Study Suggests Damaged iPhones Cost Americans $5.9 Billion

(Newsroom America) -- Technology protection plan provider, SquareTrade, has released a new study which shows that damaged iPhones have cost Americans $5.9 billion since their introduction in 2007.

Based on a survey of more than 2,000 iPhone users, the results combined the cost of repairs, replacements and insurance deductibles for cracked, dropped, pummeled, kicked, and water-damaged iPhones.

The study also found that in the past 12 months alone, 30% of iPhone users damaged their device.

SquareTrade said as iPhones become an increasingly central part of our daily lives, accidental damage is 10 times more common than loss or theft. The study also shows that younger consumers are clumsiest with their iPhones: half of iPhone users under 35 have had an accident.

The top five iPhone accident scenarios according to the study are:

Phone dropped from my hand Phone fell into a toilet, sink, hot tub, swimming pool, lake, etc. Phone dropped from a lap Phone knocked off a table Phone drenched by some liquid

"As smart phones continue to improve, they become more tightly integrated into our busy lives leaving them vulnerable to accidents around the clock," commented Ty Shay, CMO at SquareTrade.

"We were astonished at how many people drop their phones in the toilet as well as how frequently an innocuous drop from the hand actually killed the device. We look forward to seeing what the new iPhone 5 users report with regard to durability."

SquareTrade's recent study indicates that due to the often-costly expenses associated with repairing damaged iPhones, many consumers often resort to "desperate" measures. For example, 11% of iPhone owners surveyed are currently using a device that is cracked and 6% have taped up their iPhone as a solution.

The survey responses for SquareTrade's 2012 Smartphone Accident Survey were collected using the world's largest panel provider, Survey Sampling International. Demographic quotas were used to collect a representative sample of smartphone users. Overall cost estimates were created using survey data and smartphone market size estimates released by comScore in May 2012.