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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."
You dont need to fear scratching plastic if it is 'textured'.
The base of the N900 is fully plastic (the screen half is actually metal) but its not polished smooth. Its impossible to scratch with anything short of a knife.
As for the screen, it is plastic, but I'd rather that over glass. I can drop it quite badly and it will not break.
Its very difficult to scratch but a covering of Clear Coat makes it impossible. And yes I hate screen protectors too - Clear Coat is different.