By The Dell Streak said “screw the need for a protective case, give me a Gorilla Glass screen and call it a day,” and that was the result of the phone’s very durable screen. After hearing that the Dell Streak was built to take some hardcore damage, Engadget let out the most evil laugh you’ve ever heard and put the phone to the test.
They took a red ink pen and stabbed the holy crap out of the screen. Their tests showed that the device didn’t suffer any screen cracks, had no scratches, and the only indication that the test was ever done were small red inklings from the pen they used. You can pretty much expect the Dell Streak to be a pocket-friendly device without the need to add extra girth to its size for protection. Ah, if only all phones could be built with this stuff. I would have a great reason not to be responsible with my high-end gadgetry.
Simply amazing. I wish my Samsung Moment had a Gorilla Glass screen…
ahahahahahahahahahahah!
It is impressive! They should put that on all smartphones…
The first to use this was Motorola on the Droid, a real smartphone. :-)
What does the pressure from the hits do to the pixels underneath that glass? The glass is not harmed sure. That kind of like saying bulletproof vests don’t get penetrated but the guy wearing still will have broken ribs underneath that vest.
no way this is true! really? I WANT THAT ON MY DESIRE!!!
the droid didnt have one? their screens crack so easily
i dont use any kind of screen protectors for my droid. i bought it the day it came out and have yet to get it scratched.
But will it blend???
Steve, you just jinxed yourself! Same here though!
What about scissors? Try stabbing it. :)
man i was about to go up there and whoop his ass so i can tell him to stop!!!! man this guy scared the crap out of me!! he stabbed it pretty hard!! but the good news is that this device’s screen is very durable
hmmm i’m really suprised all companies arn’t using this… it would help alot with drops and scratches and wouldn’t require much protection
Gorilla “GLASS”??? or Plastic? I don’t think that is GLASS at all.
Now we can wear sweatpants in public with our streaks!
Gorilla Glass is awesome, the Droid did have it as well as the Dell Adamo Laptop which I though was a great idea. And to whoever that was said it was plastic, it is glass, its strong because it’s chemically treated glass. I can’t the number of times I dropped my old Droid on its face and it was fine.
Didn’t they do they same test for the EVO on youtube? Now if this phone can withstand my car running over it, then you’ve got yourself a deal!
This may be one of the greatest and scariest videos I’ve seen in a long, long time. If I drop a Q-Tip from just one inch above onto my Nexus One the screen will shatter.
@Cool:
Gorilla Glass IS Glass.
http://www.corning.com/gorillaglass/index.aspx
I inadvertantly dropped my Nexus One from 3 feet high onto a rock, and there went the screen. still works nicely though with the cracks.
I will attempt to repair the cracked screen myself and will post a video tutorial on youtube in a few weeks when i record and edit the video (that’s how long shipping from hong kong takes for the replacement touchscreen)
My replacement Droid, which is a refurb, came w/ one small faint scratch right in the middle of the screen. Somebody must have really attacked the holy hell out of it, if it’s really that difficult to damage.
@mchale
not at all dude, ive dropped my N1 several times and it is designed so that some parts come off to realease pressure and the device wont be damaged, and you just push them back in
it happened to me at the top, the camera block
and it works perfectly fine, great build quality by HTC
God forbid Apple start using this technology!!!! I enjoy a good Iphone beating in the morning!
I think the screen of Dell seems to be good. Thank you so much for your sharing. I’ll take it into account.
I would love to give glowing report on this but I have just dropped my 4-day old streak out of my pocket to the floor (just over a foot whilst sat down) and the screen just royally died!
Now have the top right corner shattered with a crack running diagonally from that to the bottom left. It has also lost touch control on the left side of the device. Thank god I was insured!!!!
Most annoying point is that I have done similar drops with my previous phone, dare I say an iPhone, quite a few times and normally just get a scratch or two. My guess is that the glass can withstand large impacts from the top/front but couldn’t handle sideways pressure as that it seems is where the phone hit from the slight marking on the edge of the case.
Either way I was very unlucky or this glass isn’t as revolutionary as thought.
i just got one and dropped it on its bak now it dosent work…….any suggestions
I dropped my streak yesterday – 1 foot drop onto a carpeted floor. It fell edge on. The gorilla glass is not hurt, but the underlying liquid crystal is broken. I can see liquid oozing. One corner of the screen is not functional. I think the problem is the weight of the phone. 200gm x 40g shock= a force of 8000 gm or 8 kg force. That is a lot! The new Samsung Galaxy S is half the weight (yes and smaller). Same drop will cause 4 kg force. The LCD and electronics need to be twice as strong on the streak compared to the samsung galaxy S. I dont believe they have built it twice as strong. That is the reason why the streak is fragile. Try dropping the ipad from 1 foot. It will die too.
I have dropped by HTC/T-Mobile G1 from heights of 4 feet onto carpeted floors and had no damage. Compared with the streak, the G1 is lighter, so less impact force for the same shock and the case is made of a shock absorbant plastic. That reduces the g’s of a shock load. The dell streak case is hard and rigid. No rubberized panels, etc. This causes the shock load to be not attenuated and transmitted directly to the electronics underneath.
Just dropped mine last night, the corner of the screen has cracked, so much for gorilla glass.
@gav dropped mine to on its corner screen cracked… glass was fine its the screen underneath that stressed. had it 4 days thank god for insurance, Looking into getting a protective case now.
I have been searching for an android phone that can take a drop as I have butter fingers. I dropped the my new Evo three times, the first two just scratched up the plastic, but number three which actually had the softest landing (soft dirt) cracked the glass. It still works perfect though,even sliding your finger over the crack works smoothly. And yes I dropped my Ipad on cement from 4 feet and although it has a few scratches in the case it is no worse for wear! From the comments here I guess I should not get a Streak.
I had a Dell Streak a month ago & it was on contract, i dropped it yesturday and the screen has cracked all over. i have gone to O2 and they said they cant do anything about it but repair. They said it would cost £230 to have the screen fixed & a new case. I think this phone should only be used with a case & a protective screen. Overall the dell streak is a very good phone but when dell say they have done these tests on it, then they must be lying because they say they dont brake but they obviously do.I dont think i am going to get another one now because it will probarbly brake again!
I’ve had my Streak for three months, love it. I’ve not taken special care of it, in my pocket with all the junk, and the screen has been absolutely scratch free.
Yesterday it fell from my pocket as I opened car door, dropped less than 2 feet onto tarmac, display is totally ruined. Glass cracked a little but the lcd behind is just a glow along one edge.
I have 21 months contract to go with O2 so will try getting it repaired (replacement £399) but given the repair costs I’ve seen quoted may just buy the cheapest Android handset I can find to replace.
While hanging a glass on the shelf, I dropped a glass from 10cm down on the Dell Streak 5″ screen (don’t know directly or indirectly but the phone was next to the point). There are cracks now and I can’t see anything. I already got the quote for a replacement at US$360. I will go for it as I love the phone so much…
Just bought mine and I’m looking for a protective screen. No luck so far. Bought a leather case for it though, so some protection. Don’t know if anyone makes a rubberized shell for it.