Is there a reason to write the whole article using "iPhone" instead of "smartphone"? Because really, this could have happened with a SAMSUNG or NOKIA or whatever.

Sheep. Baaa.

Replacement screens for smartphones are available for purchase on the web and they are not that difficult to install. The same is true for replacement batteries. Apple, Samsung and Nokia would love you to believe that their phones are not fixable and must be replaced every year or two. But, it really isn't the case.

@MMMarie - I agree that broken smartphones are more prevalent than just broken iPhones. But the article did specify that iPhones have a glass front and black, so maybe they get broken more often than others. I've never broken my iPhone. I put a case on it right away because I'm prone to dropping it (large phone+small hands+gravity = tears).

Or phone for those of us without even a smartphone, MMMarie. We exist, too.

This is classist.

I don't think this is classist at all. Smartphones are extremely prevalent. You don't have to have a lot of money to have one. You can have a smartphone and be on a pre-paid plan, making it extremely cheap to have one.

I definitely see more broken iPhones than other smartphones. I want to swtich from my droid to iPhone later in the year, but I'm afraid for this very reason! Definitely will need to invest in a good case!

There are repair kits you can order on the internet. My son has repaired several screens for various family members, plus, you can even change the color with the kits. One of my relatives has an orange iPhone now that looks very cool. I have an iPhone - call me an elitist or a classist, I could care less what you think of me - I bought a case for it that has protected it from all kinds of damage and I have dropped it many times.

My iPhone story:

Left it on a windowsill overnight. Roof leaked directly onto the iPhone, causing it to completely F up.

After wrangling with my landlord, he agreed to pay to have it repaired (about $200).

I still can't look back and laugh.

Too bad that this is about iPhones only, otherwise I could have entertained you with some funny stories about things I've witness falling prey to toilets and pools.....I'll have to save them for another post.

I used to have a lot more problems when I carried a Palm Pilot, I suspect because they were a bit bigger than most smart phones. Those suckers would fall out of my pockets with fair regularity and seemed to be magically attracted to tile or concrete floors.

A friend and I were walking in a small village in Alaska a few years back. As we went across a bridge over a small tidal creek, his phone fell out of his pocket, hit the decking of the bridge and went into the salt water. My response was "Yeah, you can forget about THAT phone" but he actually paid a couple of guys who were nearby and wearing boots to wade in and find the phone. I guess the phone was submerged for 30 min or so, but they did find it. My friend washed it with freshwater, then took to to multiple repair places. The final verdict was just what I expected. Toasted, he needed a new phone. I never understood why it took him so long to concede defeat and get a new phone.

I have yet to break my "wretched" iPhone 4, but almost as heartbreaking was that I bought a beautiful etched bamboo case (saved up for months to buy it) and immediately dropped it on the hard linoleum floor in our conservation lab. The phone was fine, but the beautiful case shattered. Needless to say I now go function over form and have a hideously, bouncy, black rubber case that has saved my phone numerous times since.

My husband's iPod got smashed when the doofus left it in our beach bag and my daughter, who loves to collect rocks, tossed a softball sized stone on it. A blessing in disguise since it finally broke him of his Angry Birds addiction....

3 weeks after receiving the iPhone for my birthday, I was kneeling in the yard pulling weeds. It slipped out of my pocket and fell about 15 inches to the ground, landed face down, and shattered. It had bits of glass poking out of it, so had to be replaced right away. Made an appointment at the genius bar. I could not find parking so I walked in the store about 5 minutes late. I couldn't get the attention of the store staff at the front door, they were standing together talking. So I went to the back. By the time I got someone's attention, I was now 7 minutes late, so they said I had to reschedule. This was a Monday afternoon at 2:30, and the store was nearly empty. I tried arguing, but they wouldn't budge. So I rescheduled. When I went back for my appointment, 5 minutes early this time, they made me wait 55 minutes before I got to see the "genius". They kept my old phone and sold me a new one for $249, plus I paid the $49 replacement insurance since obviously this phone is extremely easy to break.

I've only ever owned or worked on Apple computers and I like having everything work together seamlessly, but I don't like the way I am treated by this company. At all. Between managing a design studio and my own purchases, I've probably bought 200 Apple computers in my life. I'm quite tired of being treated like sh*t by Apple.

The iphone is a design classic. Covers/cases on them drive me insane. It wasn't made to be covered up.

@Parnassus - There are a few bad eggs at Apple stores, I give you that. I've had really good service anytime I've gone, and prompt service as well. My iPhone failed about a week after I got it, and Apple replaced it with a brand new one right away, and didn't charge me for anything. Your phone should have been under warranty.

I have a Samsung Nexus S, dropped it on the floor several times, it even made a fall from a 2nd story balcony and it only has really minor scratches. But then again, it's not an iPhone, so I guess my story isn't relevant. Keep crying, poor iPhone owners, one day you'll realize that's not an Apple at the center of the universe.

@stepanka - Whatever tone you perceive the article to have should not be applied to all iPhone users. Not sure what your problem is with them in general, but I don't think everyone thinks Apple is at the center of the universe.

@Pi,

It's often the people who irrationally despise Apple and owners of their products who create the idea that we believe Apple is the center of the universe. I don't know what @stepanka's issue with apple owners is, but it seems s(he) has more problems than we do.

I like Apple products, but I'm far from being a fanboy. I feel like they make products that are no-fuss and for me that is key. I like playing around with technology, so I have a PC for that. But when I'm browsing the internet or making phone calls, I'll use something that _just works_.

I don't know if I'm lucky or there are just defective phones out there but I've dropped mine a few times on the concrete and not a scratch. I have a case but it's a pretty flimsy one. My sister got her iPhone and about a week later she dropped it in a puddle in the gutter, but only discovered she had done so after it had been sitting in the water for an hour. She was crushed. She immediately went to the Apple Store and they replaced her phone for free, no questions asked. So, no, Apple is not the center of the universe, but that's just one example of the excellent customer service from them, and that is one reason I like their products. (similar story when I accidentally spilled water on my laptop)

@HESPERLEIGH I was nervous about the Droid to iPhone transition myself, so I researched cases like crazy and am a true believer in the Otterbox Defender. Since I've had mine, I've dropped it maybe 20 times. The first 3 times, I frantically checked all corners, buttons, and faces. Since then, I don't even give it a thought. The other day, I saw a woman's Otterbox Defender phone fall out of her bike bag while she was riding along. Same thing: she just turned around, picked it up and stashed it again. Defender = Peace of Mind.

Rereading, it sounds like I work for Otterbox, so Otterbox, if you're hiring, I'm available :)

My iPhone breakage story is not interesting in the least. I was attempting to use it when it slipped from my hands and landed face down, flat on the concrete walkway. The phone had a plastic covering on its face and sheath around the body, but it still shattered the front glass. I've been using it in its shattered state even though some of the glass has come out.

Apple owners don't like being stereotyped just as much as women and minorities. People irrationally despise us, too.

I'd rather be irrationally despised for what I do have, though. Count your blessings, Apple owners/carrotsticks.

I have a tale - I bought a new case from J. Crew and foolishly thought it served more than just a decorative purpose. One day later, I was looking at my phone when my dog pulled the leash really hard. My phone flew out of my hand and went splat on the ground. The photo in this article basically looks like what happened to my phone. I went to Apple and got a new phone for $53 because I have Apple Care +. Without it, it would have been $600 for a new phone.

Found my 2 cats playing with my iPhone like street hockey by batting it back and forth between eachother on the hardwood floor. The thing is my cats (fosters waiting adoption) hate eachother and were hissing as they whacked the phone to eachother, as if saying "no, *you* get to have it". My phone is an older model and didn't break so this story doesn't fully qualify here, but something about technology+cats= irresistible to me, like those pictures of kittens sleeping on keyboards.

@granola_suicide - not sure what your point is... I don't think anyone likes being stereotyped (women and minorities included). Someone's choice of telephone is such a strange thing to choose to differentiate between "us" and "them".

There's a lot of hate going on for iPhone owners here for whatever strange reason. People, choose your battles... who gives a crap what other people use as their phone!

It seems to me that the reason this article only mentions the iPhone is because they are way more delicate than the Samsung/Google phones. That is absolutely something I dislike about my iPhone and wish they would change it. Luckily I haven't had any breakage yet (knock wood), but if I did, I wouldn't be buying another all-glass iPhone.

Jogging, tripped, had not put iPhone 4S in it special outdoor use case, and the screen cracked- not shattered. Luckily I had Applecare and $50 later, a new iPhone4s. Now I only have one more accident insured, so am really careful!

Apparently, I don't count as belonging to the human race as I don't own an iPhone. Alas, I don't own a smarthphone either. I have the cheapest of mobile phones and since I use it for emergencies only, I am on a pay-as-you-go plan and a $100 credit last me almost 2 years.
Technically, the $100 is good for 1 year only because I have a hefty balance after one year, I call the company (Virgin, in mycase) and they will extend it. They keep taking $3,99 each month from the balance plus whatever minutes I use up (close to zero) until there is no balance left.

Anyway, I digress. I have successfully drowned 2 phones already and I am on a third one now. I usually carry a bottle of water with me and the caps don't work two well once the seal is broken. Plus, I have a vintage leather purse that holds the proverbial kitchen sink and it also has a leather lining (they don;t make them today like they used to). So when the water escapes from the bottle, you can walk around with water sloshing in your purse without leaking until you reach in and find out what happened. So, two of my phones drowned.

Dropped phone stories:

Palm Centro: it flew out of my hand while on a second floor balcony entrance to my apartment. Flew, it was like someone jerked it out of my hand mid-conversation. I rushed down to rescue it, sure that it was going to be destroyed. My aunt was still on the line wondering what that large sound was and if I was okay. Barely a scratch.

iPhone: within 1 week of receiving my iPhone 4, it slipped out of my hands. The crack was from the top of the screen to the ear speaker. That's it. I have never replaced it because I simply don't find it to be distracting or dangerous.
About a year to a year and a half later I noticed that I had a crack halfway through the back face. No idea how that happened, but waiting for the next generation to upgrade.

@PI - general Apple warranties do not ever cover the customer dropping and breaking the phone. You can, however, puchase the extra coverage (I want to say it's $99 dollars now) for 2 years and they will replace the phone within the 2 year period no matter what the problem. That being said, I'm on My 4th (!) iPhone after dropping the first 3 from simple drops. Of those 3, I've had to pay for 2 new ones. Only one time did the "genius" take pity on me and give me a new one.
I love Apple, not a fan girl by any means though. I too feel uncomfortable at how much money you can spend there vs. what kind of service you'll get in return. It's a toss up.

daughter's iPhone story....she had broken the screen and went to an Apple repair guy...he replaced the screen. A few short months later the whole thing went wonky two days before she leaves for basic training in the Air Force. Verizon says to her...Sorry...you voided the warranty by having the screen replaced. She is like..."Waddya mean? It was an Apply guy?" They said, "Yes...but it wasn't a Verizon guy...so now you can send it to Apple...and it will take 3 months." She was so upset she dropped her contract with Verizon and went to US Cellular and got a LG Excite phone instead.

I've never broken an iPhone, though I have had one stolen (a month after buying it, no less!). I've only broken a smartphone once, when an ex decided to move the stabilizer from a pop-up camper I was renovating, which resulted in the hammer I had on a cabinet flying into my Droid and absolutely shattering the screen.

Personally, while I like the iPhone enough, I think there's waaaay sturdier smartphones out there. My old Nexus S (which was caseless) was dropped constantly and the worst that ever happened was I had to put the battery back in it. I can't imagine dropping my iPhone in its Otterbox, let alone naked.

Could you get the "sponsored post" disclaimer on articles on AT that talk exclusively about Apple's products?

That's getting quite annoying.

I don't own any product from Apple and I'd never want to buy a product that I can't use as I please. It's like buy a home and not be allowed to change the kitchen. Not to mention the patent wars around the word on round corners & C...

I'm pretty convinced that Apple sponsors this site lol

Every article caters to Apple products and they are shown throughout various images on this site.

Anyhoo, the iPhone is so delicate that you're kind of forced to place it in some big bulky case. At the end of the, its like, "What's the point?" why should we have to treat a cell phone like a glass egg?

They build them this way to make more money.

@ Carrotsticks
The reasons to not like Apple product philosophy or its adepts is definitely not "irrational" or "strange".
I found much more irrational (and sad) these scenes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFIi-zpSuqs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAtunzpaydM

or the guy that styled his room on an Apple Store look.

It's too bad the clamshell design is no longer the norm - I have a smartphone LG Lotus that rocks, at least for physical design, size, and qwerty keyboard use. Not only does the clamshell help protect the phone, but it makes it so your phone spans the width from ear to mouth so you can actually talk on the thing! So, no fun iDisaster stories from me...

I'm pretty sure If Apple is sponsoring this post they aren't too happy with all of the people publicizing how fragile the products are or how displeased some people are with their service. That said, I have an incase and my iphone drops regularly, including one memorable flight down eight row of bleachers before landing on concrete and a flinging in the street by an angry two-year old, and it doesn't have a scratch.

Not an iphone or even android story.... i left the cell in the floor charging and went to sleep, a pipe in the bathroom broke and because the floor on my room is unlevel i woke up to my cell (and whole room) 2in deep in water..... the funny thing is, the cell was fully charged and keept on working till the battery died 2 days later.

btw ....The only other victim of the flood was a book.... and myself, having to clean (and wake up to barefoot) that much water in december.

I left my 3gs in the pocket of my bathrobe. Our housekeeper decided that was the day to wash the bathrobes.

I bought a new phone (I was eligible for an upgrade), but there were pictures and videos on the water damaged phone that hadn't been backed up. My co-workers took the thing apart, pumped the water out in a vacuum chamber, cleaned the motherboard, and replaced the battery connector. The phone was not functional, but it had power, and after some hacking I was able to get my Mac to recognize it as a camera and get my pictures.

I still have it, just in case someone I know needs a new screen. That was the one part that survived!

I must have dropped my iphone from a standing position a dozen times and it never suffered any harm. It always surprised me when what I thought would be a shattering shock didn't harm it a bit.
Then, in the San Diego airport, I was sitting on the floor at the gate, charging my laptop when I dropped my iphone about 3 inches to the floor and heard a sickening "tick!". And there, diagonally across the screen was the crack. It still worked and the crack was just a hairline but it barely fell at all and without much force. Go figure.

none of the iphones are glass front and back. I have dismantled 2 iphones both my hubby's to replace the broken glass and I own the 4S myself. He first dropped his 3G while passing security at the airport while talking on the phone with it tucked between ear and neck. He promptly bought the 4G which he had for about 1 year when he dropped again while talking on the phone (without the earpiece) while driving to pick me up, at HEATHROW.... (yes dear, that's why iphones have headset with a microphone on) :-( and the phone fell face down on the stick shift. He promptly ordered glass replacement sets on line, and I was able to change the glass of the G3 all by myself very carefully and with instructions from the web, the 3G was very very easy. He then tackled the Iphone4 glass replacement by himself, without me there. He did not keep the screws in the right place and then he was 3 screws extra :-) and due to following not the right instructions on line, he missed one important step and we think the video card was partially damaged.... Anyways, he has gone back to using the 3G which is a much simpler smartphone. We miss facetime now, since he travels so much for work, well our 4 year old does, I like talking to my hubby the old fashion way :-)

My favorite dropped phone story is my mother's old Nokia- she dropped it in her coffee. When she brought it in to the phone kiosk at the mall, the guy opened it up, smelled it, and said, "French vanilla?"

To the people who think the iphone is elitist, I bought mine back when I was still employed. But now that I am laid off, I got rid of my landline phone before I got rid of my iphone. I use it for so many things including making appointments, keeping notes, listening to books and music, taking pictures, texting, checking my email, checking my bank account, and of course, using the phone. I've managed to ditch notebooks, checkbooks, appointment calendars, hardcover books, CDs and my land line. What is so elitist about that? Plus, the apple store service I get has always been superb. Even when I cracked my phone, I got it replaced for free later when the screen became unresponsive due to another problem. Everyone should get such good service no matter what phone they own.

@dardi,

Yes, the Apple obsessed people are sad, but so is anyone who obsesses over consumer crap - any of it. Be it Apple, Pokemon, or having 1,000 pairs of stilettos. But because I own an iPhone and a Macbook doesn't justify comments like the one from @stepanka. Those comments are strange and irrational. Yes, there are Apple crazies, but there are Droid crazies too. Look how many comments are here touting the virtues of the Droid! More than Apple fans!

You can hate the company for whatever reasons you want, but I find it strange and irrational to hate anyone who owns an apple product for that reason alone.

@Parnassus

I am sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience with Apple!! I have always had fantastic customer service with them. I had a refurbished ipod that broke and I simply walked into the store and they gave me a new one, my dad has had two computers break that were no longer under warranty and took them into apple and they said no problem! And gave him new ones each time with no additional charge. If I were you I would send an email to their customer service department and let them know how displeased you were with their service, because it sounds like what you experienced was pretty sub par by Apple standards. Companies like Apple know that the electronics market is extremely competitive so offering service that stands by the quality of their products is essential to their success. Most likely they would offer you some sort of refund or at the very least some store credit for your hassle. I have emailed several companies to let them know how I feel about their products or service and this is pretty common practice. It definitely wouldn't hurt anything.

Shattered the back glass "teaching" my 4 year old daughter how to hop curbs on her razor scooter. She's never hopped a curb, but reminds me of the time I broke my phone whenever she gets a chance.

Amused to see the uppity comments on both sides of the fence here.

"Admit it. You did something dumb and you've broken your iPhone." Why should I admit something that has never happened?

Admit it. You painted your walls with maple syrup. Everyone has done it!

About 3 weeks into owning my first phone, an iPhone 4, I placed it into the flat top pocket on my bike trunk bag and set off on my bike commute. An hour later, arriving at work, I realized I'd never zipped up that pocket and the slick little bugger had slid out the side somewhere in the last 13 miles. I quickly called home and woke up my husband, who got out of bed and retraced my route from home as I retraced my route backwards from work.

He found it face down in the street less than a mile from home. At first it looked OK, then he turned it over and found the glass was completely crushed. It must have been driven over a couple of times.

Happily, since we were within a few weeks of the purchase my credit card paid for a replacement and, since he recovered the body, the iStore folks were able to recover the card and fully restore everything from my original phone.

And now I have it in an Otter box case and we've been living happily ever after.

I know that in this case the writer explained why iphones were singled out, but in general, saying iphone when talking about all smart phones is like saying Kleenex when talking about all facial tissue. If that's something that irks you, fine, but the semantics of phone brands shouldn't be something that outrages and offends you.

I know that I am far too clumsy to own an iPhone. I have a plain old-fashioned dumb clamshell phone that is "ruggedized" using the same technology they use to make phone for Army use in Mideast desert war zones. I've dropped it countless times, babies have teethed on it (drool and all), and it keep on working.
It seems that every time I re-up for a phone, there are fewer choices for non-smart phones with non-data plans. I hate the idea of doing everything on my phone. When I leave my house or office I want to leave all that behind. I wonder what I'll do when the only phones available are expensive smartphones with costly data plans?

"keeps on working."

iPhone 1...turns out that just because there is a kitchen timer app, it doesn't mean it's a good idea to use your iPhone as a kitchen timer. When making toffee. It kind of survived getting butter and melted sugar under the screen, but not my attempts to fix it.
iPhone 2...was the replacement for iPhone 1. One day it froze and never came back. Replaced under warranty with...
iPhone 3...which developed a fault in the proximity sensor so the speaker never came on. Replaced again under warranty with...
iPhone 4, which I left in a zipcar and the person after me stole. And looked me in the eye and swore they hadn't had it, despite being the only person after me to hire the car. Was due an upgrade so bought iphone 5 which has so far survived 9 months ...
Then found out iphone 4 was insured (yay me for forgetting to the cancel the policy when the free cover ran out) so claimed iPhone6 and gave it to bf for Xmas

iphone1 which I managed to get fixed by a local shop and lives on as the music player in the shed.

Score...2 failed, 1 stolen, 1 revived, 2 still alive

I once had a Pantech Pursuit (hey, don't laugh) that not only was dropped multiple times, but GOT RUN OVER BY A CHARTER BUS..... And it continued to work just fine. No cracked screen, the slide mechanism was just fine. I have an iPhone now and I coddle it. I doubt it could survive a bus.

My mom, who was famous with the local cell company for breaking the antennas off her old school nokia bar phone, did probably the best "cell phone damage" I know of. She ran over it with her tractor.
There was no repairing that one.

I don't have the iPhone 4 but I do have an iPhone 3Gs, I've had it for almost three years and I have dropped that thing about a billion times. Seriously I drop it at least once a day, concrete, hardwood floor, tile, etc, and I don't have a case on it and it doesn't have a scratch! Now the side volume control has broken and I have to jiggle it with a pen so I can hear it when it rings or I get a text but I'm sure as hell not paying $200 for the 4. I REFUSE to pay for a new phone until mine just completely goes kaput. Coworkers and friends always shriek and gasp when I drop it and I just say, "oh its all good, don't worry...." and it always is!

First, there is nothing to be ashamed about being an Apple partisan. Apple set high standards for DESIGN (via FrogDesign), which is one thing of interest in this blog, no?

My guy and I have been involved with Apple computers from the start. He wrote programs for Apple II computers, we both had access to an Apple Lisa before the Mac (THAT was a trip!), and we were at the Boston Computer Society public launch of the first Macintosh. Our consulting company worked on the launch of MacUser magazine. Perhaps needless to say, we still are Mac and iPod and iPhone users. (Somehow we haven't gotten iPads, yet, though.) We like them. It isn't a "sheep" thing, @MMMarie, it's more like family! They are beautiful to look at, sleek and contemporary, they work well, they have a lower proportion of hacker/spam/trojan horse troubles, and they are user friendly, which I cannot say for MS Windows based products. I think some people are hostile out of jealousy!

My iPhone was a gift. I'm not a phone person of any kind, so although I'm grateful for it and do carry the thing with me in my handbag (in a special Velcro'ed pocket for security!) I mainly use it to play games while waiting for food in restaurants. And I have it for emergencies including the "are we out of cat food, I'm passing a store" kind.So far, no damages. I'm not so in love with it as a cool gadget that I can't bear to protect it, so I have a nice black rubber sleeve which I hope will save me if I ever drop it.

Non-Apple products are fine, too...

My HTC smartphone has flown out of my pocket onto hard surfaces countless times, and even once slipped out of my pocket right as I slammed my car door closed on the face of the phone, and still doesn't have so much as a scratch on the screen (just a little dent in the back and side from where it got slammed). I'm sure this isn't by any means exclusively an iPhone problem, but it certainly doesn't seem to be a myTouch 4g slide problem. Part of it must be the screen material, since it has taken some serious punishment without any wear, but I think the car slamming incident was helped tremendously by the extremely slight, nearly unnoticeable lip of plastic that extends about 1mm above the screen. I know the iPhone looks really awesome as a perfect little candy bar, but I can't help but think a tiny lip would help the screen in some situations.

I've dropped my LG Smartphone (not in a case) onto my brick floor numerous times and nothing has broken. It also spent a few minutes in the washing machine with the water running before I realized it was there and got it out. Again, no problems. Maybe the article here refers specifically to iPhones, not because the author is using the term in a generic sense, but because it is literally the only smartphone that will break if you look at it wrong. Which seems to me to argue pretty strongly against the notion of good design, but whatever.

My wifes iPhone fell out of her pocket into the mud.
She did not realize this until after she drove over it with her car.
Luckily only the backside glas was broken just a little. Which is quite impressive.

Since we're a droid family when it comes to phones, I'm going to pretend it DID say smartphones. Even though i drop my phone like crazy I've still managed not to break my current phone (knocking on wood right now). This is important because my significant other CONSTANTLY admonishes me about cases, screen protectors, and the like. He's never lost or broken a phone before this summer, and I have (understatement of the year).

While on vacation in Maine, my guy stepped on his phone, crushing it. 250+ lb guy + little phone = nothing even an otterbox can save. So he called insurance and got a new one shipped asap. Upon arrival, he switched his sim card (which has pictures of our seven year old from the time she was three or so, and we suck at taking regular pictures). After changing all the settings to his preferences, all was right with the world.

Fast forward 24 hours and my lovely leaps into the lake. With phone in pocket. This doesn't just waterlog the day old phone, but sweeps it into the depths. Pictures, videos, cute songs sung by a four year old. Gone. Makes me want to cry.

Two claims in a year (or week) kicks you off insurance. Something happened to that phone a few weeks later (at this point, I stop asking about or listening to these stories) and he has to buy a new phone, and in the process loses his unlimited data. I pay the bill, so this makes me nervous, as the man has no self control.

I guess I am in the minority here as I've had every generation of iPhone and have never shattered it despite the fact that I refuse to use a case. Sure, I have probably dropped each model at least once or twice but never more than a small scuff or scratch to the housing.

I love the beautiful glass look of the iPhone and feel like I would rather walk around with something beautiful, crack it and THEN cover it with a bulky case afterward than the other way around. I mean, what's the point of protecting something beautiful if you can never look at it?

Glass may not be able to handle the rare fall unto a hard surface however from my experience it's been much more durable than plastic against the everyday scrapes and scratches from being placed against keys or hard surfaces.

at the end of the day, some people will always want a truck and some people will always want a sports car. But you can't complain that your ferrari doesn't handle the occasional pot hole as well as a ford focus. If you are going to buy something luxurious you need to expect to be more mindful of it. Let's be honest, there are lots of plastic phones out there that don't shatter when dropped but then again, not many are as sought after as the more fragile iPhone.

I've been carrying cell phones since the mid '90's and I have never ever lost, broken, cracked, waterlogged, or smashed my cell phone.... ooops... except for the time I totally threw my phone at my ex-husband and it flew into tiny pieces all over the drive way. But then again, that was HIS phone as he had voiced to me with graphic language that all the neighbors could hear.
:)

@MMMARIE
@STEPANKA
@GRANOLA SUICIDE
@CANADIANMANGO
@DARDI
@MUAHREE
@YRNAMEHERE

Is Apartment Therapy tech turning into Gizmodo?

I'm seeing a handful of comments relevant to the article, but a loud minority complaining that it discusses the iPhone and not their Droid Maxxx / Iron Man Samsung Galaxy / HTC Evo 4.

It's just an article, no, just a title. If you don't like the title, then don't read it. I don't read posts about Android tablets because I don't want one. Therefore, I don't comment on the hundreds of Kindle & Nexus 7 articles.

This is not engadget / the verge / gizmodo / reddit / digg / youtube. I really don't want to have to filter my comments on Apartment Therapy too.

If your iphone, ipad , ipod is broken and you’re in NYC the least expensive way to fix it is call (917 668 2222 ) IphoneExpertNYc.com.

New phone+pocket+early morning wash and dry. That about sums it up!

Oh, for heaven's sake... The article specifies iPhones because Apple is set to announce what is believed to be the iPhone 5 tomorrow.
I'm not naive to the fact that this site, generally, seems pro-Apple. But what is wrong with that? It is a design blog, and creative-types like to use Apple products.
Now, onto my own phone stories. While I have not managed to break my iPhone (I finally upgraded from a "dumb phone" about 6 months ago), I do have a story.
For a while, I was using a Nokia N-Gage (and it was old at the time. Nokia doesn't make em like they used to...) and it worked great, until I managed to drop it in the snow-covered street. It had snowed for several more hours before I even realized it was missing. I hunted for it, with no luck. I was able to get a new SIM card and put it into an old phone. Several weeks later, the snow was melting, and what do you know. There was my N-Gage. I took it apart as best I could, and let it dry for a while. Amazingly, it powered on, and chugged along admirably for a few weeks. But one day, it quit holding a charge and eventually died for good.

my iPhone 3Gs smashed on a Philadelphia street, mere weeks after buying it. i lived with it for a weekend, then took it to the Apple store. i asked nicely, and they fixed it for free .. in less than 15 minutes.

Well what could have been a funny late morning read...Anyway, I have a couple of tales of broken iPhones.

My first iPhone was the 2nd generation 3g. I was sitting on my couch reading and I had my phone sitting on my lap. At my feet was my favorite cup filled with a my regular morning cup of coffee. I had just taken the phone out of the case for some reason when I went to get up and my phone slid off of my lap directly into my coffee cup. lol..I mean it didn't even clink the side of the cup. It was a three pointer. Hole in one..and some other sport reference. I couldn't even be upset, I just had to laugh about it.

After that fiasco I purchased the 3gs. I had the phone for maybe 6 months when I went to see a concert OOT. It was pouring down rain and we were running late. I was about to get out of the car when a friend who had just used the phone handed it to me, but it was in the holster. She must have gotten it somewhere out of my car and put it on because I never carry the holster. I just grabbed it from her got out of the car and put the phone clip in my pocket. As we are running to the venue I must have run close enough to a light pole right at the wrong time because the phone bumps into the freakin light pole, falls off the holster and STRAIGHT into the drainage ditch thats at the sidewalk! I just stood there looking. Totally in shock! lol...I don't think I was meant to have anything other than a pager or something.

I have been walking around with a broken iphone for 1.5 years now. I dropped it in a public bathroom, and the screen broke quite badly in the corner. Surprisingly, the phone continued to work well. I pay insurance, but the deductible is $200. I could have it fixed by $100, but I ended up never doing it. Now, after this long, my iphone is quitting. The volume of the ringer goes down on its own, among other little things. I don't really like the iphone 4. I thought that the iphone 3GS worked better, was prettier, and felt thinner, even though it isn't. I agree with others here that say that the covers ruin the looks of the iPhone. I hate them, but I will probably buy one when I get a new phone. I am waiting for the iPhone 5, I didn't want a new 4 more than a year ago, I don't want it now.

can i just say, as somebody who works in tech support for a very big cell phone carrier, it is not the carriers fault you broke your iphone. don't yell at them, because they didnt make you do something dumb. man up, admit you made the mistake, and deal with it. and for goodness sake, don't be cheap. if you buy something thats worth $600 at full retail price ( the $200 is the upgrade price, u will only get that once every 20 months mostly) if its a 16GB iphone, buy the insurance. and please, check your bill to make sure you have the insurance on the bill. each time you pay your bill, that's you agreeing that all the charges on that bill are correct, with or without insurance. we send you those bills for a reason, because if ur not being billed for insurance, means u dont have it. unless you bought it through a 3ed party, like best buys black tie insurance, and your carrier isnt going to know that. another thing BACK UP YOUR STUFF! again, its not your carriers fault if you dont do this.

rant over, thank you.

Tight jeans. Back pocket. Toilet. Whoops.

I've owned an iPhone since they first came out (REQUIRED by my employer to use one...I know, SO elitist of me to comply). I've never broken one. I have, however, misplaced it many times...including several heart-stopping occasions where I left it in plain view inside my vehicle. I once set it down in a public restroom, and it so happened that the next person in there was a friend of mine, recognized the photo on the lock screen, and gave it back to me before I knew it was missing.

Now, the really traumatic story is the time I spilled an ounce or so of coffee on a $2000 laptop, and it was completely fried. $1200 to fix it, so I got a new one. Even if you get a warranty, service contract, Apple Care, etc.---water damage may not be covered! Check the fine print! :)

Can't believe people are arguing over something as stupid as what smartphone you have or the lack of smartphone even. Get over it and find something less first world to worry about.

This article should apply to all phones with glass faces. Yes, the iPhone 4 had glass in front and in back, but many of the competitors' phones have much larger glass panels on the front that can, because of their size, break more easily.

I dropped a Motorola ATRIX and cracked the screen. It stopped working. I have a couple of friends with cracked iPhone screens and their phones are still working. So there's more to consider than just the breaking of the screen.

I am feeling extremely lucky after reading these posts I have had my 3Gs for a few years and have dropped it many times and it is still intact even after my cover popped off in the drop onto the cement.

I dropped my iphone in the toilet. Fell out out of my back pocket. Claimed insurance, and then 4 months later took the time to remove the phone from my pocket and place it on a shelf next to the toilet yet somehow again, it fell into the toilet. The insurance company gave me hell.

I took the case off as I was coming into work due to rain. As I walked off the elevator the phone and case slipped out of my hand and into the crack that is present between the elevator and the floor. We heard it tap on each floor as it made its way to the basement....

here is a great commentary on the freedom and joy of a cracked iphone screen:

http://www.triplesequitur.com