Though to our knowledge there’s no app that increases a phone’s physical durability, a report that Jarrod McKinney’s iPhone 4 survived a fall from his pocket while skydiving, should maybe have us all a little worried that either smartphones are getting a bit too good at everything, or that we’re way too addicted to our devices (“Yeah, Hi, honey. Sorry, it’s kind of difficult to hear you with the wind and such. What? Oh, nothing, I’m just hurdling toward the ground with alarming velocity and should probably pay attention to when to pull my 'chute. What’s that? Kidney beans? Sure thing, boo-boo.”)
But besides answering the question, “Why would you ever take your phone skydiving?” the report has the potential to become advertising gold for Apple. Joe Johnson, McKinney’s skydiving instructor was particularly impressed after witnessing that the phone still worked after a 13,500 foot freefall, and has subsequently vowed to buy his own iPhone 4. “It goes to show you if I crash land and need an ambulance, they can still track me down with the GPS,” he said.
According to the report, it is actually not uncommon for skydivers to bring their smartphones along, not only for practical purposes (navigating back home after landing in an unfamiliar area) but to document the fall itself with videos and pictures.
In the case of McKinney, the culprit for the incident was his own forgetfulness, as he forgot to zip up the pockets on his skydiving pants.
[via CNN]
