Why do people complain about casings...

[index1366]

I've been always asking myself, why are people complaining about gadgets' casings. For instance, if the casing is plastic, they go immediatelly: "OMG plastic, yuk, dont want it, it feels so cheap! :O".

This one was for plastic. But what about metal?

"Metal casing *rainbow puke*, feels so good in the hand, but it's too heavy, don't like it..."

So there we have it, if it's plastic, people don'tlike it, if it's metal, they don't like it also. What is the best solution then, to mix the two materials, or..?

Greetings to everyone

 

[SnailUK]

These days, phones are very expensive (even if subsidised by your telco).

When i drop ?500 on a phone, i want a feeling of quality. Doesn't matter if its plastic, metal, leather, wood, whatever, i want to feel like my money has gone into a quality product. Doesn't matter if the innards are top notch, if my hand feels like i picking up a childs toy, i'm never going to be happy.

 

[oldgaius]

The material is largely irrelevant. What matters is how it is used, e.g. shapes, thickness, finishes, tolerances.

The Lumia 800 and 900 are the best 'plastic' phones I've ever used. The surface finish is wonderful, the single piece is solid with no creaks, and the drilling looks great. Likewise, the iPhone 4/4S is brilliantly done with well-finished details and no squeaking or mushiness. Compare these to virtually every product RIM has built which just feel cheap.

 

[jdevenberg]

I agree that it is more about feel than the material with one big caveat. Plastic is less expensive than metal, and often is implemented in a way that is cheap, a la Samsung. Thin, cheap, painted plastic is disgusting on a phone. I do not want a phone that feels like a Happy Meal toy, which is honestly what cheap plastic reminds me of. For this reason, my preferred material is metal. Poorly done metal phones feel better in hand than poorly done plastic phones. To me, a metal phone always feels at least OK. Plastic has to be done very, very well to feel good. Nokia has pulled this off with the Lumia 800, Lumia 900, and the N9. The iPhone 3G and 3GS were good. My white MacBook feels good. My Lumia 900 is excellent. The Focus S feels like trash. The Focus Flash, thanks to its metal back, felt better, even acceptable (the first time I had said that about a Samsung since the original, T-Mobile only Galaxy). I love the feel of the Titan and Radar.

Given the choice, I will choose metal over plastic every day. But a well done plastic can be just as good.

 

[index1366]

Mz opinion is that this is everyone's taste, but me personally, I like the soft finish like HTC does it on dome of their phones, like for example the Trophy.
I've held Lumia 800 in my hands, and it feels great. I have a problem with sweating my hands, they get sweated very quickly, and that is the problem at metal, because it heats up way too fast, and that's maybe also the problem at phones and maybe battery.. But hey, as you guys said, the plastic can be also great if it's well made.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I really do not see why people are that concerned with the casing on the device, since most people put their devices in cases anyway, especially folks who have touchscreen devices.

 

[Reflexx]

Because all phones should be made with a thin shell of carbon nanotubes covered with a thin layer of temperature resistant and shock absorbing ceramic. All internal components should be floating within a highly stable, fireproof, waterproof, and shock-proof gel formed from the blood of dragons.

Oh, and it should be $199 off-contract.

 

[anon(1458)]

All i can say about my GSIII is that while I do love it, it feels REALLY cheap!