protective case or screen guard, or you don’t have it fastened to your hand, and if you don’t want to risk having to spend $100 or upwards (I was lucky, the digitizer and other fan-dangled components inside the iPhone can break quite easily too) to repair or replace your iPhone, then GET ONE!
I rest my case (pun intended).
