[quahtrader]

i think so. i'm sure there are straight fit pants that don't choke your legs like that.

lol i guess i don't know what i'm talking about. screens that just crack like that through normal usage? i guess i don't use mine normally.

I'm sure you use yours normally.

But yes, there have been more than a few instances of the exact same cracking starting from the button fanning up on phones that were also used normally. Why you think you can deny that I don't understand. Again, see the thread in the hardware section.

[pullbangdead]

My idea to fix this: do away with the center button.

It seems the problems are starting from the button area, and I have used that button maybe only once anyway in the whole 1.5 weeks. It doesn't seem to do anything unique, everything it does can be accomplished by a gesture. In materials science, we refer to holes/corners/things like that hole in the screen as stress concentration points, areas where localized stress is greater than the average stress on the screen, because of the presence of the hole/corner/whatever. That's why cracks start at corners and holes and go elsewhere, and it's why things like airplane windows have rounded corners instead of sharp corners.

Do away with the button => do away with the hole => no lacking functionality, no stress concentration point, and a smoother interface overall anyway.

Who's with me?

Or, they could give you the option to program the button to something useful and unique, and I'd want to keep it, since I've had no problems with it. Either way.

[chargersfan14]

My idea to fix this: do away with the center button.

It seems the problems are starting from the button area, and I have used that button maybe only once anyway in the whole 1.5 weeks. It doesn't seem to do anything unique, everything it does can be accomplished by a gesture. In materials science, we refer to holes/corners/things like that hole in the screen as stress concentration points, areas where localized stress is greater than the average stress on the screen, because of the presence of the hole/corner/whatever. That's why cracks start at corners and holes and go elsewhere, and it's why things like airplane windows have rounded corners instead of sharp corners.

Do away with the button => do away with the hole => no lacking functionality, no stress concentration point, and a smoother interface overall anyway.

Who's with me?

Or, they could give you the option to program the button to something useful and unique, and I'd want to keep it, since I've had no problems with it. Either way.

THANK YOU!

Finally some common sense!

[pullbangdead]

LOL, no problem.

Alternatively, making the hole bigger reduces stress concentration as well. How much stress concentration "happens" around the hole is a function of radius of curvature, so a bigger hole would experience less stress than the small hole currently there.

I'm thinking the other "holes" on the front surface of the screen (microphone hole, ear speaker) aren't seeing the same problems because they're closer to the edge of the screen, where the plastic can't be flexed as far. The center can be strained a lot farther than the edges, and the top of the button is farther from the edge than the other holes on the screen. Interesting.

[chargersfan14]

your idea would definitely account for all the cracks starting at the gesture bar area

[treobk214]

Evidently, you are not supposed to carry palm pre phones in your pocket with the case that came in the box. I also have to get onto a waiting list to receive a new phone (they expect it to take more than 30 days). So i have to pay my bills even though i won't have a phone to use.

I have been watching these forums since mid-march and i just now decided to make an account to vent my frustrations. I loved the Pre in the time i had it, it is sprint's crappy customer service and inability to recognize the problem that bugs me.

Sorry for only having a link to the photo, only decided to make this account so i could vent.

i342.photobucket.com/albums/o411/mattmoore44/P1020343.jpg


If you have any questions or want more pictures, please ask.

Actually, you should carry the pre in the cardboard BOX that it came in. Just to be on the safe side.

Then again, cracks are happening regardless of how gentle you are with it. I have a feeling it happens as the pre is cooling off after it heats up during either charging or heavy usage. Contraction and expansion followed by popping and cracking along the screen.

[chargersfan14]

The box it came in sounds like a good place to put it right now...

[ScrapMaker]

Actually, you should carry the pre in the cardboard BOX that it came in. Just to be on the safe side.

Then again, cracks are happening regardless of how gentle you are with it. I have a feeling it happens as the pre is cooling off after it heats up during either charging or heavy usage. Contraction and expansion followed by popping and cracking along the screen.

I'm guessing it's the pants causing the problem. Too tight. That doesn't mean your pants are always tight, but when you move, or bend in certain ways, you can make your pocket tighten up quite a bit. I've always been very aware of this, and take preventive measures.

I honestly don't think I could crack my screen if I tried...

[Lito305]

Evidently, you are not supposed to carry palm pre phones in your pocket with the case that came in the box. I also have to get onto a waiting list to receive a new phone (they expect it to take more than 30 days). So i have to pay my bills even though i won't have a phone to use.

I have been watching these forums since mid-march and i just now decided to make an account to vent my frustrations. I loved the Pre in the time i had it, it is sprint's crappy customer service and inability to recognize the problem that bugs me.

Sorry for only having a link to the photo, only decided to make this account so i could vent.

i342.photobucket.com/albums/o411/mattmoore44/P1020343.jpg


If you have any questions or want more pictures, please ask.

yea the same thing happened to a good friend of mine but we got ours at best buy and purchased the black tie protection plan so they issued him a palm pro loaner until his pre is approved for an in store swap...

they said it could tale up to 30 days until they get more in stock!! and they wanted to give him an instinct for his loaner phone at first but he called best buy coorperate and they approved him for a palm pro loaner..

maybe you should call up some big wigs and do some "A** Chewing" to see if they can at least issue you a loaner phone until you get another pre...

[SirBC]

FYI, you should also wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle and wrap that rascal when gettin' jiggy with Velma, the stripper from Vegas.

Evidently, you are not supposed to carry palm pre phones in your pocket with the case that came in the box. I also have to get onto a waiting list to receive a new phone (they expect it to take more than 30 days). So i have to pay my bills even though i won't have a phone to use.

I have been watching these forums since mid-march and i just now decided to make an account to vent my frustrations. I loved the Pre in the time i had it, it is sprint's crappy customer service and inability to recognize the problem that bugs me.

Sorry for only having a link to the photo, only decided to make this account so i could vent.

i342.photobucket.com/albums/o411/mattmoore44/P1020343.jpg


If you have any questions or want more pictures, please ask.

[chargersfan14]

anyone else having problems?

[meyerweb]

you guys breaking screens really need to stop being so rough with the phone and be conscious of the fact that it's actually in your pocket when it is.

logically, i imagine it would take a significant amount of force to crack the screen. maybe i'm wrong, but i've handled my phone carefully as i have my past phones and my screen is just fine.

And all you Palm apologists need to stop blaming people for what is clearly, more and more, looking like a manufacturing problem. Even if the Pre were that fragile, it's unacceptable. Millions of people carry phones in their pockets every day, without any problems. If the phone is really that fragile, it's junk.

[ScrapMaker]

Perhaps some of the casings were not treated properly? I am thinking along the lines of being tempered. I don't know exactly how plastic works in this regard. Perhaps some of the screens were not heated up enough, and are having internal pressure from being the shape they are?

Either way, if enough people truly are having these issues, it could be a design/QC issue.

The thing is, the rate of iPhone screen breakage is astounding--so I'm surprised Palm would do much about this. I think the people who are getting replacements for this are very lucky, and Sprint/Palm are being very reasonable.

With AT&T and the iPhone, you are totally SOL. Too bad, so sorry!

I hope it's not a design flaw---and mine feels strong, but that could be it's weakness. If it's too hard, it could be brittle. My HTC Touch went through hell and back. I even sat on it a few times--passed out drunk with it in my pockets... I know it had some serious stress on it, but it's a resistive screen, very soft, and a very simple slab device--never had an issue.

[smoresrock]

And all you Palm apologists need to stop blaming people for what is clearly, more and more, looking like a manufacturing problem. Even if the Pre were that fragile, it's unacceptable. Millions of people carry phones in their pockets every day, without any problems. If the phone is really that fragile, it's junk.

I'll have to disagree with you there. I'm not a Palm apologist. I am just commenting according to my experience with cell phones in general along with my personal experience with the Pre. I understand that, though mine has not cracked through "normal" usage, it does not warrant the argument that no Pre should crack under those same conditions elsewhere.

My argument is simply: if you were gentle with the phone (or--for those of you who have already cracked your screens--gentler), these cracks would have never happened.

I do buy your argument, however, that its proven fragility among a certain group of users is unacceptable. Phones nowadays need to compensate for both rough and gentle users alike.

[TMPRIDE]

Yeah, you can't purely blame the users for these cracking screens since obviously it's pretty widespread. My previous phone, an LG Dare, has been manhandled through and through and the screen is perfectly fine. I kept my Dare in my pocket bare since day one and had a cell strap that put constant pressure onto the screen inside my pants pocket.

This phone is physically more fragile than some other phones out there and that's that.

[chargersfan14]

GREAT NEWS! I'm on the phone with sprint CS right now and it seems that this issue has finally been acknowledged by Sprint/Palm as a defect. Hopefully they're not yanking my chain.

[ScrapMaker]

Resistive screens are more durable, I believe. They design capactive screens with stiffer/more brittle surfaces, which tend to break--not give.

[quahtrader]

Chargersfan... Exactly what did they have to say?

[quahtrader]

Chargersfan... Exactly what did they have to say?

still on the phone?

[chargersfan14]

yep. they've changed their mind. I have to pay to have it fixed...

I'm on the phone with palm and i've been on hold to talk to an administrator for 15 mins now...

i'm very frustrated