We recently got word that Bijan Rezvani, on vacation in New York, dropped his iPhone on the subway tracks and then, in an act some would call suicidal and others illegal, jumped down to save it.

Rezvani's dangerous leap down to the subway tracks was more dangerous than attempting to run across a three-lane highway since he had to deal with the threat of electrocution from the third rail, a bite from subway rodents and the possibility of getting crushed to death by an oncoming train. Oh, and he had a ledge to climb back up.

There's a reason why entering the tracks is illegal. New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority told us that passengers who drop a device should ask an attendant for help, rather than risking death like Rezvani.

Thinking about Rezvani's plight, we asked ourselves: is any gadget worth risking your life? We wouldn't recommend jumping down on the tracks at all, but we came up with a list of 10 devices to die for that would make us think twice. 

We also had a chance to interview this digital daredevil and get his side of this disturbing story.

LAPTOP: What were you thinking?
Rezvani: Well, there was my phone.  I wanted my phone.  I needed my phone, so... I got it.

LAPTOP: Ah, interesting. No seriously, what were you thinking?
Rezvani: I don't know, is it a weird thing to have done?

 

LAPTOP: Do you consider yourself a happy person? Were you hoping for an express train to come?
Rezvani: The world's a discontenting place. Express train might have been nice; I could have skipped work on Monday.

LAPTOP: I'm kidding. Let's back up here. How did this whole thing go down?
Rezvani: Well, I was on my way back from this wacky 8-bit festival thing in Chelsea and as we came down into the platform the train arrived, so we hurried.

We went down a few stops and had to get out for some service BS (I have no idea).  We got back into the train and I realized that my phone, which had been in my pocket, was no longer there.  We looked everywhere.  We waited 15 or 20 minutes or so and headed back 4 or 5 stops or however many to where we had boarded.  Looked outside, looked around, and couldn't find it.

Incidentally, someone had defecated in this tunnel we had to go through repeatedly, which was pretty horrible.  Anyway, so we left messages and texts with it and decided all we could do was go home.  We were standing on the platform waiting for the train when my friend said, "Isn't that your phone down there?"  It was.  So I got it.

LAPTOP: What was your backup plan if you'd seen a train coming?
Turn back? Run faster?  No work on Monday?

Rezvani: Not much of a backup plan.

LAPTOP: Did you have a look-out?
Rezvani: My friend was there, although we didn't discuss much other than him telling me I shouldn't go and me going anyway.

LAPTOP: What were the reactions of others on the subway platform? Did they cheer you on?
Rezvani: Well, it was pretty late... probably like 2 or 3 a.m. so there weren't that many people around.  But the people who saw definitely seemed disturbed.

LAPTOP: Had a train passed over it yet? Was there any damage to the iPhone?
Rezvani: I'm sure trains had passed over.  There didn't seem to be any damage, but my phone already has severe scratches all over it.

LAPTOP: Would you have attempted to grab it if it had fallen under the electricity-filled third rail, but with enough room to squeeze a hand in?
Rezvani: That's a good question. I have a fear of this legendary "third rail" and am not sure how I would've dealt with that. I'm pretty sure I would've gone for it, but I would've thought about it first.  I'd probably first find some sort of stick.

LAPTOP: Did you think about asking the MTA to help you out?
Rezvani: Didn't occur to me.  I did take a lost and found brochure (which I didn't need once I found it).

LAPTOP: Did you jump for the iPhone or for the content? Was there a girl's phone number on there you really needed? A limited edition Hillary Duff album?
Rezvani: Well, first of all it's an expensive piece of hardware. Too expensive for me, but Steve [Jobs] owns my soul.  Content was a major issue too... mainly contacts, but also photos.

It's the first time I've had a cool phone that does anything and also the first time I've gone around taking photos of things in my life, so the stuff I had captured was kind of important for me to keep. I also cropped a couple hundred wallpapers for it so that would've been gone.

A big issue was sort of a privacy one... I didn't like the idea of someone looking at my photos or of someone being able to text people in my list or read my conversations with friends, etc. The prospect of paying for another phone (by necessity the cheapest offered) didn't thrill me either.

LAPTOP: Was it unlocked and loaded with some killer apps?
Rezvani: Yeah, it's unlocked. I have an NES emulator with some ROMs like Mike Tyson's Punchout... solitaire, Tetris, a really cool version of Labyrinth, an audio recorder, "Apollo" which lets me do iChat, some other stuff.

My friends who have iPhones all have them cracked and on T-mobile so they had been pressuring me forever to do it.  I didn't want to because of the whole Steve/soul thing, but I finally gave into peer pressure.  The main perpetrator of this influence finally held my iPhone up to me and closed his eyes and said "push this button."  It was like 4 a.m. or something and I was tired, so I gave in and pressed the button.

To all the boys & girls out there afraid of cracking their iPhones, know that a world of possibilities awaits.

Oh, and having an installer/uninstaller on board is extra cool.

LAPTOP: Would you have jumped for, say, a Blackberry?
Rezvani: I wouldn't have one, but if I did... I think so.

LAPTOP: A laptop?
Rezvani: Of course, would you save your mom?

LAPTOP: An iPod?
Rezvani: I guess so...

LAPTOP: Your sister?
Rezvani: Don't have a sister.

LAPTOP: Would you have done it for a 4GB iPhone?
Rezvani: lol... wouldn't have that either.

LAPTOP: In some respects, would you consider yourself an iPhone body guard? A member of the iPhone Secret-Service, if you will?
Rezvani: I got an arsenal, an infantry.  I'm built for this mentally.

LAPTOP: 50-cent once said the same thing. How did you get up, was it a Matrix-style leap?
Rezvani: Training course style... two hands on the platform, swung my legs over...

LAPTOP: Would you do it again?
Rezvani: yeah.

 

Devices to Die For
Would you risk being electrocuted, crushed to death, or bitten by a rabid rat to save your favorite gadget from an oncoming train? No device is worth your life, but we've found 10 that made us think twice.