the tablet war is heating up

[Fast Learner]

I thought Gorilla Glass was supposed to make the phone more resistant?

It's very good at bending without breaking, very good at not getting scratched, and very good at not getting nicked when hit directly with something hard. It is not, as you have seen, all that great against hard crashes.

Very disappointed. That's ALOT of money to spend on a device that can break so thoroughly that easily.

Yeah, that bites. After I accidentally dropped an extremely heavy rock on my older iPhone (which, frankly, I wouldn't have expected any device to survive), we sprung for SquareTrade coverage on our newer phones: $50/year is more than I'd like but it covers all drops and liquid damage, including full immersion. We feel a lot more comfortable with them now.

 

[falcarrion]

What glass is!

 

[Banshee16]

What glass is!

Well, one of my clients used to manufacture glass (or a glass treatment) that rendered it RPG proof. But I don't think that will be used in an iPhone.

Given that, the obvious question is, if it's so fragile, why make the entire device out of it? I mean, the face, I can see...but why also the back?

We're trying to deal with the Apple Store right now, to see if we can get it fixed.....but if this is going to be some kind of $200 repair bill, seeya, one cancellation of cellphone services coming up.

Either that, or she'll have to use my Bold for now. I know it's pretty darned robust. I wonder if devices by other manufacturers such as Samsung and Motorola are similarly robust as a Blackberry, or if they'll shatter on impact as well? Many aren't glass on both sides...but plastic *can* crack.

I've bought an Otterbox Defender case for mine, and it seems to help. I know I have butterfingers at times, so it's nice having *some* protection, though I'm not going to go throwing it around to test it.

Banshee

 

[Janx]

Well, one of my clients used to manufacture glass (or a glass treatment) that rendered it RPG proof. But I don't think that will be used in an iPhone.

Given that, the obvious question is, if it's so fragile, why make the entire device out of it? I mean, the face, I can see...but why also the back?

We're trying to deal with the Apple Store right now, to see if we can get it fixed.....but if this is going to be some kind of $200 repair bill, seeya, one cancellation of cellphone services coming up.

Either that, or she'll have to use my Bold for now. I know it's pretty darned robust. I wonder if devices by other manufacturers such as Samsung and Motorola are similarly robust as a Blackberry, or if they'll shatter on impact as well? Many aren't glass on both sides...but plastic *can* crack.

I've bought an Otterbox Defender case for mine, and it seems to help. I know I have butterfingers at times, so it's nice having *some* protection, though I'm not going to go throwing it around to test it.

Banshee

I recall there were some law suits about the fragility of the screens on earlier models.

I know a friend of mine asked about screen toughness at the apple store, and the employee pulled out his personal iphone4 and banged the stuffing out of it on the counter to demonstrate its ruggedness.

I reckon though, an impact on the right spot can still break it.

Luckily, since all but 2 people on the planet have to buy a cover for their iPhone4 to avoid dropped calls, virtually all iPhone4's have some extra protection, just in case...

 

[falcarrion]

Well, one of my clients used to manufacture glass (or a glass treatment) that rendered it RPG proof. But I don't think that will be used in an iPhone.

Given that, the obvious question is, if it's so fragile, why make the entire device out of it? I mean, the face, I can see...but why also the back?

We're trying to deal with the Apple Store right now, to see if we can get it fixed.....but if this is going to be some kind of $200 repair bill, seeya, one cancellation of cellphone services coming up.

Either that, or she'll have to use my Bold for now. I know it's pretty darned robust. I wonder if devices by other manufacturers such as Samsung and Motorola are similarly robust as a Blackberry, or if they'll shatter on impact as well? Many aren't glass on both sides...but plastic *can* crack.

I've bought an Otterbox Defender case for mine, and it seems to help. I know I have butterfingers at times, so it's nice having *some* protection, though I'm not going to go throwing it around to test it.

Banshee

I agree the front and back is crazy. Was it just the back that cracked?
I'm not sure if goriila glass was used on the front and back. I'll have to check on that. DigiExpress has a sale on the back glass at 29.99. If you want them to install it add another 25 bucks.

 

[Alan Shutko]

Apple will also do a back-glass replacement for about $30. It's $200 for front and back (or front and back and everything else, it's their flat-rate repair).

The problem is you can usually choose things for hardness (which stops scratches) or impact resistance. There aren't any materials which do well at both right now, at least for consumer product.

 

[falcarrion]

The type of glass used by Apple is still in question. Apple nor Corning will confirm that gorilla glass is used in the Iphone. Some people claim it is some say no and others say the front is and the back is not. With what I have seen of gorilla glass, such as the dell streak demo. It is extreamely tough. So I don't think the back of the Iphone is gorilla glass.

 

[Felon]

Given that, the obvious question is, if it's so fragile, why make the entire device out of it? I mean, the face, I can see...but why also the back?
Banshee

And hey, what's the deal with the black box? I mean, really. if it's designed to survive a plane crash intact, why not build the entire plane out of the black box??? Thanks, you've been a great audience.

Sorry about your wife's phone, but I couldn't resist. I too know the pain of a cracked screen, and not one but two volume rockers have been dislodged from my iPhone. But I'm hard on my toys.

 

[Felon]

Are there Coyotes in Hollywood? Because otherwise, the naming convention doesn't seem very consistent. Nonetheless, this is some tantalizing rumormongering about Amazon's alleged upcoming tablet:

Amazon prepping dual-core 'Coyote' and quad-core 'Hollywood' tablets for 2011

 

[Banshee16]

I recall there were some law suits about the fragility of the screens on earlier models.

I know a friend of mine asked about screen toughness at the apple store, and the employee pulled out his personal iphone4 and banged the stuffing out of it on the counter to demonstrate its ruggedness.

I reckon though, an impact on the right spot can still break it.

Luckily, since all but 2 people on the planet have to buy a cover for their iPhone4 to avoid dropped calls, virtually all iPhone4's have some extra protection, just in case...

Unfortunately, she chose her case based on cuteness rather than practical considerations. When caught between a rock and a hard place, cute always fails. As this one did. So far mine has withstood 10x as much punihment with my Otterbox. Of course everyone makes fun of me for it being unstylish.

Anyways I won't vent here further. It's too bad they made those decisions as I do think it weakens the overall product, but it hasn't seemed to slow down sales. As to the contoversy about whether or not gorilla glass has been used...I didn't even know there WAS controversy. I thought it truly had gorilla glass.

Of course, some claim Apple has had other instances where they either intimate or claim one of their products has a feature that it turns out not to have....such as the new Time Capsule which they supposedly claim has an enterprise class hard drive, when teardowns have revealed it may be a regular hard drive.

Does Apple's Time Capsule really use a 'server-grade' hard drive? | Crave - CNET

I'll take her to the Apple Store tomorrow and see what happens. My sister claims she dropped hers and they replaced it free of charge, and the person behind her in line had dropped theirs, and it was also replaced for free. If that's done, I'll definitely have to eat some crow.

Banshee