Not all phones have gorilla glass...or glass at all.

[jmcook79]

*UPDATE: I've recently found out that most if not all smartphones do have a glass display. Just not gorilla glass. To maintain the flow of the discussion, I'm leaving my original post intact.*

This is just a general rant not specifically directed at this forum.

In my search for a screen protector I've came across many posts on various forums as well as articles that basically say something like this:

"Modern devices have gorilla glass, screen protectors are obsolete."

Well news flash...not ALL smartphones have gorilla glass or any type of glass. Many low end phones have plastic screens. I know it's hard for these people to wrap their mind around this fact but it's true! Not all of us can afford the high rates of a contract or even the subsidized cost of a mid to high end contract phone. If you use prepaid you will find out that plastic is a fact of life. Prepaid plans plus a $99-$150 phone usually equals a plastic screen. There are literally thousands of people who have these phones.

Actually I prefer plastic, because I've had plastic screens scratch, but never break and I'm really clumsy lol. If I had a phone with a glass screen and no case I could guarantee it would probably be broken within a month give or take. In fact I have a family member and two friends walking around with broken screens right now! In my opinion, If you can't afford accident insurance or a screen replacement you cant' afford a high-end phone. My niece barley has the money to pay her electric bill but she pays $100+ to Verizon and she paid $300 for her phone. This is getting off topic but that just doesn't make sense to me.

For people who do have glass screens, great! Enjoy your phone but don't be condescending about it. I was recently told at another forum to just get a better phone with gorilla glass. It's these kind of arrogant people who have never understood what it's like to live on a low budget who really get on my nerves!

 

[SiempreTuna]

Not sure glass - gorilla or whatever - is such a great step forward.

My phone has a glass back as well as front and every time I drop it (which is way too often) it scares the bejazus out of me.

I notice that neither Google or Apple have glass backs on their latest models ..

 

[jmcook79]

Not sure glass - gorilla or whatever - is such a great step forward.

My phone has a glass back as well as front and every time I drop it (which is way too often) it scares the bejazus out of me.

I notice that neither Google or Apple have glass backs on their latest models ..

I think repeated drops of a glass phone would lead me to have a stroke lol. With the new curved and flexible plastic screens I've read about, I bet the future holds a type of "gorilla plastic"

 

[lunatic59]

Personally I like the feel of of the glass back on the N4. It took me a while to get used to the slipperiness of the glass and almost dropped it off a table or two because it slides so easily, but so far, so good (knock on gorilla wood )

I can see the benefits of plastics, too, it's just the current batch are more prone to scratching.

Economy (and the discussion about it) is a funny thing. You can argue that if you invest in quality rather than go for a less expensive model, then over the long run you save. Except, especially in technology, "the long run" is usually only a few years at best. Even the cheapest device should last that long. And accidents happen. You can break a $600 phone just as easily as a $150 model. Even with insurance, the deductible is generally over $100.

As for the people who get on your nerves ... tell them to eat cake.

Spoiler

Marie Antoinette? The French Revolution? Okay, she never actually said that, but it's a common myth.

 

[jmcook79]

Speaking of how fast technology changes, I tend to hate change and love technology...not a good combination lol. For 4 years, I was happily using a my Windows 7 laptop I bought at the end of 2009 until the motherboard died. Then I bought a comparable laptop at a yard sale until the motherboard died. I can replace the board in a desktop easily, but a laptop...no thanks, I've tried it and ended up breaking other things in the process. Way beyond my skill level. So I finally bought a new laptop because it wasn't much more than getting the board replaced on the old one.

Same thing with my old Samsung R355C feature phone.I used it for 3 years until I was doing yard work in the pouring rain just so I would finish and I forgot it was in my pocket. That will never happen again! :banghead:

As far as insurance, Walmart offers great protection/accident/replacement plans on their prepaid and contract phones. Mine cost $9 and covers drops, water damage etc. If the phone is $100 or less they just take your word for it and email you a gift card for the price you paid for the phone within 24-48 hours after you drop the old one off at UPS.

For phones more than $100 they attempt to fix it and if they cant then you get the gift card.

If you have more than 3 hardware or software issues with the same phone, they attempt to fix it 3 times, then you get the gift card. No deductible and it covers you for 2 years!

I also have a similar plan on my laptop through Best Buy, although it cost $90. It already paid off though because just a month after I bought it, I dropped it and jammed the mouse receiver into the usb port and damaged it in the process. 2 weeks later, I had a new usb port!

Finally yes those people they can have their cake

 

[dan330]

ok..

IF.. you have a "Modern devices THAT has gorilla glass, screen protectors are obsolete."

 

[jmcook79]

ok..

IF.. you have a "Modern devices THAT has gorilla glass, screen protectors are obsolete."

Now that I can handle I just hate when people over generalize.

 

[dan330]

glad i can help

 

[lunatic59]

ok..

IF.. you have a "Modern devices THAT has gorilla glass, screen protectors are obsolete."

I'd go one step further and say that devices using Gorilla Glass minimize the protection afforded by screen protectors to the point of making them more intrusive than utilitarian.

Now that I can handle I just hate when people over generalize.

Yeah, everybody does that all the time.

 

[jmcook79]

Good one :laugh:

 

[Codegerm]

True that not all phones come with glass displays, but to be fair, not all phones that have impact resistant glass have to be high end phones. Kyocera Hydro edge is only 130 dollars on a prepaid.
Kyocera Hydro EDGE

Having had both kinds (glass and non glass), I prefer the glass ones.

 

[jmcook79]

That's good to know. At least Kyocera is giving people options. That's a lot of phone for the price! I'm on straight talk which is my only prepaid option because Verizon is the only carrier that gets a good signal within 45 miles of where I live.

Well Page Plus is another option, I forgot about them. Being a Walmart associate gets me a 10% discount on phones and refill cards though

 

[MoodyBlues]

After cleverly breaking the glass on my first smartphone, I decided I wasn't willing to take chances any more. Ever since, I've bought Otterbox Defender Cases for all my devices, and I love the protection they give. I think they're well worth their cost.

 

[dan330]

why do we ask for thin beatiful phones.. hate plastic phones. love metal.
thin borders around the screen.

then proceed to cover it with big ASS (ugly by comparison) case?
that is rubber and plasic.

the phone becames hugher...

why cant they make a phone that is ... slightly bigger with good caseing with protection?

 

[jmcook79]

One of my co-workers has the Casio Commando which is a very rugged phone right out of the box, but also thicker than most phones. Personally I actually like the utilitarian look that Otterbox style cases give phones but to each his/her own. I have IMO the most rugged case I could find for my phone. I agree though that in this day and age, they should be able to make light, thin, and rugged phones.

 

[MoodyBlues]

why cant they make a phone that is ... slightly bigger with good caseing with protection?

In my humble opinion, it's not that they CAN'T do it, it's that they CHOOSE not to do it. Why? Simple! More broken phones = more sales of replacement phones.

 

[jmcook79]

Unfortunately you're probably right. I just remembered about a friends iPhone that broke while in the Otterbox Defender...from a drop onto a vinyl tile floor from her couch! She's been walking around with it for a month now because she can't afford the $150 deductible.

In the meantime, her husband just started making basically twice what he used to make and they have a new boat, new cars etc. These things just blow my mind!

 

[dan330]

In my humble opinion, it's not that they CAN'T do it, it's that they CHOOSE not to do it. Why? Simple! More broken phones = more sales of replacement phones.

that is a good point...
but only for a product that they 100% control.. like the iphone.

but with android.. and the competition.
if HTC came out with a choice:
1. with slim metal sexy housing.
2. same phone but a not-so-slim housing.. with great rubber housing that gives supurior protection, with some metal trims. that would be a huge selling point.

(of course they have also add in removable battery and SDcard slot!!!)

 

[Stuntman]

why do we ask for thin beatiful phones.. hate plastic phones. love metal.
thin borders around the screen.

then proceed to cover it with big ASS (ugly by comparison) case?
that is rubber and plasic.

the phone becames hugher...

why cant they make a phone that is ... slightly bigger with good caseing with protection?

I never asked for thin, beautiful phones. I asked for thicker phone with longer battery life and a landscape keyboard slider mechanism. None of the phone manufacturers seem to be listening to me.

Thin, beautiful phone sell better. I think phone makers did their research and found that these properties make people buy phone more than thicker phones. Until you get people to stop buying thin, beautiful phones, manufacturers will keep making them that way.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Until you get people to stop buying thin, beautiful phones, manufacturers will keep making them that way.

The quandary is that if someone wants a thicker, more substantial phone, but there are none available...then what? :hmmmm2: Either the person goes without a phone in protest--which accomplishes nothing unless they let the manufacturers know WHY they're not buying--or they suck it up and reluctantly buy a thin, sleek, pretty phone.

 

[mikedt]

I busted the glass on a Lenovo phone, no case, dropped on hard ceramic floor, landed face down, CRACK! Fortunately it was only equivalent of $30 to get it repaired(new glass), and while I waited as well. My current Samsung Galaxy Win, I keep that in a rubber case, as this phone is rather slippery and I don't particularly want it happening again. No screen protector though as it's a gorilla glass front on it.

Thing with many phones, particularly budget Chinese ones, it might be a glass front, but it's not actually toughened in any way. It's basically ordinary window glass and quite thin as well, so be careful with them, even applying too much pressure can crack it. Think when you break gorilla glass, it's like car windows, it's laminated or toughened and crazes over in very small pieces, rather than having large cracks and dangerous shards like a broken window.

EDIT:

BTW plate glass can be tough, although you don't find it on phones. Walked into a shop window once, BANG!, didn't break, but was like walking into a wall, wasn't hurt fortunately...just rather unexpected What actually happened, I thought it was an open door, it wasn't. They tend keep their windows spotless. Got a new jacket out of them though, and the menswear store has taken steps to ensure that it won't happen again by placing a mannequin there. :thumbup:

...and when people go through windows in movies, that's special sugar glass or a resin.

 

[jmcook79]

Maybe the Centura does have a glass screen. Maybe not gorilla glass but I found this photo online and it appears to be glass. I've dropped plenty of plastic phones and have never seen anything like this.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Maybe the Centura does have a glass screen. Maybe not gorilla glass but I found this photo online and it appears to be glass. I've dropped plenty of plastic phones and have never seen anything like this.

Yep, that's pretty much what my first smartphone [not a Centura] ended up looking like...after I broke its glass.

 

[Gmash]

Someone smarter than me said they are all glass, just that the standard tempered glass scratches easily and feels like plastic.

 

[jmcook79]

Someone smarter than me said they are all glass, just that the standard tempered glass scratches easily and feels like plastic.

After that picture I'm leaning towards believing it at least for smart phones. If they can afford to use glass on a $99 phone, they probably use it on all of them. On feature phones they still use a lot of plastic screens. I know because I just replaced a screen on a friend's Samsung and it was definitely plastic. Just to test and make sure I bent the old one in half lol.

Now I'm REALLY glad I bought a dual layer case with a deep bezel because a broken screen is the last thing I want. I warned my wife because she only has a slim TPU case, but I don't think she's ever dropped a phone. I wish I could be like that!