Mobile phones are supposed to be carried by their owner and most of us keep them close by for the majority of each day. They can be kept in a pocket, on a desk or in a bag and so it is important to keep them protected if possible. I am one of those people who will overdo the protective element of mobile ownership and do everything I can to keep it as good as new and the resell value as high as possible. This has always worked for me in the past and the expense of a screen protector and case are minimal compared to the longer life and higher resell value they produce. My BlackBerry smartphones have had neither a case or screen protector and every one was still in perfect condition when it came to moving on. And then I bought an iPhone 4.
It has a case and a screen protector and multiple surface scratches on the back casing and the screen. I treat it like a baby, but to no avail; the damage keeps on coming. The emphasis on style is immense and it is without doubt a beautiful phone, but I would argue that the materials used and the shape mean that it is much more likely to get damaged than other smartphones. It’s not just me, a colleague at work has exactly the same problem and it is frustrating.
Apple does not have a good track record when it comes to making portable devices capable of keeping their looks in the face of ‘normal’ use. The silver backing on the early iPods and iPod Touch is plainly ridiculous. If you so much as look at one of them they will scratch, and the iPhone 3G and 3GS backings were only marginally better.
Design is vitally important in any smartphone, but it sadly appears that looks are more important than making a device that will look like new for the long term. What is the point of making a phone that looks great if it cannot keep those looks for more than a few weeks? Few people seem to moan about this, but I believe it to be a fundamental flaw in the iPhone 4 design.
I have a small scratch on the back of mine despite a case. I think something must have got between the case and the phone to cause it. Annoying but I can cope with it at the moment.
My iPhone 4 lives in my front pocket with no case and it’s absolutely fine. The screen and the back are tough as nails, and the build quality of the whole device is second to none. It has survived several drops and one awful moment when I accidentally flung it into a wall. Fragile? Hardly.
You all know me on this one. I am in the same boat with Shaun. Manufacturers, not just Apple, have sacrificed functionality for aesthetics. How many times have we went to look at a phone that had great specs; but truthfully, we hated how it felt in your hand. It seems that, like everything else, looks are more important. This thought has filtered down from other aspects of our lives. When I buy something, sure, I want something that looks good; but it MUST function well for me to buy it. Playing with a device in the store is an absolute must before you buy. Quality is becoming an issue because we are getting away from good, proven, heavier materials in exchange for lighter and fancier.
I haven’t had much trouble with mine. I have a couple very small scratches.
Lazyboy. Can you repeat throwing the iPhone 4 in to the wall. And upload to YouTube. Or perhaps throwing it off the roof of your house and wow not a scratch
lol. How on earth did it survive the wall?
Back on topic
The iPhone 4 is the first phone not in a case. Originally I bought tons of cases. I still have a few in a box. I use a gelaskin (Motherboard)
along with their special sized protector. And that’s it.
It does feel fragile though. But with the gelaskin I feel comfortable using it without the case. Plus I love the custom look.
The only extras I have bought for the iPhone 4 is some new headphones, headphone amp and line out dock.. Review soon..
The wall incident isn’t something I would want to repeat, Gavin, believe me. I was lying down listening to some music and when I got up, I completely forgot that I still had the headphones plugged into my ears, the headphone cable then got caught in my belt buckle and my iPhone launched itself into the bedroom wall with a hideous thunk. I fully expected something to have been shattered, but it was fine.
Went to a pub today and saw a couple with iPhone 4′s. I asked them if they had any scratches on theirs and the guy said “It’s a bl**dy nightmare!” He then showed me his- it was much worse than mine. The lady’s had two scratches on the screen as well.
I really don’t buy arguments that the iPhone 4 can cope with daily life as well as other phones. It’s still the best there is, but ‘fragile’:)
Trevor I was only teasing. I can imagine your heart sinking when that happened.
Anyway back on topic. I was at a wedding last month and nobodies iPhone 4 was scratched even with one of the girls simply tossing into her handbag. I am sure it will get damaged.
The screen is meant to be stronger than gorilla glass. This means you should be able to take a drill to it.
I think only Nokia phones are designed for serious abuse (as tested t AAS i think). My desire screen is fine but the battery cover is covered in scracthes (but obviously I can buy a new one). My Dell Streak has no screen protector so will see how will it survives now that I have Anroid 2.1 and will start using if for normal day-today business.
I’ve managed to scratch all three of my iPhone screens, albeit only in a minor way. I have a screen protector and rubberised case on my 3GS. The case needs checking every now and then as if a hard piece of dust gets stuck in there it will be rubbed with pressure against the back and could leave marks. The back is okay, apart from the silver apple with has a couple of scratches!
I only know one (real life) person with an iPhone 4 and he treats it very well so I imagine it’s in a good condition.
well im not so sure you can say nokias build quality is good.iv got an e63 here iv had since christmas.it hasnt been out the house or dropped and still has factory protectors on yet the front panel has substantial movement is flexing and creaking above the left soft key and to the side of call button.
my e71 is full of dust behind the glass and i dread taking it in to get it cleaned out in case the front doesnt go back on like it is now
my htc hero on the other hand is almost 18months old and is in pristine condition and has been out in all sorts of elements and dropped too.
The screen of my ipod touch 4 broke with a very small drop!!! It is ridiculous! These devices in one way or another will suffer a fall, but I would expect that a portable equipment with a cost of £300 wouls be more resistant! I just can’t believe it. I strongly recomend you to buy an apple warrante if you can. I will report mine for it jsut happened 7 days after I bought it.