Drop Test: N900

[Dak]

I'm picking up a few items from Walmart, check my shopping list on my N900....I tuck it back into my shirt breast pocket...AND MISS!!!

It slid down my torso, down my left leg, hit my work boot and skidded across the floor.

FSCKING HEART ATTACK

I'm a 6'0" guy, so this was a 5'0" drop test onto a hard surface....somewhat softened by the contact it had with my body.

Not a scratch or ding...everything works perfectly as before. Tough little bugger.

Now I need a drink.

[weirdbeard]

im never dropping my baby. also, pants with a low cell phone pocket would reduce that possible fall height to about 2 feet....something to consider

[dinis_2003]

Dak have couple drinks because one is not enough:)).
Do you have any case or any protector???

[x61]

Haha... Dropped mine the other day on the treadmill when I was running 8MPH. Got a heart attack. Jumped off the machine immediately. Went to pick up this baby and the music was playing loud with no scratch on the device.
Very robust.

[Kajko]

Tough little bugger.

Three words I hope I never have to utter when it comes to the N900.

I would have a heart attack !

[karldsong]

haha!!! i just dropped mine from a 7.2' ladder, and the machine is still working like it never has (....doesn't mean you should try it too)

[roguespy0]

these guys do a cool drop test. funny vid, after watching this vid,n900 is toughhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmSw5lHS1kA

[jrkalf]

Mine hit the pavement as well. Some impact scratches on the casing side where the pen is and some on the metal rim around the touchscreen. NO scratches on the touchscreen film, so I'm either very lucky or Nokia has at least done something write on my precious :D

[Blobster2k]

I managed to go all drunk mad man on my *** last night and accidentally dropped my phone whilst documenting our work xmas do in a club last night.

Phone landed and keyboard opened on landing so it definitely received some impact.

Now either the floor is slightly rubberised in there or the build quality on this phone is just amazing. Not a scratch, dink or scuff anywhere and my screen protector hasn't arrived yet either!

[timwatt]

4 drops 1 week, one onto concrete, still working with a few scratches.

[Pogue Moran]

Ive dropped my n900 several times already not once have I seen a knick or scratch on it. Resilient device it is. I had an N95 8GB before this and I must have dropped that thing hundreds of times. Getting out of the car, hitting pavement and doing flips, tossing it. Thing still works. The nokia I've dropped getting out of my car and its hit the pavement several times. No problems thus far.

[nkognegr0]

i had my n900 in a sweatshirt pocket and was about to goto the bathroom when all of sudden i see my precious in the toilet submerged in water! NOOOOOOOO.... So i wiped it off and put it in rice like that youtube video. when i tried the phone it still worked but wifi and standard internet did not work. soon after that it caught the reboot bug. i called nokia and they voided my warranty but i sent it in for repair. it sucks but hopefully my repaired unit comes back working fine and i will have to be more careful. ill never put my phone in the sweatshirt pocket again!

[fusi]

phew! glad its ok!

i once dropped my kaiser on rough tarmac and in the panic that gripped as it was falling i managed to stamp on it and slide along the tarmac (sorta like a skateboard :s) it still worked but it didnt look too pretty afterwards hehe. did that in first week i got it - now im super duper careful lol

[reviver]

One of the good things about Nokia phones is they are usually amazingly durable. I've been using Nokia phones for well over 10 years (+ got one tablet) and never broken a single one (Yeah I know it takes luck too). One changeable shell cracked from pressure but that was well, changeable =)

I've dropped my N810 from about 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) to a stone floor without any damage and from about 1 meter (about 3.3 feet) to asphalt and got a scratch on the stand. Luckily still haven't tested the N900 =)

[JoePython]

I dropped mine the other day from about 2-3 feet to a carpeted floor. I wasn't concerned until I picked it up and the video was jumping all over the place. So, I immediately turned it off and then back on. When it came up with a rock-steady Nokia logo and the intro video I was relieved, but then, when the desktop came up, it was jumping all over again.

So, I turned it off and pulled the battery. I restarted it and it behaved exactly the same - rock solid on the intro video but scrambled on the desktop. I was rather upset, but I slid the screen lock in place and left it alone for about 15 minutes. When I looked at it again, everything was back to normal. No problems since then.

[bandora]

I have dropped my N900 on the floor while I was sitting down, but thankfully it slided on my leg most of the way then it hit some kind of cushion.. Even when that happened I felt my heart dropped with it too! lol.. I was so scared even knowing that it wasn't that big of a deal!

[janszoon]

I have been treating my 'new arrival' like my third child. Swaddling to ensure its protected, keeping out of the sun, cleaning regularly :-)

But last night I went to see Avatar (brilliant movie BTW) and had the n900 in my pocket. As I was concerned it was getting crushed, I removed from pocket and placed on my lap with one hand over top.

Then (damn you James Cameron !) a splendid scene of mixed CGI, animation, human interaction took me away to 'Pandora' for a second and I forget about my 'baby'.

Next minute I hear a sound of 'heavy plastic' as it tumbles off my lap and 'clackerty-clack-clack' onto the concrete floor.

I gasped !

I pick it up and performed CPR. (Opened the keyboard)

It was still functioning - thank goodness. But what about the body work?

Well - here comes the moral of the story:

n900 from Nokia - $549
Ebay rubberized case and screen protector $4
Still having a functioning, un damamged and unscratched phone after a 2 foot fall onto concrete.......PRICELESS :D

Merry Christmas everyone.

[bltcool]

lol. i didn't have a case like you but i have one near it....and it acutally in my room.

so i'm sitting there playing on my alienware laptop, then i remember i forgot to plug in the power plug, so here i am yanking the power plug and not looking that it is being twisted along with the power plug of the n900.

so being me, im like wtfux is holding my power plug and decided to keep yanking then "bam bam" and i was like Holly sh.t O_O wth was that"

look down and oh to the hell, my n900 on the damm floor, my house have tiles hard floor and my laptop table is like high above so that is a pretty long drop.

guess wat, same like you, n900 warp in a .99$ rubber casing from ebay and it was unscratched and no dent and still working fine. Gosh i love those cheap china made cases

[fnordianslip]

I remember when I did the same thing with my desktop PC. I'd just upgraded the motherboard on my desk and had plugged it onto the mains socket on the wall opposite. When I walked out of the room, I went straight through the mains cable, and dragged the tower off the desk. The case was bent for about 5 years, until I had to get a new one to take an ATX board.

[Bratag]

Just bought a rubberized case because of this story :)

[aprimo]

I dropped mine on the floor in my hotel room last week--carpet at least. No damage done, except to my heart.

[jsuggs]

I bought one of those cases off ebay (two actually, one still yet to arrive). The bottom piece fits perfectly and securely. The top piece has two issues. One, it is extremely loose and will literally "just fall off". Two, it gets in the way of the top rows of keys.

I'm assuming that yours does not suffer from either of those two issues, so can you send the link you got yours from?

[arpwatch]

For those of us still having unprotected n900, activities, can you please post a link to well fitting rubber cases for the device? Preferably ones that still allow access to the ports and buttons.

[janszoon]

The ones I bought fit PERFECTLY and tight ! even after the fall the two pieces were intact. No problem with keyboard/slide.

I have order 3 more....for that money its just a no brainer.

Finally, I think they look really cool. The n900 still looks new and it compliments the design.

I ripped of Clear Protector (after 3 days) and will use these from now on. I wonder if the phone would have fared as well with just clear protector.... probably not after a fall onto concrete.

[tanekray]

The ones I bought fit PERFECTLY and tight ! even after the fall the two pieces were intact. No problem with keyboard/slide.

I have order 3 more....for that money its just a no brainer.

Finally, I think they look really cool. The n900 still looks new and it compliments the design.

I ripped of Clear Protector (after 3 days) and will use these from now on. I wonder if the phone would have fared as well with just clear protector.... probably not after a fall onto concrete.

...So where did you get it? After reading this thread I need to get one now !! Please post a link :)

[bltcool]

Lol, mine fit snuggly as well and I ordered 3 more, just to have around. I work a lot in industrial facilities so for that price they are good to have around and just treat as expandable.

These plastic-rubber shields are great, and you don´t really care if you damage them for that price.

I left the clearprotectors on underneath, as I´ll be switching my device between these cases and a Noreve case (www.noreveusa.com).

This is what I bought (and from this seller):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260524765879
the one i got is exactly like that but for .99$ , but ya they fit perfectly

[Mattside]

So would you guys recommend a hard, plastic-type case? Or would the silicone one be better for drops/everyday handling?

And janszoon, the one that you're using, is it plastic or silicone?

[Giostz]

After reading this just ordered from the link olighak gave. Hope they fit well.

[janszoon]

I have the 'hard plastic' one listed above on ebay. but they have a Matte/brushed feel like rubber, look like rubber and (i think) compliment the phone really well, they look classy. Don't know how they make money selling these things for .99c They are worth 10 times that easy. They all come from the same mold i assume so very good fit. Silicone would be good too, but not sure about the fit? SERIOUSLY anyone who reads this should get one (or 5) as for that money you just can't go wrong.

Beware of highly entertaining movies this holiday season. :-)

[Spyder]

Do the hard rubberized cases add a lot of bulk to the phone? Do they make it tough to slide the phone in and out of a pant pocket?

[bltcool]

Do the hard rubberized cases add a lot of bulk to the phone? Do they make it tough to slide the phone in and out of a pant pocket?

to me it didnt add up much to the size of the phone at all and the slider of the phone is not effected by anyway of the case consider the case fit perfectly to the front and back of the phone and not get in the way of each other at all

[janszoon]

these case rock, no real extra bulk in my opinion. treat it like a laptop....it needs a case !

[sjgadsby]

Threads merged.

[Tiase]

I want to say dont worry, as there is a video on youtube by tehkseven, where he performs drop tests and what not on it, and it's not broken yet, lol

[darkheroz]

I dropped my N900 in the deep snow a few days ago. Thanks god that I was near my home and dry the unit with my wife's dryer :)
It is OK for now. If water remain in the unit - it is history.

[nkognegr0]

well to follow up on my n900 in the toilet....nokia sent it back unrepaired says theres corrosion on the circuitry and they wont fix it. i even offered to pay for the fix and they wont. so from this day on i officially hate nokia more than apple. the n900 still works but has not net or wifi. wow what a waste of nearly 600!

[reviver]

well to follow up on my n900 in the toilet....nokia sent it back unrepaired says theres corrosion on the circuitry and they wont fix it. i even offered to pay for the fix and they wont. so from this day on i officially hate nokia more than apple. the n900 still works but has not net or wifi. wow what a waste of nearly 600!

Real sorry to hear that. However if it has been completely under water there is no certain way to fully fix it besides replacing everything. Even tiny amount of corrosion on components that currently work can cause lot more problems later. You might have ended wasting even more money.

At least Nokia keeps the water sensors inside the phone unlike Apple.

The legend says even sweaty hands can kill & void the warranty on iPhone :) (http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10214153-233.html)