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Apple Reportedly Heading Off iPhone 'Glassgate'
alphadogg writes "Apple is reportedly working behind the scenes to address scratching and cracking of the iPhone's glass back panel by certain third-party cases. This 'Glassgate' story got rolling with a report in the gdgt newsletter by Ryan Block, who says he spoke with sources inside and outside of Apple about this issue, but was unable to get an official Apple comment. Block writes: 'Apple has apparently found that non-bumper style cases — specifically those that slide onto the iPhone 4, which are occasionally prone to particulate matter getting caught between the rear of the phone and the case — can cause unexpected scratching that could quickly develop into full-on cracking or even much larger fracturing of the entire rear pane of glass. To put it another way: Apple is afraid you might buy a standard slide-on iPhone case, put it on your phone, and then discover the next time you take it off that the entire back of your device has been shattered by no fault of your own.' Apple is said to be taking it seriously, looking to avoid the sort of backlash it got when reports surfaced over the summer that the iPhone 4's antennas didn't work correctly when users gripped the phones in a certain (and quite natural) way."
Actually, Apple provided these cases to many iPhone 4 users, free of charge, to fix the antenna issue.
You better believe that Apple is afraid of being liable for providing cases to users that destroy the device.
There's a spot in User Info for World of Warcraft account names? Really?
Apple provided "bumper" cases, which this article specifically states do not cause the problem.
They did offer 3rd party cases for sale on their site, but they are not the cases that Apple gave to customers.
FTFS: "Apple has apparently found that non-bumper style cases — specifically those that slide onto the iPhone 4, which are occasionally prone to particulate matter getting caught between the rear of the phone and the case — can cause unexpected scratching that could quickly develop into full-on cracking."
This happened to me (particulate matter getting caught between the rear of the phone and the case causing scratches). Have gone caseless since with no further scratching. In any case, replacing the back panel is trivial.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
They did offer other brands of cases. I got a free speck branded case for my iphone 4 via their free case program.
Gone!
I don't think that any of the cases they offered are slide on. And this potential problem apparently is only with those kinds of cases.
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
Appearance over utility. That's Apple for ya.
Attention Apple fanboys: it is not flamebait to poke justified fun at Steve Jobs for having the worst customer service response of all time. That dude deserves all the shit we can give him for that. :)
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
Apple did not provide any slider-type cases as part of the free case program, and these investigations are targeted only at that one type of case.
I don't subscribe to the Apple kool-aid, but in all fairness there are plenty of phones out there that just simply suck for design reasons. I'm on my fifth Palm Pre in one year (lucky I have insurance). One with slider problems, two the power button stopped working, and the last one the modem went to hell on it. Seems like these gadgets are not made to last long.
boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
"Can you hear me now?" ... ...
(readjust fingers)
"Can you hear me now?"
(readjusts fingers)
"How about now?"
"Ye... can hear... but barely audi....."
Yeah I think I'd rate the iPhone 3 as higher in "quality" simply because it does what a phone is supposed to do. Just as I thought analog TV was better than digital television because a fuzzy picture is better than no picture. (Of course once I upgraded the antenna - the problem disappeared.)
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Not all of them were. The majority of the cases they offered had full back coverage. It's been awhile since I ordered mine, but I think Apple's case was the only one without back coverage.
However, none of the cases they offered were of the slide-in type, which is what is under scrutiny here.
This isn't flamebait. What the crap is "made for iPhone" supposed to mean if not "we've tested it and it works as advertised"? That means either Apple or the case supplier has a major fault in their QC, or more likely both.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/07/apple-afraid-of-a-shattering-followup-to-its-antennagate-woes/
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=iphone+4+shattered
several of the top results are images of the same phones.
Yes, Apple actually is saying that the glass back is better than plastic or polished steel because it won't scratch.
These seeming isolated incidents of "gate" abuse are really all part of the Gategate conspiracy.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
This is my personal experience of an Apple iPhone vs a Sony-Ericsson K750i. Firstly: I'm not being paid or supported in any way by either Apple or SE and have no professional dealings with either sucky corporation. Got that?
I have a 4 year old Sony-Ericsson K750i. I love it. It's reliable, versatile enough for my needs and it's durable. In the time I've owned it, it has bounced across a motorway and been hit by a car, been submerged in river water for over an hour and been sat on many, many times. It's still going 100% although I find it hard to get new batteries or accessories for it. Fuck SE and their proprietary cables.
I had an iPhone for about three weeks. During that time I saw friends' apps get pulled from the app store and from their phones and last I used it, I was taking it from my pants pocket when I dropped it. It fell a metre onto cement and shattered like a glass grenade.
Only a sucker would stick with an iPhone after that kind of performance yet apparently, Barnum's Law persists.
So I still use my good ol' SE K750i. Even though it doesn't even have 3g.