Despite the fact that the Nexus One had undergone some rigorous stress tests, manufacturer HTC is saying that the device isn’t meant to just slip into your skinny jeans. Crave UK–part of the CNET network–had an issue with a cracked screen on their Nexus One. So what was the problem? Apparently Crave’s editors said that they had left the device overnight on the charger and the device went no where near dangling keys nor the denim pockets of a fashionable editor that could fit into some skinny jeans.
When Crave contacted Google, they were passed on to HTC, whose response was “We’re as mystified as you are.” As Crave was unable to confirm whether the damage may have occurred when the phone was left unattended overnight by other people in the shared office space, HTC went through their routine questions, noting that “Putting a phone in a tight pair of jeans and sitting down would usually cause the kind of damage.” The company seems to think that customers would use the neoprene pouch that the Nexus One ships with, noting “putting it in handbags and getting knocked around by keys, because it’s not in the pouch.”
Compared to the Apple iPhone experience where Apple places moisture strip sensors in the dock connector and headphone jack (the discrete white stickers turn pink when the iPhone is dropped into a bath of liquid–like jumping in a pool), we’d say that HTC’s customer service is no worse. In Apple’s case, users of the iPhone in humid environments–whether artificially induced in the shower or natural like in the tropics–had reported that their warranty became void due to humidity activating the sensors, though they claim that they never submerged their phone in any liquid. So it seems with the Crave experience, screen cracks, like water damage, is a contentious area for debate.
Perhaps, there should be a Gadget Master warning on the box of every gadget: “Due to risk of gadget and/or personal injury, do not put the contents of this box directly into your pocket” with an Apple caveat “especially if your pants are wet or humid.”
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