Two weeks ago everyone (including myself) was freaking out about the Nexus 6P bend video that was posted on BGR.com. Last year people were going nuts about the iPhone 6 bending problem. Have you ever wondered where the bend test idea originated from in the first place? Who was the first person to test for device ruggedness? I personally haven’t wondered about it and that might be because it appears that yours truly may be the first person to stress test a gadget! At least that is what Jacob Kastrenakas of The Verge found out while researching for an article he titled A brief history of the bend test. His article shows a time line of various bend tests and after a lot of Google search gymnastics, the first mention of any such tests he could find was my review of the Everex FreeStyle A-15 Manager Palm size PC back in July of 1998. That was the first time I performed my Gadgeteer creak test which consisted of squeezing the device in my hand to see if the plastic flexed or creaked when I applied pressure. It’s 17 years later and I’m still using this same test on almost every device that comes my way. I think it’s pretty awesome that I might be the early pioneer of gadget destruction. Not that my squeeze/creak/rattle tests ever resulted in a gadget fatality, but that’s evolution for you. For more info go read Jacob’s article on The Verge.
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Hey Julie! There is a difference between seeing how well a device is made and noticing the way the parts are put together (we all hate that feeling when it isn’t assembled well) and plain old wrecking an expensive piece of machinery. I assumed you checked for quality when you did your test. I want a 6s but I am not even remotely interested in testing to see how far it bends. I expect the phone to be sturdy enough for daily use before I put it in a case to protect it. If the unit is flimsy, the manufacturer should had know and done something before people start dropping $ on it.
Agreed. My tests were/are never designed to destroy the device like some of the “tests” we see today. The Verge article was written as a history piece to see how the ideas for these tests got started.