Extra black area around screen - Does it bother you?

[The General]

So when you dropped it, it never landed on the plastic part? Everyone forgets that the original iPhone is about 1/4 plastic on the back. Thats the only part on the back of my iPhone that still looks really nice, and I've had it naked since iDay 2007.

Yep. My plastic piece actually falls off, but it is still in almost perfect condition on the outside. The aluminum part, on the other hand, looks terrible. Scratches everywhere, dents, dings, scuffs. Aluminum is not a good material for a phone.

I can't wait for the plastic iPhone. Plus, I think it had to be plastic at the top because of the GPS, so it can see out the top of the phone... but I'm not an engineer, so who knows.

 

[animenick65]

Suffice it to say, there really isn't a perfect choice for materials for the back of this phone. Aluminum looks great, but it dents easily and inhibits reception. Plastic can look decent and is great for reception, but it can scratch easily.

 

[nagromme]

Well, technically the iPhone 3g is wider...1.1mm wider. 62.1mm vs 61mm.

I stand corrected. I must have misread the width. And the iPod Touch is in the middle at 61.8--with all three coming at 2.4" when rounded to US measurements. Having held the Touch and the old iPhone and not noticed a difference, I suppose I won't notice now either.

... not too sure about the plastic back though or these exposed screws i'm hearing about now.

The screws seem to be recessed into holes--visible when you look into the holes with enough light, but not sitting on the surface. I assume Apple lit that "controversial" photo that way so that they could also clearly show the new metal audio grilles. But we've seen those same screw holes many times before, lit differently... they've been on the Apple home page all along!
http://www.apple.com/iphone/

There are already speaker holes there, so having screw holes beside them sounds barely noticeable. Anyway, Apple's product shots are usually 3D renders, so they're hard to judge by.

Suffice it to say, there really isn't a perfect choice for materials for the back of this phone. Aluminum looks great, but it dents easily and inhibits reception. Plastic can look decent and is great for reception, but it can scratch easily.

Yes. But luckily the front is glass and won't scratch easily. I won't so much care about the back--it will scratch, and if you pat attention the back you'll notice... but since I use the FRONT I'll get over it quickly I'm not even getting a case: I want the phone to be as small as possible, and easily slipped out of my jeans pocket. The only protection it will get from me is that I will NEVER carry it together with other objects touching it.

(Seriously, who needs to put their smartphone and their car keys into one pocket? Find a solution )

 

[Fuchal]

i think the 3G looks hell-a cheap all around. plastic all over, visiable screws, wider black frame. the phone is, imo, disgusting to look at after being graced with the gorgeous version 1 iphone.

but, since i have never personally owned an iphone and this will be my first...i have no choice to deal with the crappy look of it. after all is said and done, i'm buying it for the awesome UI and OS.....not the butt ugly design.

I would say the nasty pitting aluminum looks pretty crappy too

 

[QuietFun]

yes it bothers me. Makes me think that the screen is either smaller or like further away. Perhaps this will not be the case in person.

 

[mark34]

i think the 3G looks hell-a cheap all around. plastic all over, visiable screws, wider black frame. the phone is, imo, disgusting to look at after being graced with the gorgeous version 1 iphone.

but, since i have never personally owned an iphone and this will be my first...i have no choice to deal with the crappy look of it. after all is said and done, i'm buying it for the awesome UI and OS.....not the butt ugly design.

Note to self: remember that using phrases and exaggerations like "hell-a cheap", "disgusting to look at", "crappy look", and "butt ugly" generally does not lend itself to serious consideration, especially when such negative hyperbole is followed by, "I'm buying it"

 

[MacFly123]

That actually looks like the iPod touch to me.

Edit: Yeah I watched the video and there is no chrome bezel. definitely the touch

IDK, think it could be an iPod Touch.

I'm pretty sure that looks like an iPod touch, not an iPhone 3G.

Yes, it is a Touch. But the point is that the iPhone 3G has the same black space around the screen now like the Touch. And YES it does bother me on both. I have always noticed the space on the Touch vs the iPhone EDGE and it bothers me, and now that they trimmed back the chrome bezel on iPhone 3G and it has the same space as the Touch it bothers me.

It's not like I can't live with it. The chrome bezel did need to be changed so as to not be so invasive, but I would have rather had them make the bezel darker like the Touch to make it less invasive than to trim it back and add space around the screen.

 

[yode]

Yes, it is a Touch. But the point is that the iPhone 3G has the same black space around the screen now like the Touch. And YES it does bother me on both. I have always noticed the space on the Touch vs the iPhone EDGE and it bothers me, and now that they trimmed back the chrome bezel on iPhone 3G and it has the same space as the Touch it bothers me.

It's not like I can't live with it. The chrome bezel did need to be changed so as to not be so invasive, but I would have rather had them make the bezel darker like the Touch to make it less invasive than to trim it back and add space around the screen.

It adds to the contrast, makes the screen look brighter. (If you are viewing something with normal lighting)

 

[bamaworks]

Actually, I never really paid attention to what was around the screen... more so what it was displaying.

 

[brandonzar]

Actually, I never really paid attention to what was around the screen... more so what it was displaying.

Hurray! Give this man a cookie. He is actually focusing on what is important. (If you lived closer to me I would take you out to lunch just for writing this.)

 

[mark34]

Hurray! Give this man a cookie. He is actually focusing on what is important. (If you lived closer to me I would take you out to lunch just for writing this.)

This is true, however if you are watching a movie late at night on an airplane, you will enjoy your viewing experience a little more with the appropriate dark banding around the screen. That is why the white one can't be white in the front. Obviously far less important on a tiny little screen than on a 100+ inch home theater screen.

 

[alFR]

yes it bothers me. Makes me think that the screen is either smaller or like further away. Perhaps this will not be the case in person.

I understand you can do this thing called "holding it a bit closer to your face" that will get round that problem.

 

[Petoz]

Yes, it is a Touch. But the point is that the iPhone 3G has the same black space around the screen now like the Touch. And YES it does bother me on both. I have always noticed the space on the Touch vs the iPhone EDGE and it bothers me, and now that they trimmed back the chrome bezel on iPhone 3G and it has the same space as the Touch it bothers me.

It's not like I can't live with it. The chrome bezel did need to be changed so as to not be so invasive, but I would have rather had them make the bezel darker like the Touch to make it less invasive than to trim it back and add space around the screen.

The point was actually that the woman (I think she was a singer, but i have never heard of her) in the video did not have an iPhone 3G "before Jack Bauer", as the poster suggested. It was merely an iPod touch, not an iPhone.

 

[MacFly123]

It adds to the contrast, makes the screen look brighter. (If you are viewing something with normal lighting)

Actually, I never really paid attention to what was around the screen... more so what it was displaying.

Hurray! Give this man a cookie. He is actually focusing on what is important. (If you lived closer to me I would take you out to lunch just for writing this.)

That is the entire point. THE SCREEN IS THE FOCAL POINT, so you don't want some fat chrome bezel shining all around it to take away from that. In order to fix that Apple trimmed it back to make the chrome bezel thinner and less distracting, but in doing so they made a cheap ugly looking big space around the screen. What they should have done is just leave the bezel nice and tight up against the screen with no space but make it darker like the iPod Touch bezel.

 

[Wolf103FM]

The thick bezel on the original iPhone always made it look old to me for some reason, combared to the touch

 

[bamaworks]

That is the entire point. THE SCREEN IS THE FOCAL POINT, so you don't want some fat chrome bezel shining all around it to take away from that. In order to fix that Apple trimmed it back to make the chrome bezel thinner and less distracting, but in doing so they made a cheap ugly looking big space around the screen. What they should have done is just leave the bezel nice and tight up against the screen with no space but make it darker like the iPod Touch bezel.

Just looking at it right now I don't see a black band significant enough to make such a stir... just a bit nit picky don't you think?

 

[MacFly123]

Just looking at it right now I don't see a black band significant enough to make such a stir... just a bit nit picky don't you think?

Its the same size black space as the iPod Touch. To some it may seem nit picky, to others, they would want people like me designing their products