A Naked iPhone -- Or, Why You Shouldn't Use a Case
thegeekscompanion.com
thegeekscompanion.com
The glass it's made of is not the same as, say, the kind you drink wine out of. Unfold a paper clip and try to scratch your iPhone. You'll fail miserably.
I know anecdotes are not the same as data, but I've heard so many "my iPhone is indestructible" stories like http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/switcher-hangout/237495-iph... that I'd love to see the results of an actual durability testing lab.
Also, scratch-resistant and drop-resistant are not the same thing.
It's quite probable that iPhone glass is easier to scratch than window glass. Glass is harder than just about everything except for diamond, so adulterated glass, like the Gorilla Glass in your iPhone isn't as hard.
Normal glass is very brittle. Gorilla Glass isn't.
The primary weakness of Gorilla glass is that any actual incremental damage basically causes the glass to implode on itself and creates spiderwebs of cracks instead of a straight one reflecting where the structural integrity was breached. Think of how many times you've seen hairline cracks in windshields versus the disaster that someone's iPhone screen turns into if they happen to crack their screen.
The way Gorilla glass is manufactured it is by far the weakest around the edges (there's no compression depth-wise across the edge) and thus the iPhone 4 is somewhat more susceptible to damage than earlier models (due to the edge to edge glass on the front).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKxgsrJFhw
It's not that you can't drop it without breaking, but it'll break often enough that it's a really bad idea.
I love the form and fit of my 4S, but when it's out of the snap case, I am very ginger with it.
An Invisible Shield put on with care is barely noticeable - I put a wet-apply shield on my Samsung Focus screen myself - and except for a little bit of the "orange peel" texture it's almost completely undetectable. It's great insurance against killer scratches, a scuffing drop onto concrete, and spills of sticky/nasty goop. At any time I could peel it off and replace it, or just get rid of it.
That said, I have nothing on my iPad but a Smart Cover, but it generally lives at home and isn't in and out of my pocket all day. On a screen of that size, I think there's something to be said for avoiding the orange-peel texture.
I got a case for my 4S ($10 on amazon, almost unnoticeably thin) because my 4's camera became increasingly unusable over the course of a year and change since I kept putting it down on tables, while the rest of the iPhone was in good shape for being naked (even considering I drop it at least once a week). I probably noticed the first scratch on the plastic lens cover bit a month into owning the 4, while right now there are no noticeable scratches on my 4S's which was purchased in mid-October.
Compare http://twitpic.com/6n1o1b and http://twitpic.com/6ubjq2 (can't even really see faces anymore, and that was with an attempt to focus and decent lighting) to http://pic.twitter.com/gHK0yi5g or http://pic.twitter.com/7U1lNoA9 (where you see a little too much detail ;) ).
That's in the eye of the beholder. I don't think cars, stamps, watches or baseball cards are collectors items, but the slightest imperfection in any of them is a tragedy to some people. I don't think a lot of people out there "collect" devices, but the same instincts apply.
A watch actually might be a fairly good analogy here. When you pay hundreds of dollars for a shiny, shiny device, it's natural to want to keep it in its mint state. The primary difference is related to, of course, the original topic - watches just get extra care, devices get plastic wrap put on them. I would attribute this to the fact that watches are generally inert, and can be chosen for an occasion. A device, for many people, is something that's always carried and is frequently set down, picked up, manipulated and pocketed.
Additionally, device screens are precise, touch-sensitive instruments with increasingly high resolution. A small scratch in the right place can substantially diminish the experience.
i can't count the number of times i've dropped my phone only to hear my case break off and take the brunt of the blow
My Macbook Pro goes without any additional protection aside from my Crumpler backpack. I use the smart cover on my iPad 2, but it just feels to 'fit' it so well and acts well as a quick stand.
I dropped both iPhones numerous times on every type of surface there is. Without using an otterbox I'd be paying thru the nose for a new iPhone, as a friend of mine who doesn't use a case has done a few times.
Get heavy duty/durable case not a flimsy one you buy a the five dollar store!
I also prefer the feel of the phone in the Otterbox, tbh. It's easier to hold on to (despite aforementioned drops) and it's harder for the cat to scoot, too.
Silly post, really. Surprised it made it to the front page.
Maybe it only has a marginal improvement to fall protection, but for someone who spent most of his article creaming his pants over the iPhone design, I'm surprised he doesn't care about day to day wear and tear.
A good case will also have a raised bezel on the front so any potential screen impacts from a drop on a flat surface will hit the bezel and not the screen.
Yes, sure, full glass is beautiful. But not very drop resistant.
Ironically, breaking the screen only hardened my resolve to not use a case; why let the crack be in vain?
Scraping keys on the gorilla glass is the demonstration they do (or at least have done twice while I am there) at the Apple store to show you how hard the screen is.
You sure you weren't scratching it on a diamond, stone, or perhaps a piece of plastic stuck to the screen was being scratched?
That said, since the glass is more brittle than plastic, and I do drop a phone about once per year (which is obviously not a problem for a Nokia), I have decided to retain my insurance on it. The iPhone also doesn't take well to being soaked in water, and water is something that can happen to a phone in many ways. Situations like a surprise tropical storm, an idiot friend pushing you into a swimming pool, new trousers that pops everything out when you pull it up after going to the toilet, condensation that forms on the drink with ice you put down on a table next to the phone in a really humid climate, taking a cruise on the titanic, etc.
It IS breakable though, and things harder than it (some stone, for instance) can scratch it. But crushing is the big thing to worry about.
Heh, your guess is as good as mine ;) The keys from our old flat were a mix of both large old-style keys and some fancy super-secure-looking thing with a few potential nasty spikes on it. But still - I don't see how anything else scratched it when the was inside the bag :)
That said, a case won't protect your phone screen anyway. You need a screen protector for that. I don't bother with either on my phone, but my wife does.
I feel I'm incredibly hard on phones, yet I have yet to break one.
At some point I just said "what's the point of keeping it pristine if you're keeping it under wrap? you won't be enjoying it." and decided it was simply more worth to be just a bit more careful.