A few days ago there was a rumor that the iPhone 4's glass back could become scratched and cracked from particles stuck inside sliding cases.  Electronics warranty firm Squaretrade decided to crunch the numbers to determine just how vulnerabie the iPhone 4's glass is.  Their findings?  The iPhone 4 is more prone to suffer from cracked glass than the 3GS.  In the first four months of ownership, Squaretrade found that the iPhone 4 had almost double the reported accident rate than the 3GS, at 4.7 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.  After doing the math with the number of accidents reported and how many of those accidents were due to cracked screens, it's reported that 3.9 percent of iPhone 4 owners reported a cracked screen within four months, while only 2.1 percent of 3GS owners made similar claims.  The data doesn't show how many of the iPhone 4's broken screens were from particles trapped in a sliding case, but Squaretrade says that one quarter of broken iPhone 4 glass claims involved the back. 

While these numbers haven't really confirmed or denied the rumor that sliding cases can shatter the back of the iPhone 4, they're still interesting to look at.  It stands to reason that since the iPhone 4 has double the glass compared to the 3GS, there would be more reports of shattered glass.  I just wonder how many iPhone 4 owners are using one of those bumpers that Apple gave out for free up until a couple of weeks ago.  Your phone may not look as pretty with a bumper on, but it's certainly more protected.  Plus, you don't have to worry about trapped particles scratching your glass!  How many of you iPhone 4 users out there have a bumper or some other case on your phone?

Via MacRumors, Squaretrade