Plastic, one of the best inventions in the world, what would we do without it?
Metal, a fantastic discovery – it has helped us build the world we live in.
Plastic is versatile, metal is strong and feels robust but which do you prefer, a plastic or a metal structure?
You may wonder what I am going on about and why, well here is the point that I want to make.
Why is it so many products but specifically phones manufactured from plastic and would users be more satisfied with devices is they were metal, even if it added to the weight?
I completely understand that plastic can often be moulded with more ease, it is cheaper, it allows the phone to transmit signals better etc. but the one problem you always get is no matter how much you pay, it just feels plasticy and a little flimsy.
Yes, I know you get better grades of plastic, but why is it that the Motorola MOTOLUXE which I have been using recently feels stronger, more robust and more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Nexus which is considerably more expensive….the reason is that is has a metal body.
Yes, the back cover may be coated in a soft touch, grippy material, but remove the battery cover and you have in your hand a solid metal back cover.
I am not complaining, I know the likes of HTC and others have manufactured phones with metal bodies and I know metal can increase the weight of the device and I certainly wouldn’t want metal keys on a keypad (so thank you for plastic) but why isn’t a little more time put into making a device feel great.
The Galaxy S II, the Nexus, and many others are examples of fantastic phones, but would they be that bit better if they felt a bit more solid?
I was thinking that it would add to the size and put users off, but I think most are interested in product that looks the part and feels the part. The RAZR has a strong metal body (ok there is a bit of Kevlar in there too) and it is impossibly thin.
I use a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc on a daily basis, I love it (although its slow now) and I have no desire to change, it looks fantastic but it just feels cheap because of the plastic. The same elegant design could be kept with metal but it would feel wonderful and you wouldn’t get the problem of the plastic casing cracking as it has done on many Xperia Arc’s to date.
So am I the only one who thinks this or would you compromise 5-10grams and 2-3mm in thickness to get a phone that just feels more solid?
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Thanks!
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