Why not just make the screen easier to replace? (Score 2)

Because the odds of cracking screens on smart phones are so high, why don't the device makers design the phones so that they can be more easily replaced? I replaced my wife's iPhone 4 screen after she dropped the phone on its edge. My kid also cracked his iPod Touch 4 screen the same way. Replacing the iPhone screen wasn't horrible, but it could have been easier if Apple just sold a replaceable screen/button assembly that just plugged into the rest of the phone. The iPod Touch replacement seems like more of a nightmare. You need to take the motherboard out of the case to unplug the screen from the bottom of the motherboard. What a stupid, stupid design.

Do non-Apple smart phone screens crack as often as iPhone screens? The iPhones sure look cool with their screens running right up to the metallic edge; but in reality I would think that this would make them much more susceptible to cracking screens by landing on their edges. My old Moto and current Samsung GS3 phones had plastic edges that absorb shock that would otherwise be transmitted to the digitizer, cracking it.