Avoid a cracked screen with airbags for your phone!

We have all been there- that slow-motion, heart-sinking moment as your phone drops onto hard ground and the inevitable feeling of doom as you check what the damage is. Well what if you didn’t need to worry?

But The Daily Mail reported recently that inventors have devised an unlikely answer to one of modern life’s most expensive little mishaps – an airbag for your smartphone.

Motion-sensing technology already built into most smartphones is used to detect when it has dropped – and the mini airbag is then deployed before it hits the floor.

The idea is the brainchild of retail and technology giant Amazon, which has patented the protective system for mobile phones, electronic readers such as Amazon’s own Kindle, computer tablets and cameras.

This week the company won approval for the patent, which was filed in America by Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, 48, a self-made billionaire who has forged a career from pioneering ideas.

The patent reads: ‘Prior to impact between a surface and a device, a determination of a risk of damage to the device is made. If the risk of damage to the device exceeds a threshold, a protection system is activated to reduce or eliminate damage to the device.’

The patent details a system that utilises a gadget’s built-in gyroscope, camera, accelerometers and other onboard sensors in order to determine if the device has entered an airborne state. If it has, the technology will release airbags to reduce potential damage – or possibly even change the trajectory of its fall by firing jets of air.

Although the technology is there, it may be a while before airbags come as standard in all smartphones! In the meantime, if you want to avoid the inconvenience of a shattered screen it is probably best to invest in a protective cover for your phone. This Fenice black diamante iphone4 cover not only protects your phone but looks stylish too!