Stay Safe - protect your phone
According to recent research, the average mobile phone lasts just 15 months before being broken, lost or stolen despite a normal pay monthly contract lasting for 24 months. Not surprisingly, out of those handsets which don’t make it to the finish line, a massive 31% are broken by being dropped or drowned.
Out of those of us who have broken a phone, 26% will replace it by forking out for a cheaper replacement while 13% have had an embarrassing hand-me-down from family or friends.
Sound familiar? Then these tips are for you!
Stop the drop
Cases- We’ve all experienced that slow motion feeling of dread whilst watching our phone somersault towards the floor, shortly followed by a burst of fury when we discover our screen has split into tiny pieces, just like our heart. As our phones are never out of our hands, we are forever dropping them. This is where a good case comes in. And by good, we mean one that will genuinely protect your phone.
What should you look for when buying a phone case?
Cover a portion of the front glass –A case needs to absorb shock and limit the impact to the display. So it makes sense that you put as much distance between your handset and the ground when it hits a flat surface. Ok, so it’s not going to do much if you drop it onto a pointy rock face down, but then nothing can really be done about that.
Material –Although plastic cases are awesomely fashionable, they’re not as effective against breaks as you may think. A hard, rigid case doesn’t absorb impact energy, which is kinda the whole point. So although your phone looks fab, it won’t do if you drop it. When choosing a case, make sure it’s made of silicone or thermoplastic polyurethane, also known as TPU. You may limit the cuteness or the coolness of your options, but you will increase the effectiveness of your protection.
Kill the spill
We’ve all been there, either spilling a drink on our phone or dropping it down the toilet. Water seeps through, getting stuck behind our screen and finding its way into our charging port, inevitably sending our handset to its watery grave. So, what do you do if this happens? Well firstly, don’t panic; take out the battery and SIM card, then dry the device in a bag or bowl of white rice overnight to remove excess moisture. If this doesn’t work, take it to a technician to see if they can save your phone from sleeping with the fishes.
If you know you’re going to be around water, be it on holiday or on a boat, get yourself a waterproof case. These are more like air tight bags with a few added features, including a buoyant arm band (so it will float if you happen to drop it in the water) and a waterproof headphone jack.
Beat the heat
In England, it’s rare we get to see the sun. Especially sun hot enough to melt our smartphone. But you may have been on holiday and noticed that your device acts a bit weird when you’ve left it lying on your sunbed all day. That’s because our handsets aren’t supposed to operate in temperatures over 95°F. If you have an iPhone, you’ll already know this thanks to a handy little notification you receive when it’s burning up.
The tip for protecting your phone from heat is pretty simple really, just make sure you leave it in the shade, and if worse comes to worst pop it in your cooler for 2 minutes.