iPhone Dropped in Swimming Pool Is Still Going Strong

Leander Kahney ()

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Two weeks after an iPhone 3GS was dropped in a swimming pool while recording video, the phone is still frickin’ working says its owner.

“I’m talking to you on it now,” says Khena Kara, the iPhone’s owner, speaking from his home in Nashville, TN. “It’s still going strong.”

Kara’s iPhone 3GS gained internet fame after Kara accidentally dropped it in a swimming pool while recording a video. The iPhone kept recording as it sank to the bottom, and as he fished it out. “It still frickin’ works!” he says in surprise as he pulls the iPhone from the pool. Kara posted the footage to YouTube, and it spread fast on blogs and Twitter. It has now been watched more that 500,000 times.

But many questioned the video’s authenticity. Most notably, Mashable wondered whether it was real.

“Yes, it’s real,” says Kara of the video. “It was the pool in my subdivision.”

Above is a video still of Kara taken from the iPhone video right after it was fished from the pool. And below it is a new picture of Kara taken with the same iPhone.

The new picture’s metadata appears to back up Kara’s story.

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Here’s the full picture of Kara emailed to CoM. The photo says it was sent from an iPhone. The picture’s metadata says it was taken with an iPhone on July 5 — almost two weeks after the pool video was posted.

The photo’s GPS data points to a subdivision outside Nashville, and the Google satellite image of the subdivision shows a large swimming pool. Kara asked that the satellite image not be published.

“I don’t want that many people to know where I live,” he says. “There are too many weirdos out there, and if you had seen some of the responses I’ve gotten, you’d swear I posted a video of me killing a puppy or something. It’s crazy.”

The crazy response is partly because of the video’s popularity, and partly because of the Mac-versus-Windows flame war it started.

“This thing has taken on a life of its own,” adds Kara, who speaks with British accent even though he is half French, half Sicilian. He was born and raised in Paris, France, and educated by a British tutor. His father is a famous French movie star.

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“I had no idea how much attention it would get. It’s insane. I had no frickin’ idea.”

Questioning the video’s authenticity, some wonder if Kara put the iPhone in a waterproof case before he dropped it in the pool.

Kara says the iPhone was wrapped in a rubbery case, but it’s not waterproof.

“It’s a cheapo rubber case,” he says. “I don’t remember the brand. The case might have helped, but all the holes are still exposed, so it didn’t make that much difference.”

Others have accused Kara of working for Apple.

“I’d be happy to work for Apple,” says Kara laughing. “I’ll move to Cupertino if you want me to. They can send me free stuff too.”

8 comments »

About the author

Leander Kahney

is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in Apple, iPhone 3G S, News, Top stories, Web |

  • loko__loko

    i like to see that iphone to be dropped in the pool again.. and using another video cam to take the video.. :P

  • peter sztramski

    My iphone also got dunked, without a case, unfortunately into a toilet; Yes the toilet was clean. i fished the iphone out and it worked immediately. My phone continues to function months later. i thought it pretty amazing as well.

  • PhillyC

    I can believe it. My daughter’s iPhone 3G has taken a beating and is still working fine. Here is list of abuses it’s had to suffer:

    1) Multiple drops. It’s a white iPhone and it the back of has more pits and scratches than the surface of the moon.

    2) Cracked and broken glass screen. TWICE. There are two areas where the screen is cracked and broken. One from a fall and one from being sat on in her back pocket.

    3) Immersed in a cup of beer. This one was nearly unbelievable. My daughter is a college student and joined a sorority. After a “powder puff football” game that they one the team was celebrating (obviously with large amounts of beer). My daughter said she had stuffed her iPhone into her sports bra and in celebrating the victory her and a sister were jumping up and down. Her sorority sister had a cup of beer in her hand and went to take drink and noticed the iPhone in her cup partially immersed in the beer.

    4) Immersed in a puddle of water. While laying out by the pool in our backyard she accidently dropped it into a puddle of pool water that was in a float that she had taken out of the pool. We thought it was gonner as it wasn’t working after this episode. I told her to dry the exterior completely and immediately put it in a ziploc baggie with uncooked rice in it for 24 hours. It worked the next morning and has been chugging along ever since.

    The only thing I ever thought would be a downside to the iPhone was the durability and fragility of the device. While I wouldn’t recommend try to replicate the torture that my daughters iPhone has gone through, I am definitely less fearful of an occasional drop killing it.

    Phil

  • Ryan

    I find it hard to believe. My wife spilled about an ounce of Gatorade on her 3 week old 3G and it stopped working. Apple would not warranty it so we had to buy a new one at retail price. nice.

  • http://poolcaptain.com pool contractor

    In that case I think i-phone will get an added advantage, being water proof!!

  • Shane

    Our toddler got ahold of my wife’s iPhone and threw it in the toliet, it still works a few months after but we have to keep the Auto-Lock set to Never otherwise we get the flashing Apple logo if it locks.

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    Have someone here used dough boy pools before?

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