Does anybody find it ironic that the whole phone indistry made plastic phones…apple came along and spent more per-unit budget to make an aluminum and glass phone…then stepped it up a notch with the iPhone 4 design…making a minimalistic sammich of glass and metal…
and the first thing many people (present company included) is wrap it in a plastic case?
I dropped my iPad and it cracked. I DO NOT want to repeat that horrific experience.
That’s what always got to me when I was shopping for a new phone and all of the reviews spent the first 3 paragraphs either criticizing or gushing over the aesthetic design of the device, when the first thing everyone does with any phone is stick it in a plastic or rubber(-ized) case. I doubt I could pick my phone out of a lineup of caseless phones.
it’s an unfortunate side effect of large pieces of glass…I lived through the other side, where PDA’s (Netwons, Palm Pilots, WinCE PDAs) where the screen was pristine only when you just pulled it out of the box.
In it’s defence, Every iPhone I’ve owned had a GREAT lookin piece of glass when it got replaced with the next iDevice.
I had a thin, tough clear plastic case on my iPhone 3. On the back was a sticker of a photo I had taken. It was slim and beautiful and I loved it. I haven’t found a similar thin case for the 4, but as soon as I do I’m dumping this big honking rubber thing. It is sort of cute; orange with a big M&M looking button, but I do hate it because it completely ruins the aesthetics.
What these people said upthread. My phone is in a case so it doesn’t get broken if it gets dropped. But my phone is white, so I chose a mostly-white case. It doesn’t make much difference in the overall aesthetics.
I actually don’t use a case on my iphone and havent’ had a problem. I had one, but it wouldn’t stay shut so I ditched it and never got another one. It’s been over a year with no problems.
I bought at case for the 3GS and soon pitched it because it made svelte phone clunky. 2.5 years later the glass is nearly perfect, but the back is cracked and nasty.
So they replace the crackable plastic with glass. We’ll see how long the case stays on this one. 
But I will say the case has a nostalgia factor… (Griffin Elan Form Chilewich Case for iPhone 4 - Apple) the back looks JUST like an AM transistor radio the family had when I was growing up.
So is a screen protector for my iPod Touch really not needed to prevent scratches?
Ymmv, but I havent had a screen protector for any of my three iPhones. I got a scratch or two, literally.
I don’t see the point of the extra bulk, most people buy a new phone every 2-3yrs anyway, they’ll last that long naked.
I always slap a silicone skin on an ipod because they ride around in my backpacks and my car whereas my phone lives safely in my pocket.
Isn’t that kind of like saying “I don’t wear a seatbelt and have never had a problem”? Just means you have (so far) managed to avoid a situation where the protection is needed. 
Nope. I got my 3G the first day it was available, and the only wrong with its shell is some scuffing on the back. It’s never had a screen protector or case. But then, I treat my expensive electronics like they’re expensive electronics, rather than disposable burner phones.
Going on 4 years with an iPhone original - no case, no scratches - I’m a careful person, I guess.
How are they breaking on you? I’ve had two case-free iPhones (3G for 30 months or so, and then the iPhone 4 since it came out), and I dropped them all the time… at least once a month, which would be 40+ drops from varying heights onto varying surfaces and targets. I’ve never had a phone failure, and the surfaces aren’t even noticeably scratched.
no, some of us think about things other than Apple.
And yet you felt compelled to open a thread about Apple products and post in it. It’s not actually mandatory to post in every single thread on the boards, you know. It’s OK to skip the ones that you find uninteresting.
Anyway, on-topic: I’ve had my iPhone 4 for about a year now, with no screen protector. The case I have is one of the thin ones that they sent out as part of the free case program after Antennagate. (I never had any trouble with the antenna anyway, but I figured, hey, free case.) The screen is fine and totally unscratched, even though I am really not that careful about the phone and it is often knocking around in my pockets next to keys and other such things.
Every time I see something like this;
I think: YOU DUMBASS.
I’ve heard people complain about the weight (what, 1.5 pounds?) of an iPad. Well this thing has about four and a half pounds of gold on it. So what now, 6+ pounds? Can you imagine trying to use that?
God forbid you need to get it repaired.
Oh, and a new model will surely come out in about 6 months. If you’re so fashionable that you need a gold, diamond and dinosaur encrusted iPad 2, you are going to be SO last year when the iPad 3 comes out.
I feel that I should mention the book book case for iphone. It looks like a book and functions as a wallet. If you exacto out a hole, you can take pictures without removing it. No, I’m not a shill, I just got one, and I like it - less stuff in my pockets.
Thanks for the info on the screen. My previous mp3 player ended up scratched to hell and I was worried about the iPod.