Smartphones are better than old brick phones in almost every way, except one. Your old Nokia 3310 withstood explosions, but your iPhone can’t fall off a table.
If you haven’t broken the screen on your phone, you know someone who has. It’s glass, that’s what it does. In fact, mobileinsurance.co.uk determined last February that more than 25% of iPhones have broken screens. The number may have dropped some due to improved screen technology and increased use of Otterbox protective cases, but that doesn’t change the fact that Americans had spent nearly $6 billion had been spent on broken iPhones alone by the year 2012, according to a survey by Square Trade mobile insurance company.
Screen breaks are the type of damage that tends to be more costly—next to liquid damage—because it’s considered “incidental” damage and thus is not covered under typical manufacturer warranties. Some people buy screen replacement kits, but these parts are often far inferior to OEM parts. Some people pay a monthly insurance plan for their smartphones, but even those plans can end up costing $120+ a year and only provide a refurbished replacement, not a much better option than buying a screen replacement kit. The only other real option is to buy a new phone at full price or take your chances on craigslist or ebay.
HTC has recently taken a bold step towards fixing this problem with their HTC Advantage program. HTC Advantag program will cover a free screen replacement to any device broken device in the HTC One family, currently comprised of the One, One Max, and One Mini, with the All New HTC One to be announced next month.
This is a great standard to be set by a manufacturer like HTC. Not only does it provide a quality example of customer service and appreciation, but it also shows a lot of confidence in their own brand. This looks good for HTC as well, because the program will not only go a long way to win the favor of new and existing customers, but it also strengthens their brand by helping to ensure that people don’t see as many broken HTC devices in the wild.
To be fair, HTC is not the only company to improve their warranty coverage like this. Motorola has been providing expanded coverage for the Moto X, but even that still has a deductible. HTC doesn’t have the biggest foot print, but it would be great to see this stance help push more manufacturers towards taking ownership of their devices and standing behind the build quality like HTC.
Source: Fierce Wireless
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