I always drop my phone like all the time. For some reason I only bought a decorative case when I bought my phone and now I have a giant crack on my screen. Go figure, I get a Derrick Rose case and hurt my phone. Lesson learned.

Edited December 6, 201312 yr by Rowand44

The iPhone4 wasn't built poorly at all, it simply wasn't built to be a baseball, which is something it's not.

 

If I threw my watch around like people throw their phones around, it'd shatter/break, too. They're not baseballs, footballs, wrenches, or freebees, people...they're phones, mostly made of metal and glass these days, ie, not meant to be dropped or thrown against walls.

 

I've seen phones of all types with shattered screens, and that has nothing to do with build quality, it has to everything to do with the people using them, and a bit of luck. If you're prone to breaking them, put it in a case. I've seen iPhone 4's survive 2 story drops off a balcony, only to shatter from a 7 inch drop.

 

I've had every iPhone since the original, I don't use cases and have yet to break a single one of them.

 

Apple graciously replaced both free of charge (not something they normally do with AppleCare, though I suspect they were especially generous because I was willing to purchase their warranty) because they admitted to me that it was an error of theirs and a great deal of people were having that problem. Between that and the antenna issue, that's probably the closest to a "dud" that they've put out. The "free replacement" became unofficial policy for that device, which at least shows you that they were willing to go to great lengths to make good on their mistake. No big deal.

 

Also, as I said, they were in cases each time that they broke. Once was in the case they gave me for dicking up the antenna business and the other was an Otterbox.

 

It's no big thing, the current phones aren't doing it because they presumably learned their lesson.

I've got a Droid Razr without a case or screen guard or anything. I drop it constantly, and my one year old bites it/drops it all the time too. Except for the edges that have been warn down a little and a couple of teeth marks on the back, there's not a scratch on it.

I have a new hard drive for my laptop stuck in Amazon since Saturday.

 

I finally got my case today. It's a lot more subtle than I thought it would be. I kind of doubt this thing would protect it from too big of a fall though. I definitely find the phone feels less likely to fall out of my hand though, and it makes the button on the back easier to find.

I used to use cases all types of screen covers, cases, etc. Now I just have a very very thin case and the only reason I use that is because I don't want to scratch my camera by simply putting it on its back (did that before).

 

It really comes down to how you treat your devices. I don't put it near drinks on the table, I don't put it on my lap while I drive because I used to forget I put my phones there and drop them getting out of the car. Just doing things to decrease the likelihood that something will happen to it.

 

My next decision is whether I should stop getting the monthly warranty...