Jul 3 2007Apple replaces broken iPhone

First again bitches! Man i have no life....

Who would have thought, a product whose face is mostly screen would break if you dropped it? Strange. That was pretty awesome of Apple to replace it for free though. Didn't know they had a clumsy clause in the warranty.

uhhhh, so what!

gotta love the glass screen they put on those

A local radio station taped one to fireworks this morning and set them off melting the phone to nothingness. Suppose they plan on replacing that one for free too, right?

Good job replacing the scratch-prone plastic screens to shatter-prone glass screens at the last minute Apple. That's much better.

What dumbass decided that a glass screen is a good idea. Wouldn't something plastic do better?

How about the obvious "don't drop your f*cking phone" ? Who cares if it's glass or plastic -- if I dropped my monitor (for example) I wouldn't call Dell and blame them.

In any case I bet he buys a super-ultimate-padded case for his iphone after all this attention.

Yes but will they do this for everyone or is it just a calculated PR move? Sexy AND evil...what a winning combination. Like me.

Like when they asked me 197 Eur to change the screen of my Ipod, payed 199 E.
Man, this is customer care.

Like when they asked me 197 Eur to change the screen of my Ipod, payed 199 E.
Man, this is customer care. Apple portable products are just ridiculously fragile.

I lol'd. Somewhere between "4-eva" and the fact that he was stupid enough to break it snapped my funny bone. Thanks, Apple. I'll never be able to laugh again. =(

They replaced my laptop power cable after my new dog bit it in half. man i love those guys.

Did they replace it then and there? If so, they are lying about not having any in stock!

I'll wait till the second gen at least.
http://www.slate.com/id/2169352/

Glass is more resistant to scratching than plastic. Plastic doesn't break as easy tho. :\

I like how the guy put a piece of Scotch tape over the broken glass.

We can totally grab that fingerprint off the image and figure out who he is!

Two things:
(a) It's pretty damn sturdy and stable glass, but it ain't gonna survive a solid knock against the corner of the table.
(b) The guy was technically screwed, the warranty does NOT cover damage. Apple store staff probably replaced it out of sheer pity, or because they were capturing broken iPhones to study.

But when I brought my iPod into an Apple store after it died, and it was still under warranty, they still made me pay $75 for a "refurbished replacement" or buy a new one. Apple customer service SUCKS.

they pretty much had to replace it. It was still in working condition, and was shattered right by the ear piece. If they didnt replace it, he would have had to continue to use it due to the 2 year agreement, and if he cut up his ear at all he would have a heavy lawsuit and probably win.

Jesus Christ I know that fingerprint!

how much is the iPhone

@Kelly: They've always had trouble with the iPods. But look how many damn people have them, so do they care?

@gnat: $499 for the 4g, $599 for the 8g. I just put my 8g on pre-order and it totalled out to $650ish.

: /

apple is gay, and so are you

Apple's customer service is awesome as long as you're patient and know how to play your cards right. They have so far bought me 2 new iPods (different generations on a same case number) and a new desktop with a few upgrades because some asshole from their Genius Bar fucked my old dual-core PPC. That, and if they know you at the store, they'll do anything to make sure you come back.

"Apple's customer service is awesome"...

"some asshole from their Genius Bar fucked up my old dual-core PPC."

What?

Hey at least you've managed to destroy two iPods. They must be pretty rugged if you only destroyed two.

This story is PURE PUBLIC RELATIONS. If you can't see through marketing ploys like these then you might as well chalk yourself up as a hopeless victim of the system. You have to understand that APPLE KNOWS broken screens are going to be a huge issue and they are leaking out stories like this one to pacify all the doubters and convert them into a sale.

Play the game, don't let the game play you, people!

Apple fails. short cord and easily shatered screen comon

I just busted my Iphone and the Apple Store replaced it. Although they said it's a one-time thing.

What store did u go to? My screen is broke and they wanted me to pay $250 to get it fix!!!!!!

what happened to the "MagSafe Power Adapter" that Apple made to stop this very problem? or is that only for MacBooks? if you don't know what I'm talking about, google "MagSafe" The Apple guys need a more wholesome breakfast or something!

Great for Apple customer care. So.. a guy buys a 600$ phone, breaks it and it gets replaced. I bought a 1st rev Macbook, in a year and a month it's been at the "mac doctor" three times already. Two cover replacement, a new hard drive, a new mother board, plus Apple refuses to change the screen which is showing white smudges all over the screen (like over exposed pixel areas)... I WANT A NEW COMPUTER, no this damn flawed 1st gen crap they sold me. Plus, my warranty expired. They "suggested" me to buy Apple Care to avoid having to pay the next time my computer happens to fail as a result of another industrial design error.

But hey, the guygot a new iphone :@

Anybody who forks out $500+ for a phone _should_ get a broken screen. While the phone is inserted in his rectum. Assuming there's room in there with his head... Are they still running "Consume... CONSUME!!! BUY SOMETHING!!!" messages subliminally on television, or do they just scroll it across the caption bar at the bottom these days? Meh.

You asswipes that harp on the price of the iPhone crack me up. Thanks to SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive iPhone voice/data plans (vs. other "smart" phones), the iPhone's net cost for phone + service isn't any different (over the standard two-year contract) vs. something like a Blackberry Curve. Actually, the Curve is MORE expensive. And if you have the phone/service for longer than two years, you'll save even more money (again, thanks to the less expensive voice/data plans for iPhone).

I've used and tried most of the "smart" phones out there. None of them are as much a joy to use as is the iPhone.

well....how do I patiently and wisely explain this to Apple Care so that they will realize that this just isn't feasible and repair my screen for free?

I open my car door and step out of the driver's seat. Then I remember that my iPhone is sitting in my lap when ....it fell from my lap onto the driveway (less than 3 ft drop, I am 5'7'').

take a look at the damage for yourself: http://utexas.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2078664&l=6dbd3&id=220804

now compare my story to these other video clips of iPhone Stress testing.

http://www.pcworld.com/video/id,545-page,1-bid,0/video.html#
no damage

http://www.leechvideo.com/video/view3175696.html
damage after second drop

I dropped my iPhone from about 2' high and broke the glass. Apple charges me $250 to replace the phone. I think that any modern handheld device should withstand such a fall and not require replacement. Surely the use of tempered glass or better shock insulation or both would have been expected. I will no longer be a positive ambassador for the iPhone, and I'm no longer planning on getting an iMac because of my experience.

I dropped on the carpet, intentionally, thinking it won't break, but it did.
Apple said same thing. They charge $250 and takes 3-5 business days and they can rent phone at $29. Maybe I should get phone insurance.

>> I will no longer be a positive ambassador for the iPhone.

Me, either.

Same same, 4 days old, my wife drops it geting out of a car. The Apple store clerk said "Buy a new phone." Wasn't the most helpful guy in the world ...

mine broke today on 6" drop

AT & T said $400--no concession, no courtesy

My friend dropped his Iphone from about 2' and its screen broke.. so I laughed and told him that I drop my curve alllll the freaking time and its fine. I then took my blackberry curve 8300 and threw it about 20' into the air.. it got a small scratch on the back of it thats it. apples iphones are teh suck. $400 for a big POS that is fragile and eats batterys fast as hell.

BOO Apple!!!! Same story....my phone dropped out of my hand (about 2 feet) and landed face down. i was so relieved when it didn't have any pieces pop off but when i turned it over the corner of the screen was shattered. apple store said $250. what a rip-off!!!!!!

they should be doing two things: 1) WARN customers that it's glass!!!! (i had no idea...i really knew zip about the phone.) 2) if it really breaks that easily, they should throw in a protective case that will absorb some of the shock if dropped or at the very least STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to buy one. i think if given the option of a $10 case vs. a minimum $250 replacement fee, most people would go ahead and buy it. i know i would have!

my husband really wants me to get it fixed. since i've loved it so much (the less than a month that i've had it.) the only reason i got it was i needed something to be able to text to my daughter and i wanted a full blown keyboard to do so. (i'd never texted before). i'd never had a nice phone before but figured i'd go for it and impress my kids with how cool i was.

but i'm thinking i'm more likely to hold a grudge here. i'm thinking i'd be better off getting some other fancy phone that has a full keyboard, isn't made of glass, and i don't kow, might carry some kind of insurance plan?

shame on apple........makes me think they're not really in the techno gizmo business, but rather the techno gizmo REPAIR business!!!!

I too dropped and broke my iphone screen...

amazing device, but not easy to hold under ear without hands!!!

A friend has had her phone less than one week. Today she dropped the iphone a distance of about 30 inches onto SOFT PLUSH CARPET; the screen shattered. This tells me there is a structural problem with the tempering of the glass. Yes, hitting the corner of a table is one thing; however plush carpeting? Give me break. I will bet there is a secret memo in Apple land saying to replace the phones and shut up.

Man, same thing with me! Had the phone less than one week - it fell off a chaise lounge - couldn't have been more than 12" - onto concrete though - cracked the glass. Very shallow fall - bought it at an ATT store - will an Apple Store work with me or must I request assistance where I bought it? Any suggestions? Thanks

I brought in my nastily-cracked iPhone and my boyfriend's naturally non-functioning iPod to the Apple Store. They concluded that we would both need to pay for replacements ($250 for a refurbed iPhone and about $160 for hardware fixes on the iPod)

Since we had two non-functioning Apple products and were clearly heartbroken about it, they ended up giving me a refurbished iPhone free of charge. It was amazing. Every company should aspire to be at least a fraction of what Apple is. That is amazing customer service.

I almost cried out of happiness, because I was really expecting to go home that night having to wonder how I can get myself to shell out another $250 just because my fully-functioning iPhone has a nasty looking screen.

PS. I agree they should have a way to repair the phones without making you buy a $250 refurbed one. I know if I ever break this one again, I'll HAVE to shell it out.

I read somewhere online that you can get State Farm Insurance on IPhones? Not sure how much truth there is on that, but it might be worthwhile to check.

PSS. They said whatever case you buy won't make-or-break (no pun intended) whether or not the screen breaks. They said it mostly matters on how HIGH it drops from (and in my mind, what part of the phone it lands on as well)

So I opted for a thin, yet rubber case. I just need something that doesn't SLIP.