Falling iphone to gain nine f lipping lives

THE feeling of dread is familiar to anyone who has ever dropped their cellphone: did the screen crack when it hit the floor?

Not if Apple has its way. The company is working on a system that detects when a dropped iPhone is falling, then flips it over so that it lands face up.

The idea sounds like an early April Fool ’ s joke, but in fact comes from an application filed by Apple to the US Patent Office for a “protective mechanism for an electronic device”.

The aim is to prevent some or all the damage to any electronic device with a processor, such as a tablet or a laptop, but the patent application specifically mentions the iPhone.

A number of solutions are proposed to position the phone on landing: the movement of a weighted mass in the device, aeroplane-like foils that extend from the surface of the device, and a thrust mechanism such as a small gaspropulsion device.

Leaks about such a seemingly fanciful system may be met with some cynicism at a time when Apple is under fire for ceding ground to rival Samsung.

But perhaps the plan is not so absurd after all: Amazon recently patented the idea of a phone with air bags. — © The Daily Telegraph, London THE leader of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans ’ Association has threatened a fresh wave of farm invasions — this time targeting black landowners.

The war veterans, who spearheaded Zanu-PF’s chaotic land reform a decade ago, are critical of party leaders who own several farms each.

“The basic understanding of the land reform was that people should get equal pieces of land.

“It becomes illogical for a single individual to own excessive land,” said Jabulani Sibanda, the association’s leader.

Aware that a new wave of farm invasions could discredit Zanu-PF ahead of elections planned for midyear, Sibanda said the exercise might be undertaken after elections.

“We will definitely deal with them, but we have to get over with these elections first,” Sibanda said. — John Nqindi