Nexus One Shouldn’t Go In Your Pocket

by Rob Jackson on March 5th, 2010

This story reads like Episode One of “Crave UK and the Adventures of Lame Tech Support People“. Awhile back the folks at Crave UK had a Nexus One screen mysteriously crack while sitting on a desk doing absolutely nothing. Of course there could be a coverup somewhere but no matter what there are two things you absolutely WON’T believe:

(1) Despite being cracked and ruined forever, I kind of like the picture of it – artistic and intriguing:

nexus-one-crack

(2) Google support suggested they call HTC support who told him this:

“Putting a phone in a tight pair of jeans and sitting down would usually cause the kind of damage,”

and

“People sometimes forget that they don’t go in pockets,”

Are. You. Kidding. Me? One of the typical “do I want this phone” tests/discussions is on pocketability! I’ll just dismiss this as a case of an HTC Support tech trying to avoid replacing the device – and collecting the £180 screen replacement fee (that’s a lot). While I don’t BLAME HTC for not reimbursing someone for a phone that looks like it was certainly broken by user error, I don’t see how their response is remotely okay.

Unless of course they were talking about the back pocket of your jeans… and you sat on it.

42 Comments

  1. 1. Joel wrote on March 5, 2010

    they probably meant BACK pocket

  2. 2. Joel wrote on March 5, 2010

    clearly I didnt read until the end

  3. 3. me wrote on March 5, 2010

    And people thinking the Droid being a ‘hummer’ is a bad thing.

  4. 4. Jason wrote on March 5, 2010

    That really was a bad response from HTC Customer Service. Especially since they made this video…

    http://www.youtube.com/user/googlenexusone?blend=1&ob=4#p/c/4ACDE3CAD0636572/2/R1sz5c-R9h0

  5. 5. Dennis wrote on March 5, 2010

    Obviously the tech didn’t watch the Google videos of the Nexus testing.. I find all of this as hearsay and suspicious.. I could say that a tech told me anything.. doesn’t make it so.. and spontaneous cracking is about as likely as spontaneous combustion.. making the “tech said this..” even more unbelievable.

  6. 6. Nathan Nutter wrote on March 5, 2010

    Just like Apple doesn’t sell laptops they sell notebooks. Notebooks are only meant to be used on a smooth flat surface not laps!

  7. 7. Denny wrote on March 5, 2010

    in one of the episode for nexus one didnt they have a flex test of some sort? i remember it being pretty durable in the test.

  8. 8. QuantumRand wrote on March 5, 2010

    Wanna send it to me? I can still use it!

  9. 9. Pedro Rodriguez wrote on March 5, 2010

    They are not meant to go on pockets. That’s BS. Even in http://www.google.com/phone, in the tour section, when testing how the phone will look on your hand, the animation puts the N1 in the pocket!

  10. 10. Droidphan wrote on March 6, 2010

    Before everyone goes on a nasty tirade against HTC’s tech support…think about it rationally. If you’re wearing a tight pair of jeans, and put them in one of your front pockets and then do some sort of bending, there’s tension going through the threads of the jeans forcing the phone against your body. An excessive amount can cause the phone to bend ever so slightly but enough to cause damage to the glass screen. It can happen to all devices, so exercise caution when placing these devices in your pockets. (I don’t put my Droid in my pants very much)

  11. 11. theLub wrote on March 6, 2010

    of course they’re going to say its not meant to go in your pocket. that gives them reason to deny claims by morons who put a $500 computer in their pocket and think it can handle the same treatment as a nokia 3390. . . (remember those things?)

  12. 12. Tose wrote on March 6, 2010

    Does HTC expect us to wear a fanny pack or a man purse? I’m not sure where else to put my phone besides my pocket. I definitely won’t wear it on a holster, I don’t really want my phone hanging out in the open. I’m not too worried. So far my Droid seems quite rugged, apart from some paint chipping off.

  13. 13. damn it wrote on March 6, 2010

    thats why I keep my phone in my gun holster. for some reason when ever I reach for my phone, people scream?

  14. 14. WTFMoses wrote on March 6, 2010

    @ Droidphan

    shut up dude

  15. 15. Ryo wrote on March 6, 2010

    Absolutely okay. If you put your phone in a tight pair of Jeans, you should have known that this might happen.
    Common, this thing has a large screen, if you sit down, there are a lot of force hitting the phone on a small spot.

    Go and grab a $5 case for outside your jeans and problem solved.

  16. 16. velazcod wrote on March 6, 2010

    extremes
    tight jeans man purse

    I wonder which one is more gay?

    =)

  17. 17. John wrote on March 6, 2010

    This is dumb. Have you guys seen the Samsung AMOLED video demos, they freaking hammer the thing and nothing happens. That wasn’t done by a pair of jeans!
    And yes, the N1’s screen is made by samsung

  18. 18. Esquire0399 wrote on March 6, 2010

    @velazcod: You know what’s gayer than tight jeans AND man purses? Me (a very masculine male) and my very masculine boyfriend ;) Don’t be an idiot.

    @ Dennis: spontaneous screen cracking is not that uncommon my friend.

  19. 19. Steveo wrote on March 6, 2010

    Too bad SE did agree to build the Nexus. It would probably had taken them 2 months longer than HTC but it would have been worth it.

  20. 20. phonixor wrote on March 6, 2010

    my HTC hero fell 2 floors down the stairs…

    the back went of, and battery fell out…
    but once i put everything back together it worked like new…
    though it did had a few scratches (but not on the screen :) )… and the screen part did land on something soft… guess i was really lucky there :)

  21. 21. Fred wrote on March 6, 2010

    I dropped my SE X1 a few times, the corners look kinda crumpled (i guess from landing on stones on a road surface), the back case has cracked a bit, and the auto focus doesn’t work anymore.. I only dropped it twice!!!!!

  22. 22. Lukehluke wrote on March 6, 2010

    @damn it – Lol.

    Unless it happens a lot then its not really that big an issue (apart from to the user of that mobile).

  23. 23. MOS95B wrote on March 6, 2010

    @ WTFMoses

    awwww, did some one disagree with hims and make hims all grumpys???

  24. 24. Moises wrote on March 6, 2010

    Maybe he had the screen facing out in his jeans? Since in the. Videos they only bend the phone inwards and not out the screen probably expanded too much

  25. 25. dayvedayve wrote on March 6, 2010

  26. 26. Silver wrote on March 6, 2010

    @Steveo: judging b the speed they delivered the x10 i’m sure you ment 2 years, not months.

  27. 27. HuD wrote on March 6, 2010

    Solution: wear baggy pants.

  28. 28. deezle wrote on March 6, 2010

    @silver
    Took the words ouy of my mouth!Gave up waiting on the x10 so long ago!Maybe q3 2035?

  29. 29. Steveo wrote on March 6, 2010

    @ Silver.

    I have no idea what you are talking about.
    The X10 was announced in November with a release date in Q1 2010. My black X10 will arrive in 3 weeks time.

  30. 30. Rikard wrote on March 6, 2010

    4″ display
    1GHz snapdragon
    384MB ram + 128MB dedicated graphic ram + 1GB storage (expandable to 32GB).
    Updated to Android 2.1 at the end of May.

    Id say that is worth waiting for. =)

  31. 31. phil wrote on March 6, 2010

    Well 1 I don’t wear skinny jeans. That’s a no no for a man. And two I keep my phone out of my pocket as much as possible for this exact reason. I carry my phone in my hand or jacket pocket if its cold. If I do have it my pocket I always take it out before I sit down.

  32. 32. Athir wrote on March 6, 2010

    Maybe Apple patented phones that go in your pocket.

  33. 33. davis wrote on March 6, 2010

    I think what’s really important here is that that phone pictured shows the internet history and one search was for fingeringhoe

  34. 34. Droidphan wrote on March 6, 2010

    @Davis. Nice catch dude! That’s funny as hell. BTW 10 points to anyone who knows what that is

  35. 35. 3dBloke wrote on March 7, 2010

    Back to the subject of this post… Having both an HTC Hero and a Nexus One, the Hero is by far more pocketable. The N1 has a more fragile feel, all round. It would be a fool who put their N1 in a back pocket and sat down… but even a front pocket in tight jeans would be risky. The Hero’s chin allows it to stay close to your body, thus avoiding a bridging effect that could cause breakage. HTC seem to realize the benefits of the chin design and have continued it the Legend. Besides, it’s a nice brand signature for them. Certainly not iPhone clones.

  36. 36. 3dBloke wrote on March 7, 2010

    btw, @Davis and @Droidphan, Fingringhoe is a village in Essex, UK.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingringhoe

    :)

  37. 37. kaiopect8 wrote on March 7, 2010

    Is this the right thread to request a better buttdialing app? Mine always redials the most recent call.

  38. 38. Max wrote on March 7, 2010

    Tempered glass. I know this is a fact. I had a $300.00 video center made by Techcraft Mfg and purchased at AmericanTV in April of 2009 totally disintegrate and cost me over two thousand dollars worth of clean up and carpet replacement. They said it must have been hit or scratched.
    It was 6 AM in the morning! No one around! As the screens get larger, more of these will fracture with no help from outside forces.

    Max

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_glass_breakage

  39. 39. Dennis wrote on March 7, 2010

  40. 40. WTFMoses wrote on March 7, 2010

    @MOS95B

    Droidphan did not disagree with me. i disagree with him. you can shut up too.

  41. 41. Pope Innocent iI wrote on March 8, 2010

    If you’re wearing super tight jeans, chances are more likely you’re sporting an iPhone and not a Nexus One. Also, I’m guessing they probably meant that it shouldn’t go in the back pocket, you know, in case you sit down and you’re a total fatass.

  42. 42. The izA wrote on March 8, 2010

    This is obviously a conspiracy to stop the Skinny-Jeans movement. It’s about time someone takes a stand against muffin top making, camel toe creating Skinny Jeans!

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