The problem with a column entitled, “Confessions of an iPhone Chick,” is that a time will come for a confession I really don’t want to make. In fact my last entry on the topic of my iPhone was written March 15th, almost three months ago.
So what have I been hiding all this time?
Late one evening, coming home from a theater event in San Francisco, I forgot I had left my iPhone in my lap. As I leaned forward to stand up from the passenger seat of the car, the phone slipped off my legs and fell face first on the cement driveway.
In the darkness, I scrambled to pick it up. I flipped it and breathed a sigh of relief as the iPhone lit up and responded to swipes and taps to enter my password. In the dimly lit area of my driveway, the iPhone still glistened and glowed.
Disaster averted I place the phone on the kitchen island. Later, Clint cruises by and asks about my availability on a particular evening for another SSC event. I direct him to my iPhone to check my calendar.
“What is this line on your screen?” he asks.
I rush over. There is a long crack on my screen starting from one side and extending across to the other. It is thin and hardly noticeable when held at certain angles…but it is clearly there. At first I felt it was my fault for not having chosen a case sooner, then it was shame like one feels after getting a scratch on a new car.
So there you have it: why I have not written about my iPhone in 3 months. So what changed?
About a week ago, in my Facebook friends stream I read this:
“…I declare my intent to drop the iPhone on Facebook. A few days later, iPhone slips out of my hand on to concrete and shatters the front glass panel. Can a phone say “you-can’t-fire-me-because-I-quit”? iPhone revenge … there’s an app for that. ;-)”
Then another update:
So I McGuyver’d my shattered iPhone with some clear packing tape. It now has that shattered but stable Urban Outfitters look. It’s not a bug. It’s a feature! “Oh, you must have the old iPhone without the kaliedescope screen!”
Thank you John for making me feel like I am not alone!
Since then I have found out that this is a common plight of iPhone owners.
The solution? According to CNET, Apple offers a repair service although it’s unclear whether such “accidents” are covered (Cost: 4GB: $199, 8GB: $249). The prices are a significant portion of the alternative of buying a new iPhone. Bobby told me about a third party that will do it for $80, but it seems once that happens the Apple warranty is broken. The price difference may be worth it.