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Strange, my experience with portable devices (not just phones) is the reverse: every glassy screen that has went through my hand tends to accumulate a fair amount of scratches, while cheaper plastic stuff has mostly survived unharmed, save for the nice but fragile grip coating that some constructors tend to put on them, which can wear out quickly in the corners which the thing falls on very often. Or when I accidentally put the thing in a puddle of acetone while working in the lab... :/
Never cracked a glass screen so far either, but then I wouldn't buy devices with large glass panes either. Sounds way too fragile for something which I am going to use daily. All sorts of claims have been made regarding Corning's glass superior strength, but so far what I have seen on videos is mostly toughened glass like they put on cars: it will break anyway, just with the desirable asset of not sending flying chunks everywhere.
Technology is here to adapt to human beings, not the reverse in my opinion. If some company release a product that is designed to be carried around everywhere, spilled hot coffee on, dropped accidentally, fallen upon and whatnot, then they better make it bullet-proof, especially if it gets really pricey like a high-end laptop or cellphone.
Edited 2012-11-03 06:56 UTC
...often held in hands. And aluminium & glass generally feel unpleasantly cold to the touch. Especially since many of the most lucrative markets have rather low temps in winter months.
I disliked that aspect of my old Nokia E50, don't really want to get anything metal/glass-clad any more. It's baffling to me that people seem to love it (or does fashion overrule unpleasant sensory perception?)
The trade-off is that with glass, one little accident tends to break things completely, whereas plastic and metal will get more scratches from daily wear and tear. Glass is great for silly, vain people who trust in luck and use their tools as jewellery.
The worst material is probably Nokia's polycarbonate, which is solid and scratch-resistant, but so damn slippery that you have to dress up your phone in a rubber condom just to avoid having it slip out of your hands and pockets.
That's one of the dumbest comments I've read in a while. You should come back to reality before wasting any more time with nonsense like that.
yeah I have a friend that used to brag about how durable the iphone with glass back was. Until they dropped it ...
But they had apple care and replaced it quickly.
Then they dropped it again a few days later....
So now their iphone 4 is encased in a case for good.
Glass back + no removable battery + no sd card ?? Not going to pick it up. Which is really kind of sad, considering I could sell my current phone and buy an unlocked nexus 4 and have cash left over. But I'm encouraged by the low price and hopeful the next one won't have glass backing. Maybe the moto nexus in Q2 2013 with Key lime?





Member since:
2005-09-21
I've had my iPhone 4 for almost 2.5 years now. The glass back and front are still just as nice as when I got it, and it's spent half that time without a case.
Glass is great for phones. It doesn't scratch or end up looking like crap like coated aluminum or plastic. You know what the secret is for not cracking it? Don't be careless with your stuff. It's not that hard.