While holding several advantages over sleeve bearings, ball bearings do still have their drawbacks. Ball bearings are less robust than sleeve bearings, so they need to be treated with care and protected from impacts. Therefore, while they are suitable for portable applications due to their ability to operate at any angle, ball bearing fans may not hold up over time due to the rugged nature of most handheld electronics. In addition, ball bearings are noisier, more complex, and more costly than their sleeve-based counterparts.