Shattered Backs Reported for the iPhone 4
Posted by Zack | Posted in Consumer Electronics | Posted on 09-10-2010
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To say that Apple likes glass is a bit of an understatement. Don’t believe me? Then walk into any one of Apple’s retail stores and look at all the products that use glass in displays and notebook trackpads, not to mention both the front and back of the iPhone 4.
However, the glass on the iPhone 4 may be causing more annoyance to the company than originally perceived. What I am talking about is that some slip-on cases, the kind that cover both the front and back of the iPhone 4, have been the cause of some serious cosmetic damages to the backside of the phone.
It appears that dirt and other debris can get in between the phone and the case which, over a period of time, can cause the back of the phone to shatter.
This problem has become so widespread that Apple’s engineers have been working overtime in an attempt to “quietly lock down” the problem. Apple has been testing various third-party cases to get a feel of the extent of the problem and to make sure this doesn’t happen to future versions of the phone.
This problem comes at a unique time for Apple considering the company no longer has their free iPhone 4 case program. This is also happening at the reported beginning of the mass production for a CDMA version of the iPhone which is said to be coming to Verizon in 2011. If Apple is planning on changing that version of the iPhone at all, then this back issue could very well be holding it back.
This isn’t the first crack problem that Apple has experienced. Both the Mac G4 Cube, which was introduced in 2000, and the iPhone 3G both experienced reports that the outsides of the devices were developing hairline surface cracks. Similar problems had been reported on the white versions of the MacBook notebooks which Apple acknowledged and began fixing last year.
No company likes problems, especially Apple. And these problems for the iPhone 4 couldn’t be coming at a worse time for the device, especially considering the fact that it may be heading to Verizon in 2011. If Apple wants to keep on top in the Smartphone game, then they had better fix these problems, and fast.
