This report seems to arrive at some extremely dubious conclusions: How can they state that the iPhone 4 is more susceptible to damage, when the two periods of time compared are the first 4 months of the two handsets' release? Upon release of the iPhone 4 there was NOT A SINGLE protective case available for that handset. Upon release of the iPhone 3GS there were hundreds, if not thousands.
This reports conclusions are based on science about as much as Sarah Palin's dinosaurs.
I'm not a big fan of the the way the 4G looks anyway. The form of the 3GS is more appealing than the 4G. Ever seen a 4G placed in a case? it looks like a brick!
I prefer the look of the G4 - love the all glass front and back... BUT a case really spoils the look. The G3 already looks dated to me but I got to admit that it feels better in the hand and is perfect for slipping into pockets. But really, they're both delicious.
I'm not a big fan of the the way the 4G looks anyway. The form of the 3GS is more appealing than the 4G. Ever seen a 4G placed in a case? it looks like a brick!
True, but for me, one good thing about the shape of the iPhone 4 is it's easier to grasp when taking a landscape-oriented photo. The squared off edges are more grippy.
I have a 3GS, and I feel like it's gonna slip out of my hand every time I'm taking a photo that way. But I didn't have that problem when playing with the 4 in the Apple Store. And another plus, you can set the 4 on a flat surface to help stabilize your shot. Not possible with the 3GS' curved edges.
I can not believe how many people break their iphones/itouch, I have seem more people walking around with broken glass. They are still using them since the obviously can not afford to fix it.
Grant it most of them were kids and you expect kids not to care about things they did not necessarily buy with their own money, but to hear how many here drop their phones, don't you care about your stuff to take better care of things that cost lots. I hate to see what your cars look like or even you computer.
You can add me to that list of broken glass panels. My fault though so no gripes.
Whilst i love my iP4 and think it's the best product Apple have designed, do you think Apple will stick with the principle of glass and current antenna design for the next gen iP5?
Given the negative, albeit very small, press with regards to antennagate and now glass panel breakages.
I noticed in my daily rag that the iP4 lost to the HTC Desire for phone of the year in the 2010 T3 Gadget Awards in London. Even though apple cleaned up with the iPad, MacBook Pro and best retailer.
To me the iP4 should have walked it, although it did get best commuter phone, but one just wonders\
iPhone has big stigma to overcome, among geek types I think Android gets looked at through rose colored glasses a lot. We've seen several Android phones in our offices and one thing has been very common among them, all sorts of crazy software issues & cluuuunky. Not saying Android is bad, just my own real world experiences have left me extremely unimpressed. HTC makes very good phones so I'm not surprised it would be them at the top with the iPhone, but I don't pay much attention to Gadget reviews...they're really quite terrible.
Ever seen a working iPhone 4 that is not in a case?
Yep. All of the ones around here. The form factor is just too great to put in a case. I don't baby it, I don't have a case (my wife's also) and absolutely no problems. reception is much better than the 3G I had before and I'm in a fringe AT&T area. My father's not in a case either.
The ONLY care I take is not to put my keys in the same pocket as my phone but otherwise it lives in my pants pocket.
I had the 4 for less than a week, it's cracked, one drop. It glanced my shoe and skirted over the tiles. The crack went from the home button to the antenna gap. It's a weak point.
Exactly what happened to me. Mine fell from a lawn recliner barely 12-14 inches on to a concrete porch. Cracked from the home button to the antenna gap. Another $199 down the drain.
Ever seen a working iPhone 4 that is not in a case?
The whole antennagate/case thing is overrated. In my testing using the iPhone iOS 4.1 secret signal test feature (*3001#12345#* from the keypad screen) "Death Grip" is the difference between 90Db signal loss, and 100Db Signal loss.
Is this taking into account just the from glass or the back glass as well?
Previous iPhones just had front glass so there was some less chance of breaking glass with the older models.
I cracked my back glass right at the month mark. Thankfully, Apple replaced the phone, no questions asked. Maybe they did not have too but if they ever had a list showing all the Apple stuff I have bought over the years, it warranted a free replacement.
I thought the same thing. The data *does* include both the back and the front glass, so shouldn't we actually expect a 100% rise in the number of cracked screens, making the 80% figure actually lower than expected? In any case I would agree at least anecdotally, both with the extremely "delicate" nature of the iPhone 4 as well as with poor quality overall in construction and very poor response from Apple when one does have issues.
I dropped mine from about knee height onto a sidewalk and it landed on edge, but the supposed "special alloy" of steel scarred up like it was literally made of cheese. A noticeable chunk of the steel band just fell out and I have three large scratches on the corner it fell on. The glass didn't break but mine was also one of those with the gap between the glass back plate and the chassis, as well as having a crooked phono jack that sometimes produces static. IMO Apple's quality control has pretty much gone straight down the toilet.
When I took it in to the Apple store (mere hours after I bought it), they wouldn't replace it unless I was going to take a "service model" (second hand refurbished), with only a 90 day warranty. Even though these are manufacturing flaws completely out of my control (I dropped it *after* this). While I was there though I tested the 12 or so phones on display, and two of them had the gap problem and one had a similarly angled headphone jack.
I find the iPhone 4 to be a shockinglylow quality product that breaks *very* easily and Apple's strong-arm response to blame it on the buyer just so far beyond the pale I don't have words for it.
It's unclear from your story whether the study controlled for whether there was a case on the iPhone. Because the iPhone 4 is more attractive than the iPhone 3GS and, therefore, possibly more likely to be used without a case, I can well imagine that the absence of a case might account for part of the greater susceptibility to damage. A more reliable study, which could easily be conducted in a lab (albeit at some cost), would be to drop the various iPhone models from various heights, at various angles, onto various surfaces. In the meantime, it might make sense to ignore the results of studies like the one cited in your story.
My experience is completely different. My iPhone 3G got scratched pretty fast, first the Apple logo at the back followed by extensive scratches on the silver lining around the phone's edge.
iPhone 4 on the other hand seems to be completely resistant to scratches. Now since it is glass on both sides I'm sure it wold probably fare worse in hard impact type of situations (even though I dropped mine from waist height to hard wood floor with not a single mark or scratch).
Overall I find iPhone4 much better as far as scratches go.
My wife seems to have dropsey with the IP4, it was never an issue with the 3GS. I think it is the square edges that may get caught or otherwise snagged with when removing from pocket, purse etc. Of course remembering it is on her lap when she stands up might help also!
I never had a problem with the 1g or the 3gs without cases, I dropped them plenty without cracking. The 4g I drop from waist level onto tile and both sides shatter. I don't have any problem with reception, but I think it is pretty ridiculous that they expect a case. The 4g is beautiful, why would I want to cover that up, or have to. I went to the genius bar and they told me they will replace it for $217! I was going to do it but I looked online and found out that iresq will replace both sides and replace them in white to create the uber rare white 4g iphone for $265. I hate paying, but at least I feel like I'm getting an upgrade rather than just a repair.
Comments
This reports conclusions are based on science about as much as Sarah Palin's dinosaurs.
This reports conclusions are based on science about as much as Sarah Palin's dinosaurs.
Ha ha ... Remember, they were on the Ark! They had to be right? ....
I'm not a big fan of the the way the 4G looks anyway. The form of the 3GS is more appealing than the 4G. Ever seen a 4G placed in a case? it looks like a brick!
I prefer the look of the G4 - love the all glass front and back... BUT a case really spoils the look. The G3 already looks dated to me but I got to admit that it feels better in the hand and is perfect for slipping into pockets. But really, they're both delicious.
I'm not a big fan of the the way the 4G looks anyway. The form of the 3GS is more appealing than the 4G. Ever seen a 4G placed in a case? it looks like a brick!
True, but for me, one good thing about the shape of the iPhone 4 is it's easier to grasp when taking a landscape-oriented photo. The squared off edges are more grippy.
I have a 3GS, and I feel like it's gonna slip out of my hand every time I'm taking a photo that way. But I didn't have that problem when playing with the 4 in the Apple Store. And another plus, you can set the 4 on a flat surface to help stabilize your shot. Not possible with the 3GS' curved edges.
Grant it most of them were kids and you expect kids not to care about things they did not necessarily buy with their own money, but to hear how many here drop their phones, don't you care about your stuff to take better care of things that cost lots. I hate to see what your cars look like or even you computer.
You can add me to that list of broken glass panels. My fault though so no gripes.
Whilst i love my iP4 and think it's the best product Apple have designed, do you think Apple will stick with the principle of glass and current antenna design for the next gen iP5?
Given the negative, albeit very small, press with regards to antennagate and now glass panel breakages.
I noticed in my daily rag that the iP4 lost to the HTC Desire for phone of the year in the 2010 T3 Gadget Awards in London. Even though apple cleaned up with the iPad, MacBook Pro and best retailer.
To me the iP4 should have walked it, although it did get best commuter phone, but one just wonders
iPhone has big stigma to overcome, among geek types I think Android gets looked at through rose colored glasses a lot. We've seen several Android phones in our offices and one thing has been very common among them, all sorts of crazy software issues & cluuuunky. Not saying Android is bad, just my own real world experiences have left me extremely unimpressed. HTC makes very good phones so I'm not surprised it would be them at the top with the iPhone, but I don't pay much attention to Gadget reviews...they're really quite terrible.
Ever seen a working iPhone 4 that is not in a case?
Yep. All of the ones around here. The form factor is just too great to put in a case. I don't baby it, I don't have a case (my wife's also) and absolutely no problems. reception is much better than the 3G I had before and I'm in a fringe AT&T area. My father's not in a case either.
The ONLY care I take is not to put my keys in the same pocket as my phone but otherwise it lives in my pants pocket.
BUT a case really spoils the look.
Have you seen this case?
http://www.elementcase.com/iphone4.html
I had the 4 for less than a week, it's cracked, one drop. It glanced my shoe and skirted over the tiles. The crack went from the home button to the antenna gap. It's a weak point.
Exactly what happened to me. Mine fell from a lawn recliner barely 12-14 inches on to a concrete porch. Cracked from the home button to the antenna gap. Another $199 down the drain.
Ever seen a working iPhone 4 that is not in a case?
The whole antennagate/case thing is overrated. In my testing using the iPhone iOS 4.1 secret signal test feature (*3001#12345#* from the keypad screen) "Death Grip" is the difference between 90Db signal loss, and 100Db Signal loss.
Is this taking into account just the from glass or the back glass as well?
Previous iPhones just had front glass so there was some less chance of breaking glass with the older models.
I cracked my back glass right at the month mark. Thankfully, Apple replaced the phone, no questions asked. Maybe they did not have too but if they ever had a list showing all the Apple stuff I have bought over the years, it warranted a free replacement.
I thought the same thing. The data *does* include both the back and the front glass, so shouldn't we actually expect a 100% rise in the number of cracked screens, making the 80% figure actually lower than expected? In any case I would agree at least anecdotally, both with the extremely "delicate" nature of the iPhone 4 as well as with poor quality overall in construction and very poor response from Apple when one does have issues.
I dropped mine from about knee height onto a sidewalk and it landed on edge, but the supposed "special alloy" of steel scarred up like it was literally made of cheese. A noticeable chunk of the steel band just fell out and I have three large scratches on the corner it fell on. The glass didn't break but mine was also one of those with the gap between the glass back plate and the chassis, as well as having a crooked phono jack that sometimes produces static. IMO Apple's quality control has pretty much gone straight down the toilet.
When I took it in to the Apple store (mere hours after I bought it), they wouldn't replace it unless I was going to take a "service model" (second hand refurbished), with only a 90 day warranty. Even though these are manufacturing flaws completely out of my control (I dropped it *after* this). While I was there though I tested the 12 or so phones on display, and two of them had the gap problem and one had a similarly angled headphone jack.
I find the iPhone 4 to be a shockingly low quality product that breaks *very* easily and Apple's strong-arm response to blame it on the buyer just so far beyond the pale I don't have words for it.
... the back (because it's not made out of the same glass as the front.)
Where did you get that info from? I've never seen it stated anywhere else that the back glass is different from the front.
iPhone 4 on the other hand seems to be completely resistant to scratches. Now since it is glass on both sides I'm sure it wold probably fare worse in hard impact type of situations (even though I dropped mine from waist height to hard wood floor with not a single mark or scratch).
Overall I find iPhone4 much better as far as scratches go.
PS: No cracks or scratches yet.
Have you seen this case?
http://www.elementcase.com/iphone4.html
Okay... I have to say it...
That's vaporware.