The Bendable iPhone 6

GM recalls a plethora of cars, will it only be minutes until Apple recalls the complete run of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus?

Corporations... That's why you can't trust 'em, they're only in it for the money. Where's Frank Zappa when you need him? We bend over backward to lionize these enterprises with no center and no morals and are then surprised when they abuse us?

Let me put this more simply, should I buy an iPhone 6?

Call it a first world problem. While you're at it, call our entire lives first world problems, I hate that knee-jerk reaction. It's a way of showing your superiority when the truth is we're all in it together and the way we connect is with our mobile devices and this is especially true in third world nations, where there is no wired infrastructure. If you don't think defective phones would screw up India, you've never ventured outside our borders.

Now Apple has not weighed in on this yet, but the company will.

I was ignoring it until someone linked me to this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znK652H6yQM#t=116

Turns out you can just bend the iPhone 6 Plus with your hands!

I'll be clear, I keep my mobile phone in my front pocket. I've been wary of back pocket storage ever since my wallet fell out back in high school, never mind the warnings about rear end theft. And I've wondered forever if I could damage my mobile device by putting it up front, but I had faith in the manufacturer and alas, I've yet to have a problem.

Until now.

This is what happens when you put designers in charge. Yup, Jony Ive has been elevated to guru savant by not only Apple, but the country at large. As if looks trumped usability. As if we were all complaining that our phones just weren't thin enough. In search of cool, Ive has now literally broken our phones.

Now what?

The speed with which this story has ricocheted off the web is truly astounding. As for conspiracy theories, I think those are now toast. Everybody talks and everybody listens, nothing goes unaired.

And sure, the Android people are out to get Apple.

But come on, I can bend my iPhone via regular use? An item that costs close to a grand, even though I may be putting no money down?

Yup, the carriers want to lock us into contracts. They love when you don't upgrade, they're just skimming more money from you. But I'm not that stupid, I want to get a new phone. But now I'm not so sure.

So after the public comes the media vultures. This story will be all over the straight news soon. That's how it works today, it goes from us to them, from the internet to the news behemoths who do no reporting but insist we listen to them.

And then the financial universe will get ahold of this. And shenanigans will ensue. Not only outcry, but stock volatility.

And what exactly is Apple supposed to do here?

Stop production, stop selling. That's what Fitbit did with its Force, when it turned out the device irritated skin. That's what Lululemon did when it found out you could see through its clothing.

I don't want to hear no namby-pamby admonishments to be careful with my device. Why don't we just keep our cars in garages so they don't get damaged. Why don't we live in hotel rooms so our houses have no wear and tear. Why don't we stay out of the sun so we get no skin cancer.

That's the society we live in today. You get no tech help and if you raise your hand and complain everybody says it's your fault and you should adjust your behavior.

And sometimes this is true. There are professional complainers. And others that believe buying a product guarantees perfection ad infinitum.

But is it reasonable to believe your phone shouldn't bend with normal use?

I'd say so.


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