Inspired by this poll thread on whether people use belt clips to carry their phones, I became curious on how many people have had their phones pickpocketed in public places, or lost them, or broken them; and how that breaks down depending on how the phone is carried.
We’ll agree that “stolen” means any situation in which the phone was surreptitiously taken from your person or your premises, whether it was carried in an actual pocket or by some other method. Muggings would be a separate issue and not really applicable here, on the assumption that a mugger would demand the phone regardless of how you carry it. Lost means lost, whether from falling off your belt our out of your pocket when you didn’t realize it, or from inadvertently leaving it behind in a public place.
(Note: In the thread title, “expensive” simply means that the phone in question should be something the loss of which would ruin your day, basically.) You might have received the phone free on contract, but it would still be costly to replace. With more inexpensive devices, the day-ruining potential of losing one might be more proportional to how much you depend on it for access to your contacts, calendar, etc.
I’ve mowed my job-supplied Blackberry up because it’s belt clip fell off of my belt.
I also have replaced several screens in other phones because I carried them in my pocket or dropped something on them, or because my little brother hip checked me into a cabinet. I’m hard on phones.
These days, I buy ruggedized phones. I’d probably have to mow this one up like the Blackberry in order to damage it.
I don’t use a belt clip - I’ve never had my phone stolen, but I’ve broken a LOT of phones. Most were broken from excessive water damage. I would unconsciously place my phone on my towel when taking a shower. Then, getting out of the shower, I’d grab my towel and my phone would fall in the toilet. After doing that a few times I stopped bringing it in the bathroom with me.
I hike a lot. I fall in rivers a lot. I carry my phone in my pocket. Lots of water damage.
Now I have a waterproof phone in a shatter-proof case. So far, so good.
I’ve carried a cell phone since 1995. I’ve never lost or damaged or had one stolen. I started carrying smart phones in 2008, always bought a case only (no screen protector) and have never had any damage. When I upgrade and sell my old phones, they’re “like new” condition.
When out and about, my phone is in a dedicated pocket of my commuter bag (and have had bags of varying types since college, but not little purses or backpacks). If I’m without the bag, it’s in my front pocket. At coffee shops/restaurants I will put it face-down on the table. In my experience traveling on public transit in a large city every day, phones are not pick pocketed very often. They’re more often simply snatched from the hands of people not paying attention to their surroundings. Thief is either out the door of transit, or lost in the crowd before the owner can even react.
I shattered the screen once. I was parked in my car and had my phone on my lap. I suddenly decided to get out of the car, forgot that my phone was in my lap and… crash.
Only lost a phone once, in the damage sense. Back when I had a habit of keeping my phone in my bra, I had it so stashed at a bonfire one night. Dancing around a bonfire + sweat = water damage. It didn’t impair the function of the phone at all, but it was a loaner phone while my own was being repaired. (No damage to that one, it just had software issues.) When I returned it, the water indicators were pink.
Never literally lost a phone. I didn’t have a holster, just carry it in a pocket or purse or sometimes just in my hand. Tapatalk won’t let me see the poll for voting. ( I’m assuming there’s a poll?)
I’ve never lost or broken my phone. I keep it in my pocket. I did manage to out a little scratch on the screen of this one which is noteworthy since my old phone went for years without a mark
Never broken a phone. I get the latest/greatest, have had both androids and iOS, and carry it constantly. On the water it’s in a drybag, otherwise it’s in my pocket. I recently misplaced my iPhone at home and used my iPad and “find my device” app to locate it in the garage.
I have had so many phones lost or stolen and the ones that I retire are beat to hell. I don’t think I’ve ever destroyed one in a single catastrophe, but that’s just luck. This is because I
[ul]
[li]work in schools, and things get stolen in schools.[/li][li]carry it in a pocket or in my hands[/li][li]am easily distracted[/li][li]don’t really care about the aesthetics[/li][li]am a bad person and don’t take care of my stuff.[/li][/ul]
I had a phone stolen from my house. (A quick break in while I was asleep–he got my laptop, too. And came back for the Good TV later, because my landlady never did fix that back door. It could have been much worse. )
Most modern purses have special outside pockets designed for smart phones. When I’m out & about, that’s where the phone resides.
I’ve have the same cellphone ( 1Phone 4s ) and I carry it in my pocket. I’ve dropped it a few times but never cracked the glass. Worst thing that happened was one of the cats decided to move it around a bit and knocked it down a flight of stairs. No cracks or dents, but it did reboot itself.
I have never lost a phone or had one stolen, and I have owned many cell phones.
By the time I am ready to switch or upgrade to a new phone my current phone typically has a few scratches on the sides but is functional. I have never had a phone break on me, although I have had a few screens crack from the phone being dropped. Thank goodness for insurance.
I used to carry my phones in a holster on a belt clip but have put my phones in my pants pocket since around 2004 because of convenience and the frustration of either my phone coming out of its holster and falling to the floor, or the holster itself unclipping from my belt and falling to the floor.
My problem now is that still have almost every phone I have ever owned, even two car phones from the '90s, one of which, my first cell phone ever, was hard-wired to the car through the center console. I have a few old Blackberrys including the Storm, an old Qualcomm, an old Nokia, an old DroidX, a couple of old iPhones, and 3 old Samsung Galaxy phones. All of these phones still work but are useless to me. I don’t know why I keep them.
My current phone is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which I love, but I never think about it being damaged as it is completely protected in a wallet case.
Back when I used to wear my phone on a belt clip, a habit picked up when I first started carrying a ‘brick’ phone for work, I lost it at a auto salvage yard. When I went back it was nowhere to be found, but since I had been climbing in and around several vehicles that was not surprising. As far as I could tell from the Android Lost app, it never came back on once the battery died. I presume it ended up crushed with whichever vehicle it fell off in.
That’s when I started carrying my phone in a front pocket.
I’ve used a belt clip since… oh '95 or so when I got my first phone. One nice thing about them is that it comes with a protective case for the phone itself.
Never lost one.
Never had one stolen.
Never broke or damaged one in any way.
Actually, I’m kinda bummed when it’s time to upgrade (it’s getting easier though).
Had one stolen on a train once. It could have been taken out of my pocket, but I think I forgot it on the seat and the guy opposite me robbed it. (Long boring story, but I’m basically positive it was him.)
Wrecked my smartphone summer before last. I took my kid to the beach, and I was wearing a sundress with no pockets so I stuck the phone down my bra. I do not have massive gazongas, so the bra wasn’t big enough for this purpose and half the phone stuck out. I showed the kid how to do a cartwheel and the phone went into a big puddle of seawater.
Never misplaced one nor had one stolen or taken from me.
Once had a flip phone in a belt clip / holster which I bumped with my elbow, knocking it free of the clip / holster. Which would have been fine had I not been leaning out over a lake at the moment. Helpful hint: flip phones don’t float.
Other than that I’ve never damaged one no matter how carried. My current typical 2015 smartphone rides in a pocket, not a holster.