A common case among iPhone owners, a shattered front glass panel.

This is your iPhone...

This is your iPhone without a case.

I was in front of my apartment making a phone call and after the call, I whipped the phone towards my pocket and the phone slipped from my hand like a wet bar of soap (as the story goes, don't drop the soap or you'll get fucked by someone, in this case Apple). After falling from two steps up and onto the concrete sidewalk, I was left with a severely shattered iPhone. Everything still worked, but I never knew "slide to unlock" could ever cause you to bleed.

Unfortunately, the damage is not covered under the one year manufacturer's warranty, even if you have Apple care. I brought the phone to the Apple store and found out that I needed to shell out $199 for a replacement. Instead, I headed over to Tekserve (w23rd btw 7th and 6th ave) and had my glass panel fixed in about 2 days for only $129.

Appointment with Apple Genius Bar the next day - Saturday, 7AM

Yes, I saved about 70 bucks in repairs, but a part of me is crying foul play. I understand that most people do not choose to put a case on their iPhone because it allows them to easily slip their phone into their pockets (especially when you have everyone wearing tighter jeans nowadays - thank you hipsters), but did Apple also think about how easy it would be for it to slip out of people's hands? Perhaps this was intended so that people would have to shell out all that money to get it replaced.

A Simple Solution (ASS), Apple
Cover the backside (the top 1/4 half) in a rubber-like material. It can serve two purposes: 1) decrease the probability of the phone slipping out of someone's hands and 2) it will help serve as a this-is-the-top-side indicator so that people won't have to look twice to check if the phone is rightside up.

The Proposed Section of the iPhone to be Rubberized

2009-05-24 15:21:07 Eric Agreed I dropped my first gen iPhone a few times and it ruined the screen. But my second gen has been totally fine. Nevertheless, the rubber padding sounds like a good idea. Perhaps I'll mention it to Scott...

2009-05-26 09:52:48 Gene @Eric Hey Eric, the results of Googling "shattered iPhone" attests to this common problem and I'm surprised it hasn't been addressed yet. And ::knock on wood:: for your second gen. Anyways, thanks for perhaps passing the word on. :)

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.