@2playedout: Once you go black, your iPhone won't crack?

Munch the BanNail

When I read this I thought to myself "Sure am glad my iPhone has a metal backing and not an egg backing, wouldn't want any Apple demons hatching!" then I realized that the metal backing could mean my iPhone is going to transform into an Apple transformer and killing machine.

PC+Mac Coexist

1)Keep them out of bright light
2)Don't get them wet
3)And never feed them after midnight.

suburbancowboy

I really really *really* hope this is isolated to a bad batch or two of iPhones.

I've had mine since day 2 and it's still fine. I've got a small *chip* in the silent-switch well, but that seems mostly due to, you know, clicking it on and off.

No cracks at all in my case, after checking under a very bright light.

I haven't even really taken great care of mine. Not bad care, and I haven't dropped it, but I don't usually put it in a case, and I usually just keep it in my pants pocket (by itself).

If this is a product-wide problem, I wonder if there's something these guys are doing that's causing this. I mean, it could be stress fractures. The ones near the headphone jack suggest poor removal of the headphone plug. Other ones possibly imply having placed the iphone into too tight pockets, thus causing constant pressure on the iphone.

Well, I still prefer that this is just an isolated problem. If not, I hope apple does the right thing and offers to replace the plastic backing w/ shells that won't crack from, you know, *regular use*.

Aristeia

Just noticed a few hairline cracks around the volume control switch on mine. Pretty damn annoyed, as I have treated this thing with kid gloves since I got it.

Fontosaurus

No cracks on mine. Of course I'm careful with it...

BEERxTaco

@davesousa and grem28: The night-mares are coming; the night-mares are coming!

Good lord! Only the Unicorns can save us now!

Anyone who has a white iPhone, smash it open right now! We can't wait for them to hatch on their own!
We need skittle-rainbow power!
Only it can protect us from...from...
...from the feces!
(I mean, I realize it doesn't sound that bad, but it really is very, very unpleasant!)

92BuickLeSabre

@Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy: It's not quite rainbows.

dingus

My white iPhone seems fine...

b33rl0rd

@dingus: it wants to see his long lost cousins....

davesousa

I was intrigued by the white one, but ended up getting the black 16 instead. It's about time I made the correct choice in life on something as simple as meaningless as this.

I suppose it's the price people will have to pay though for the plastic instead of metal on the backs, but get the benefit of an alleged better reception.

Puck

This just in: plastic encased gadgets breaks in pockets.

In other news, the sky is still blue.

buttrockz

Calm down! It's a new feature of the 2.0 firmware ported from Leopard: Back to my Crack. It's just the iPhone's way of saying it wants to visit a Genius Bar.

dingus

My black one is cracked and I am pissed!

CEOself

Apple's hardware engineers remind me of GM in the eighties, always fucking up something.

Half off all shafts!

I saw this on engadget. They have a pic of it there showing that it's happening to the black ones as well, it's just harder to see.

grem28

Who's laughing now you cracked-out 3G whores?!!!

GeekyNerdGuy

The headline should have been so obvious. "Black don't crack!"

2playedout

nope the blacks are cracking as well, check this out... [www.engadget.com]

i know i know please don't hit me for posting an engadget link in here.

davesousa

when gadgets start getting stretch marks, you know there's something wrong.... i told jobs it was too much!!!

gdam78

Maybe it'll transform into Optimus Prime. That would be awesome.

Kryptinite

@Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy: OK that made me laugh out loud in my office.

The white phones are just so... ugh.

heidiho

You sure those aren't just scratches? This doesn't seem like that big of a deal, most phones will get scratched, are people just making a big deal cuz it's the iPhone?

kyel57

The iPhone was reasonably priced for some reason. I wonder why no one cared to find out how much the Samsung Instinct cost to build?

Wallmaker

I'd hate to see what comes out when my 1st gen iPhone start hatching...

WD40

The first one looks like it might be a crack, but the other two pictures look like marks or smudges to me

Antihero17

@HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak:
Maybe it'll think I'm it's father and then I can ride around on my black horse, spewing flame from it's mouth...burning all who oppose my rule!

Muahahahaha....errr...look! A squirrel!

Darkest Daze

@Git Em SteveDave: That's right. The unicorn's shoot rainbows and the Night-mares shoot...well, actually it's just feces...but it's still pretty unpleasant!!!

92BuickLeSabre

@Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy: No no, these are the ones that shart skittles AND rainbows from their asses.

Xavoc

@92BuickLeSabre: @Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy:

Well, better Rainbow-Ass Shooting Unicorns than little possible-blockbuster-killing-baby-Godzillas...

Chromeo

The dragons are calcium deficient, Jobs hasn't been taking them to the vet often enough... (greedy bastard)

bpapa9013

Maybe the cracks just show up better on the white ones?... Check your black ones too!

@Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy: LOL!

Ambiguous Blob 2.0

@92BuickLeSabre: Yeah, just wait until the black ones start hatching and unleash the night-mares.

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

@mrxcel: Nor will it run

jonbaird77

@Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy: So this is what they meant when they said Apple would take over the world.

The iPodcalypse is here....

jonbaird77

@92BuickLeSabre: Those are the ones that shoot rainbows from their asses, right?

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy

@Git Em SteveDave: Then thank god it's the white ones! (They have the unicorns!)

92BuickLeSabre

dont drop them

thomusvoo

The Zune Phone will not Crack ..

the Microsoft Management

mrxcel

They're hatching.

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy

No cracks in mine. WTF are you people doing with your iPhones?!?

Paul D

@stopitnow54: They changed it for increased EDGE/3G reception. I do find it odd though, because I thought Apple was trying to steer clear of plastic and make everything aluminum or glass.

jonbaird77

@ALLLLLL

MY BLACK 3G IS CRACKED! i didn't think it would've happened to mine, but i said, what the heck, let me check... LO and behold, it's cracked right by the headphone jack! I'm not very happy ... >:p

grem28

hmmm, maybe I was right in my decision to just get an SE W810i off of ebay.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

Engadget are reporting that one black one has cracks too, and it was uber protected from any damage. This is such a shame. This should cost apple a lot of money, a lot. Everybody better get knowledgeable about how to do a complete wipe of your phones memory before sending it back in (of course this is after apple actually acknowledges the problem, and comes up w/ a solution).

jkr2

I've got a white crack -- but I've had that since before the iPhone was invented.

GeekyNerdGuy

The white Nintendo DS was cracking too. Maybe it has to do with the composition of the plastic when the color is white?

Little Green Frog

Hmm. No cracks on my first gen aluminum phone. I wonder why.

aniruddha23

Obviously, They've been rerouting power from the Structural Integrity Field Generators to feed the Reality Distortion Field Generators.

DustyButt

Picks of my "Black Crack"

[www.pocketup.com]

CEOself

@regexp: Yeah, I hate when people say "Well treat it with care!"

It doesn't matter, sometimes accidents happen (look up the definition of that word people). If my phone accidently drops, it shouldn't crack like an egg. Especially when it's suppossed to be the Jesus of phones.

I'm done with my contract in a few weeks and really interested in the white iPhone. I hope this gets explained and sorted out by then.

karasu is my homeboy

wow, i never expected this. But however, i´ve always thought that the old aluminum case was WAy better. It looks better and is stronger. Apple shouldn´t have changed it.

stopitnow54

@chester_copperpot

I don't understand this line of thinking Its a frak'n phone - a phone has to be designed to be dropped. My first iPhone lasted a year without a scratch on it and was replaced with a new iphone. Any phone that cracks after dropping it a few times isn't worth it and should be dumped...

regexp

my white iphone is fine - even after the three times i've dropped it...

regexp

Jesus, get a case for your phone. It's a small computer, don't drop it. Treat it like an egg. You make me sick.

Chester_Copperpot

iPhone wants to be the new Crackberry?

CSX321

Crack Kills!

pipper

It's a byproduct of jailbreaking your iphones. The stock firmware has structural integrity field regulating code which the jailbroken firmware lacks. Also, the tractor beam doesn't work properly.

MayorBee is Haulin' Ass...Gettin' Paid

it's the start of the infinitesimal cracks in the foundation that is... the iPhone...
i thought the first letter was supposed to be capitalized... maybe it's the dot... people do love dots

UrIt

And has anyone tried taking them back to Apple to get them fixed? Wait, no you just complained about it on the internet that's right!

mcjake

Hmm, I was just thinking. If apple doesn't replace the cases of these phones because these are just "cosmetic" defects, how bad would that be. People bought these phones because of the "cosmetics" involved. Apple will probably replace these, they have been good about such things, I'm just thinking "what if".

jkr2

EVERYONE knows that dragon tears turn into .... jellybeans!!!! :)

have a white one. no cracks here, from what i can tell, although i do keep it in a rubber case almost 24/7 and pretty much baby it like my own dragon egg.

graphx

I love my little plastic Samsung. Have had it for a year and there are still no scrapes or cracks. 100 bucks well spent.

Karinabob

Recall time! Yay!!!

/busily searching for his/his wife's iPhone 3G boxes...

mcdonnr

@karasu is my homeboy: I don't think I've ever dropped my cell phone by not doing something stupid to allow said drop to happen.

Accidents are mostly lack of care/conern/awareness and failure to use good judgement.

Xavoc

P.S.

I've had my iphone in a case since I got it, i've taken good care of it.

grem28

Apple's solution -- learn to use epoxy, suckers!

GeekyNerdGuy

@regexp: What we don't know is if this guy is a jackass and drops his phone 80 times a day. If this isn't an epidemic then its a anomaly for just a few people. Remember they've sold MILLIONS of these things.

I've dropped my Treo a bunch of times, but I have a case for it and it's fine...cosmetically. Internally it's on life support.

Chester_Copperpot

@jonbaird77: In this case, it would be a necessary sacrifice. None of the other products rely on a material that wouldn't interfere with any internal antennas. That said, I WANT the iPod touch to have a brushed aluminum back. I mean, c'mon!

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

the black ones also crack. I got my black 16GB on Saturday... and it has already developed a similar crack to the ones pictured in the top corner next to the camera. I have not dropped the device or done anything else that would explain why this would happen (other than simply getting hot when charging)

gschroder

And i just got my whitey today..... i swear.....

Twenty5

Guys, settle down. Apple has announced that this is a new, intentional feature of the Iphone 3g. The "slight increased surface area" of a "cracked" phone increases friction and gives you a better grip on your phone. Apple has announced that they strongly feel the new change dramatically improves the "hand feel" of the phone and that once you get used to it, you'll love it too!

Faxmonkey

Standby for the 4G.

hkancyr

@mcdonnr: You forgot to search for your masculinity as well with that white phone.

DestroyerMTL

Looks like the price of tacky taste.

Blackti3

I have a wonderful hairline crack on my iPhone. Yes it is white. Yesterday Apple said it was damage, even though there was not a single scratch on the phone. Today hopefully it will be a different story!

osirisboy

*breaks out his super-bright Mag-lite and starts searching*

...

Nope, I'm good. But the chrome on the side keys sure does look funktified, and I've kept mine so well-protected it might as well be made out of solid platinum.

Sucks for the folks whose iPhones cracked! Anybody exposing their equipment to high temperatures or direct sunlight for extended periods of time?

philbert

Great, I just got my White 16GB iphone 2 days ago....

axiomatic

You could replicate that real easy, just heat it up with hair dryer long enough and then drop it when it cools off

snitch29

@GeekyNerdGuy: oh well at least they can sit in caves past the make believe trees and eat bubble gum pie.

graphx

Looks like there are going to be a lot of out of warranty white iPhones.

Mikestan

Upon really close scrutiny of my day one black 16GB, I can see a hairline fracture between the headphone jack and the bezel.

nizz

I just inspected my iPhone. It's still black and uncracked and shiny. I need to finish my little staycation project to stencil it to look like this.

OMG! Ponies!

@graphx: But we still hate them because they're rascist and different.

GeekyNerdGuy

I'm feeling lucky, but worried. I've had mine for almost 2 weeks. I bought an acrylic case for it during purchase and it only comes out of that case for periodic "pocket crumb" removal. I gave it a good inspection today and was not able to find any of these cracks. I can only hope that this isn't going to happen to mine. I would be super upset. My Treo and my Pearl were dragged around with me for 1-2 years and looked great. If these are cracking after only a couple of weeks, then there is something wrong in the manufacturing process.

toddgarvin

Is it just me or in the first picture, does it appear that the chrome ring is dented and scratched?

MorganRW

My Black 3G is delaminating around the charging jack. I will take this back to Apple to see if they will replace the shell.

MorganRW

I'd say both iphones are made of same plastic, only difference is the coloring. The question is why did apple made iphone with plastic surface? I think thats pretty stupid actually though I have never liked apple's products anyway.

deactivated

You're all screwed. Here is the Exclusion part of the warranty:

This warranty does not apply: (a) to consumable parts, such as batteries, unless damage has occurred due to a defect in materials or workmanship; (b) to cosmetic damage, including but not limited to scratches, dents, and broken plastic on ports; (c) to damage caused by use with non-Apple products; (d) to damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, flood, fire, earthquake or other external causes; (e) to damage caused by operating the product outside the permitted or intended uses described by Apple; (f) to damage caused by service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider ("AASP"); (g) to a product or part that has been modified to alter functionality or capability without the written permission of Apple; or (h) if any Apple serial number has been removed or defaced."

Does your iPhone make calls? Does it play music? Does it otherwise work? If yes, you're shit-outta-luck.

OMG! Ponies!

@Sean Robertson: i see what you did there!!

graphx

@Joe Manning: That seems strange. Why?

92BuickLeSabre

this makes me happy

Joe Manning

Apparently that new plastic back isn't all it was cracked up to be! :-P

Sean Robertson

I think this is the effects of GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!

sfokevin

they arent cracked...its apples new "self marbleizing plastic"

macstrat

Sorry for the double-post, but did anyone notice the horrendous hairline fracture INSIDE the headphone port? Someone really jacked that iPhone UP, man...

philbert

nothing noticeable on my 16gb black 3G, thank god

faticone

It's cuz apple hates white people!

Screen Name

@2playedout:
Ahh, you beat me to it.

mr30gZune

@Xavoc: Good for you.

This doesn't change the fact that the iPhone shouldn't be so delicate that it cracks due to minor, if any, misuse.

karasu is my homeboy

I love how when microsoft ships a new product and its deficient in some way people flame "M$" and say how they are such a terrible company. When apple releases a new product and it unexpectantly cracks on you, its no big deal.

lgarby

This is pretty interesting.

Apple starts out with something made of metal, and then goes over to Plastic, and there is always something wrong when they do:

Macbook to Plastic: Smudging Problem (that it becomes gray or smth)

iPod from Aluminum (iPod Mini) to Plastic (iPod Nano): Scratching of the screen

iPhone (metal) to iPhone 3G (Plastic): Cracking

Pity, but it becomes quite predictable.

I have now my second iPhone 3G in 2 weeks, first one swapped out because of a clearly noticable dent in my screen (glass was not in the frame properly).

Now my second iPhone 3G, has a small... abnormality just above the iPhone Volume button.

I really hope that Apple fixes this problem. It looks like it is a heat related problem...

Neone

Rumors have the next iPhone made out of condensed milk to improve reception. They may want to rethink that now.

frigg

My white iPhone is cracking around the volume rocker and around the dock connector.

Malachi

this will make any iphone 3G user check their iphone.sure made me

iErik

And oh, my white iPhone is perfectly fine. But... I do take good care of mine so that's probably why.

ttech10

$299/$499 is way too expensive for crack. no matter where you live.

imaginaryplaya'

@lgarby: There hasn't been a product with as bad as deficiency as MS's... so until then all other products are ok.

You act like everybody in the world is pro-Apple, when really it's just that it's not as bad as the Microsoft problem with 1/3 defective consoles. When 1/3 iPhones are bad then it'll be big.

ttech10

Just one more thing.....

WyldeChef

They are cracking under the pressure of having to live up the inherent coolness of black. Pretty soon there will have to be affirmative action for white iPhones.

In my opinion, all gadgets should be black, much like all the original Fords. Anything else just looks dumb.

zenpoet

@karasu is my homeboy: it's the flip side of secrecy. Limiting the number of 3Gs in beta prior to launch may have come back to munch them in the ass.

frigg

So, with the first iPhone, Jobs took it for a test drive in it's pocket (along with other employees who dropped them visciously) to test durability. Jobs himself was not pleased that the screen scratched so easily so they switched it to be made of glass.

The new iPhone, what, they didn't bother seeing if they held up in day to day life? I've read plenty of articles about how they tested the first one through and through. I guess they stopped caring.

karasu is my homeboy

One of the white iPhones on display at my local Apple store is showing the same cracks in the top corner near the headphone port. Oops!

ionerox

So what are you saying? Being black is better then being white?

Oh come on, lighten up!!!

Of 6 new 3G iPhones here at work only one of them is white. The only reason he got white was because it's all they had left (apple store). He's gonna be pissed when he sees this!

JEmlay

Sure, these shiny great new phones are $200...but they swapped out brushed metal, for plastic. What do you expect to happen when you treat a phone like a phone.

ThisCharmingMan

Yeah mine is cracked right where the audio on off switch is

butlertotheb

Does anyone know if Sony Ericsson helped manufacture the new iPhone 3G's?...

Ambiguous Blob 2.0

Those cracks don't really look like they change much... they seem purely cosmetic.

ItsRabid

crack is easier to see on blacks. haha!

CharitableNinja

And for the record!

Since many people are saying "People just need to treat their phone with more care"

I treat all my phones (24) with the most up-care respect. The device is simply not made well on Apple's part.

Point blank and simple.

Derek Devine

WOW, I was completely unaware of this ever happening.

So... I did a complete 360 check on my white iPhone and sad to say I have a crack, not as dangerous looking as in the photos but a hair crack by the headphone jack.

I also realized around the headphone jack its more concave, making the plastic thinner then the rest of the phone. So maybe that's why the cracks are occurring by the headphone jack.

But I do have a crack with my white iPhone 3G.

Derek Devine

Too bad Apple didnt put a removable back for a removable battery.. then it would cost them .50 to hand out new covers instead of spending all this time and resources getting people paid by the hour to do it.

Aturayd

@WyldeChef:
lol-bats

Half off all shafts!

@Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy:

iPhone Nanos.

aaj111

Planned Obsolescence. How are they going to keep their revenue up if you're not going back every year for a new model?

The cases were designed to crack, it just wasnt supposed to start happening until about a month before the next model is released.

ziffelbat

Apple Designer 1: So, that Nintendo DS is still a pretty hot seller. We need to figure out what what makes it so popular.

Apple Designer 2: Well, it had a white plastic case. Oh, and a black one as well.

AD1: Yeah, we can do that, no problem.

AD2: They made the stylus bigger.

AD1: Yeah...we don't really have room to add one of those. Try something else.

AD2: Ooh, what about that whole hinge-crack kerfluffle? That kept it in the news for months!

AD1: We don't have any hinges, but I'm sure we can come up with something.

@OMG! Ponies!:
If it turns out to be a wide-ranging problem due to some aspect of the manufacturing process, as happened with the DS Lite, you better believe they'll do something about it. That many pissed off customers is bad juju for any company that wants to maintain its customer base.

Purple Dave

Maybe they'll hatch snow leopards.... That'd be awesome.....

ozgaz24

I've had my Sony Ericsson T630 phone (made of plastic) for 4 years and it has survived with no cracks or scratches. I treat it carefully but it has still had the odd accident. The iPhone 3G is an expensive, supposedly high quality product. It should not be cracking like this.

acoom

I wonder if it's the same plastic used on the white macbook's.... cause my macbook has hairline cracks?

JOOSH

Dang, got out the magnifying glass (to help out my tired, old, presbyopic eyes) and sure enough I have some cracks by the headphone jack (like the photo, but mine has three cracks in that spot) and another crack from the cable connector opening to the screw hole next to it.

I'd attach photos, but I don't know how.

URLyAdopter

I have a white iphone 3g, I have a case, and I have never dropped it. I treat it with kid gloves. But still, I have a tiny crack on the upper righthand side of the back. It showed up after about 3 days! WTF?

j_royall

I have not done anything to my black 8gb 3g, but I found a little crack behind the mute switch. I almost cried in a meeting when I found it... Please tell me Apple will cover this. It is my first Apple product and I love the phone, but this is beyond disappointing to me.

jhnsn_j

My wife's white one is cracked under the volume button and a zit near the silence button. I had exchanged my black one 4 times already. And every single had its unique defects. i.e. cracks, silent button broken, more cracks, and crappy black color on the screen like a cheap lcd tv. I applaud the wonderful consistent quality that Apple has provided.

Sgt.Krispt

This is so sad... I've been really happy with my phone. Living in the UK, I get constant 3G coverage in the areas where I live and work. 3G here is really common. I have cleaned my black 16GB iPhone 3G now and upon close examination, I could see really small cracks around the camera hole and the headphone jack. I am making an appointment at the Genius Bar tomorrow when I have time to get a closer look and check if there are bigger cracks (which I believe will be there) and I hope that they will change it no-questions-asked. I don't think Apple is bad because of this. Any product from any manufacturer has problems, the bad thing is just that it happened so early... and that people never really care to examine their stuff. I bet that any product owned by anyone here has some sort of problem. I got my phone on July 11th, first in line at the store where I bought it and have never dropped, pressed it hard or abused it in any way. I do not have a case because I take extreme care of everything that I own and I think that I can live with that if in the long run it doesn't get worse.

fcar.gbr

OMG, now my Wii has cracks, too. I think it's catching!

Actually, I got the call to pick up my white 16gb today, in the midst of reading this story. Timing, timing.

Akibake-

This is the problem for building the new iphone with a plastic cover, any drop of your iphone will result in a crack on the back. My first generation iphone has been drop several times from over 3 foot ( 1 meter ) and it only have light scratches on the back, but ZERO cracks because it has a metal cover.

Maybe it was wrong to build the new iphone with a plastic cover because any drop and you will have a broken iphone.

If I have an iPhone with a crack on the back I can live with it, but if my iphone has a hole on the back I will have to change that part.

lukedotcom

My white iPhone was cracked out of the box... I didn't notice it until the next day but i took it back up to the Apple store and i told them it looked like there was a hair in the plastic, and that maybe they should invest in some hair nets wherever they are making these. I call it the iHair. LOL! Anyway, they ordered me a new one. It took about a week to get it in, but I got a new one no problem. I did take a pic of it for you guys:

[www.flickr.com]

chris1p

Two words (and a symbol): Wite-Out™

Akibake-

My white 3G has some tiny hairlines around the charging port and bottoom screws. Normal use, absolute kid gloves. The plastic is just a little too brittle and thin to be on a phone.

I don't see this lasting 1 year, not to mention 2. I suppose you can always file a phone insurance claim if Apple doesn't see it as a warranty issue. Oh wait...

Benjaminx

I initially noticed an alignment issue of the bezel and plastic which made me noticed the cracks. This was only about an hour after I bought it. . . . went back to AT&T for an exchange but they were sold out. A whole ordeal and half later after AT&T was no help with reinstating my upgrade status, I picked up a phone at the Apple store. The cracks started appearing again a week later

pdhoang