19 thoughts on “Phone Upside Downers”

  1. I carry my iPhone 4 in a holster, but only when I’m wearing a belt. Otherwise when I carry it in a pocket I put it in side-down, with the top toward the front.

    In the unlikely event that I’d have earphones plugged in, it wouldn’t much matter which end has the jack in it.

  2. I normally put my android in my pocket, so that it will be right-side up when I pull it out to look at it. The only exception is when I have headphones plugged into the jack. Then, I turn it right-side up.

    1. You still have your ear up and your mouth down don’t you? What if you are listening to music and need to answer a call?

  3. a reader: Hardware “home” button doesn’t rotate or move, and you have to cover the screen to use it if it’s on top. Minor, but real.

    Me, I just don’t use my phone with headphones – I do use it as a music provider, but in my car, connnected with the dock connector.

  4. I’m not seeing any compelling reason to upgrade from the 4S I got. Probably not even next year to a 5S. We’ll see what the iPhone 6 has in store.

  5. I have a modern phone (2 year old Android, which just about matched the performance of the new effort from Apple), and I carry it sideways in a NiteIze holster…..So there.

  6. Also at Slate, a group was promoting a project to 3-D print a pistol and the company that leased them the printer took it back. The article also links to a freeware printable lower for an AR-15.

    That kind of technology could lead to a shooting war between the phone-uppers and the phone-downers.

  7. Apple is showing other signs of losing touch. i used to love the iPhone, though I have a 4S. Then iOS 6 came along. It changed more than the OS, the most irritating change being replacement of the wonderful Google Maps with the dreadful and useless Apple maps.

    I think they need a different name for iOS 6. “Windows ME” comes to mind…

  8. iPhone 4S, right-side up, but only because the headphone jack is there. When the phone is lying on the table, the head phone cord has to come out the top and loop around to where I’m sitting (I use it as an email reader while I program, so it has to lie with top away so I can read it), so this sounds like a great idea. I’d do upside-down-in-the-pocket for that.

  9. I just bought a new cell phone.

    It doesn’t play music.

    It doesn’t show TV or movies.

    It doesn’t have GPS or sky maps for star watching.

    It makes phone calls.

    It has the capability to do text messages, but I’ve never sent one.

    I make phone calls, on my phone, that’s why I bought it.

    To make phone calls, that’s all I want my phone to do.

    But the head phone jack is on the side, for the sake of this topic.

    1. Here’s your cane, Gramps. The line for practicing “you kids get on my lawn” forms right over there.

    2. Doesn’t play music? When last year my old Verizon phone broke and I bought the cheapest Virgin Mobile phone available, a Kyocera flip phone, it plays music.

  10. I have always put the iPhone 3 and 4 in my pocket or briefcase slot upside down because the speaker slots are on the bottom, and in a noisy environment it’s difficult to hear the ring tone, even at maximum volume, with them muffled. With the headphones plugged in, this isn’t an issue, so I really don’t care where they put the jack.

    1. I always have my phone set to vibrate. Too many issues with someone phoning me in the middle of a meeting or whatever.

  11. Holsters are gauche.

    I put my iPhone 4 in my pocket upside-down, so that when I take it out, it’s right-side-up. Think about it: the bottom of the phone is toward the heel of your hand, so when you put your hand in your pocket…

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