Apple Faces iPhone 4 “Glassgate” Class Action

Have an iPhone 4 with a cracked glass casing? You’re not alone.

A class action lawsuit was filed last week on behalf of angry iPhone 4 owners who believe Apple knows about a design flaw that makes the class casing on these devices prone to cracking, but refuses to warn consumers that “normal” use will essentially lead to a broken phone.

Lead plaintiff Donald LeBuhn filed the iPhone 4 class action claiming three weeks after he paid $252 for a new device he received a crack in the glass after his daughter accidentally dropped it three feet to the ground while sending a text message. LeBuhn claims the glass on his older model iPhone 3G never broke when dropped from similar heights.

LeBuhn is not alone. So many iPhone 4 owners have complained, apparently, that the issue has earned the nickname “Glassgate.”

Last fall, independent warranty provider SquareTrade analyzed 20,000 iPhone accidents and determined that:

— iPhone 4 owners reported 82% more damaged screens in the first 4 months compared to iPhone 3G owners;

— Overall, the reported accident rate for iPhone 4 was 68% higher than for the iPhone 3G;

— An estimated 15.5% of iPhone 4 owners will have an accident within a year of buying their phone.

The main beef of the iPhone 4 “Glassgate” class action lawsuit is that Apple markets the strength of the iPhone 4 glass as “20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic,” and as “ultradurable” and made of the same material as the “glass used in helicopters and high-speed trains.”

This is all part of Apple’s ruse to sell millions of iPhone 4s, the class action lawsuit says.

“Months after selling millions of iPhone 4s, Apple has failed to warn and continues to sell this product with no warning to tell customer that the glass housing is defective,” says the iPhone 4 class action.

This is the second design defect that has resulted in class action lawsuits against Apple since it released the iPhone 4. Several class action lawsuits were filed last summer over the iPhone 4’s antenna problems.

The iPhone 4 cracked glass class action lawsuit is seeking refunds of the purchase price for iPhone 4 owners, reimbursement of repair fees, and restitution for their “overpayment in purchasing defective iPhone 4s.”