vzwuser76
Well-known member
- Jan 28, 2011
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Generally in engineering plastic is functional, not particularly stylish or high end. Whether it's headphones, cars, phones, or anything else, plastic is a very pedestrian (albeit necessary) material choice and no one really wants it on a $650+ phone
I would say look at the Lumia line of phones to see that while some may see plastics that way, it also doesn't HAVE to be that way. Besides the benefits plastic has in terms of radio transmission and wireless charging, I think the options for colors and design are also in the pro column. With metals, many times it's more difficult to get certain shapes than it would be with polycarbonate.
I also believe that polycarbonate has more give in a drop situation, having a bit of flex to dampen the shock, whereas metal and glass are more rigid and do nothing to dampen that shock. The result is most often broken glass. It's kind of the same the glass used in smartphone screens. People wanted less scratches if they didn't go with a screen protector, which means a higher hardness rating. But to achieve that higher hardness rating, the substance has to be more rigid and brittle, which in turn means less flexibility in a drop and the greater chances of breakage. So the choice comes down to less susceptibility to scratches, or less susceptibility to cracking. I think it's no coincidence that Motorola used plastic in their "unbreakable" screens present on devices like the Z Force or Droid 2. While they may accumulate more scratches, their flexibility allows for greater resistance to the screen cracking. IMHO, the best solution would be a combination of the two, a plastic screen with a tempered glass protector. The protector would be resistant to scratches, but in a drop the screen itself should he ok. And since it costs more to replace the screen vs the screen protector, it seems like the best option. However, if you don't use a protector, you run the risk of having a highly scratched screen, so the both would need to be present. Just my 2¢.