Antennagate? So 2010, dahlings -- this year's must-have iPhone scandal is Glassgate! Apple is facing a class-action lawsuit in California, brought by a man who says the glass casing for his iPhone 4 broke when it was dropped by his daughter from a height of just 1 metre.
Donald LeBuhn wants Apple to refund the price of the iPhone 4, plus any repair fees, and also to stump up extra damages for "overpayment" by people for the devices. The lawsuit pulls no punches: "Months after selling millions of iPhone 4s, Apple has failed to warn, and continues to sell this product with no warning to customers, that the glass housing is defective."
The lawsuit has been categorised with previous complaints about the iPhone's glass casing, lumped together under the term 'Glassgate'.
We're dubious about how strong that link is: when GDGT blogger Ryan Block coined the term last year, he was referring to a specific problem with iPhone 4 and third-party cases, and it's not clear whether LeBuhn's handset had a non-Apple case or not.
It's true that on its website, Apple says the engineered glass used in the iPhone 4 is "chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic" -- a claim that inevitably crops up whenever there's a complaint about the glass breaking.
Last year, electronics warranties firm SquareTrade made headlines with a survey of 20,000 iPhone-related accidents, reporting that the number of calls it had from iPhone 4 owners with damaged screens in the first four months was 82 per cent higher than for the iPhone 3GS. At the time, however, Computerworld pointed out that this meant 3.9 per cent of iPhone 4 owners overall, versus 2.1 per cent of iPhone 3GS owners.
LeBuhn is pressing ahead with his class-action lawsuit now. We have to admit to having dropped our iPhone 4 on to hard floors way too many times for our comfort, yet we haven't managed to smash it yet. Perhaps we need to borrow somebody's daughter to help out...
iPhone App 
Newsletters 
RSS Feeds 
Send Us Tips 
Comments 15
Add your comment
torrentblock 28 January, 2011 12:45
America, land of the free. except the lawyers. they're expensive. but hey, no win, no free.
NLips 28 January, 2011 12:57
Of course glass is stiffer and harder than plastic, but is that a good thing?
Plastic is resilient BECAUSE it bends.
NLips 28 January, 2011 12:58
I forgot to add:
Do the media realise that the Watergate scandal wasn't about water?
Bantu 28 January, 2011 14:36
dangerous words NLips... next you'll have us believe it's the name of a hotel or something?!
Anonymous 28 January, 2011 16:41
It doesn't alway have to be that hard a surface as concrete. My wife dropped hers onto a linoleum covered wood floor and the back shattered. She is far more careful with hers than I am with my 3gs. Accidents happen to even the most careful. This is not that extraordinary an accident. If someone has never dropped their cell phone, they are either lying or have selected memory. I don't plan on upgrading to a v.4 because of this. And now my wife has to cover one of her favourite features of the phone, its looks, with a case. What's the phone of having a beautiful device you have to hide to protect? Didn't we make fun of our Moms for doing that with couches? I guess now we understand.
I always thought the antenna issue was over blown. This issue is the opposite, under reported. Almost 4% of iPhone 4 users reporting broken screens far out strips the iPhone 4 users who reported dropped calls. That is no small number.
Joe
anonymous 28 January, 2011 16:48
They should make phones out of rulers. Because they're shatterproof
Anonymous 28 January, 2011 17:44
The glass or plastic on any of the new phones would break if it was dropped from 1 METER!
If this is true story and not some media hype, I think he needs to think more carefully about letting anyone this clumsy handle his phone.
A storm in a tea cup.
Move on to the next story media people.
Jay
Anonymous 28 January, 2011 17:59
That is utter rubbish! I have dropped my Touch HD numerous times, indoor and out (including accidentally drop kicking it while running for a bus), and all it has are a couple of scratches on the front. I'm actually surprised it isn't showing more damage but I guess its just a decently built phone - yes its not one of the latest models but its still the same type of design (flush front, 3.8" screen etc)
Maybe you've gotten used to Samsung or LG phones... but HTC phones do seem to be well built
Anonymous 28 January, 2011 22:05
It isn't 4% of iPhone 4 users... it's 4% of people who buy extended warranties from the one company. Consumer advocates tell you the warranties are over priced peace of mind. I suspect people with them are more likely to be less careful since they have it.
Also, others have pointed out that the iPhone 4 has two glass pieces, not one so yes they have twice the chance to break one of them.
I've had two iPhones over three years now, dropped them both a couple of times onto various surfaces, NEVER without a case, but then it is a $500 computer so I treat it like such.
Anonymous 28 January, 2011 23:29
No one has to be a klutz to drop a phone. Even $500 computers have been known to take a dive by even the most careful. This is not rocket science nor a conspiracy. It just happens. It's called life. To try to paint the victim as some sort of incompetent, sweaty palmed, absent minded schmuck and as someone YOU DON'T KNOW, is just inane. Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it hasn't happened.
Personally, I have no doubt Apple had no idea this would happen. Just like with the antenna, most of the "real world" i.e., off campus, testing was done in its handy dandy secret case. And no doubt internal use was probably very limited. It just did not get the real world use millions of users now give it.
Apple has never said "it is just glass". As the article points out, they go out of their way to talk about how revolutionarily strong and resilient this glass is (I forget the fancy name they have for it). Quite frankly anyone here who says "it's just glass" are the ones calling Apple and Steve Jobs liars. They have marketed this as a feature of the phone with visual demonstrations and interjections. They are trying to say "You know all those things you normally experience with phones and past iPhones like scratches and damages to the 'just glass' face of most phones? Won't happen now!" If you don't see that you just aren't paying attention.
There is a design difference between the 4 and 3g/s that I have no doubt makes a huge difference. I have dropped my 3gs countless times. The glass never broke. I did wear down a corner of my old 3g dropping it so many times. I AM a klutz no matter how careful I try to be. But not my wife. She didn't do like IFixit and stand there and say "Hey, let's see how many times I can drop it on brick before it breaks!" She was in the kitchen about to do dishes and she was putting the phone on the table. It fell on linoleum over wood.
Lucky for me, the replacement of the back is cheap and it WAS an easy fix. But I am glad I COULD fix it. Had Apple fixed it, I would probably have to order that new screw driver it requires to make any fixes in the future. I should not get an iPhone 4 for myself.
Joe
anonymous 30 January, 2011 15:00
Okay so this guy bought a phone with glass on both sides then sue when it breaks oh my! Maybe he should have just have had insurance like the rest of us! So got caught out without insurance and now want to sue!! Madness!! Madness I tell you!!!
Anonymous 30 January, 2011 17:50
I dropped my guts from one meter and they broke. I'm gonna sue Gard!
Anonymous 31 January, 2011 18:50
- Any phone, that does not have some robustness to being dropped, is not fit for purpose 'in normal use'. I;m siure enen Steve Jobs, has dumped a few on the floor in his time.
- Perhaps apple need to source some Gorilla Glass, for the iPhone 5 and G5 iPod touch ? As seen on the new Motorola Defy......
anonymous 31 January, 2011 19:28
This is why I love having a Motorola Defy. I drop it from heights up to 2 metres regularly (I'm rather clumsy) and it looks as good as new. I love pointing that out to my iPhone owning friend whose iPhone 4 has a shattered screen!
Dean Shepherd 1 February, 2011 09:29
Richard thats NOT strictly true bout 'shatter proof' rulers....in school years ago I used to be able to shatter those so called shatter proof rulers....with some quite spectacular results as well! lol