Alexis Cruz drops her iPhone about four times a week.
For some smartphone users, this could mean life or death for their device.
But for Cruz, along with other Gainesville residents, this is just a regular occurrence.
Gainesville was rated as the klutziest city in the nation for 2015, according to a survey done by Gazelle, a technological company that trades and sells pre-owned smartphones and other electronics.
The survey showed 31 percent of devices Gazelle received from Gainesville had shattered screens or significant damage.
“I honestly believe that Gainesville is number one on the list — probably because I live here,” Cruz said.
The 20-year-old UF telecommunication junior has cracked the screens of her past three iPhones and her laptop.
She plans to get her iPhone 6 repaired in the near future.
Other cities that ranked in the top-five of the 2015 Klutziest List include Staten Island, New York; El Paso, Texas; Philadelphia; and Tallahassee.
“We saw that the klutziest towns also had major universities in the city limits,” said Kevin Walther, a communications specialist at Gazelle who published the survey.
However, customers at Re-Tech Smartphone Centers off Archer Road range from all ages, said Tully McQueen, the vice president of operations at Re-Tech.
“Everyone from your grandmother to your granddaughter has a smart phone now,” McQueen said of the growing trend.
Re-Tech repairs smartphones and other similar technology, whether it be cracked screens or water damage.
The center conducts free diagnoses, after which it gives customers an estimate on what the repair will cost, according to its website.
Re-Tech also provides a one-year warranty on all screen repairs.
West coast cities such as Honolulu, San Francisco and Seattle were rated less klutzy than cities on the east coast, according to the survey.
Since these western cities are not college towns like Gainesville, their broken-device percentages are not as high, Walther said on behalf of Gazelle’s analyst team.
Electronics received from Gainesville also had more water damage than devices received from other cities, Walther said, which could be connected to Florida’s peninsular location.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 7/9/15]
