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Apple's iPhone 4 is "significantly more prone to physical damage" than last year's iPhone 3GS, a company that provides after-sale warranties said today.

SquareTrade, which sells extended iPhone warranties, said the iPhone 4 has had 82% more shattered screen claims in its first four months than the iPhone 3GS did in the same time span during the summer of 2009.

The glass back of the iPhone 4 is the most likely culprit for the surge in claims, said Vince Tseng, SquareTrade's vice president of marketing.

"You now have twice as much glass to scratch or break," said Tseng, referring to the change Apple made to the iPhone's design. Earlier models of the iPhone, including the 3GS, sported a plastic back; the iPhone 4 features glass both on the front and the back of the device.

SquareTrade compared 20,000 iPhone 4 claims with a similar number filed in the early months of the iPhone 3GS' availability, and found that 3.9% of iPhone 4 owners reported a cracked screen, while only 2.1% of iPhone 3GS owners had done the same.

On one hand, the near doubling in the screen damage claim rate makes sense, said Tseng, since the iPhone 4 boasts double the amount of glass surface. But the data is disappointing, nonetheless.

"We're not seeing a reduction of claim cases on the front screen," Tseng said. "We had expected that the so-called Gorilla Glass would result in a decrease in the number of accidents, what with Apple's marketing about how much stronger the glass was in the iPhone 4. But strength doesn't mean it's resistant to cracking."

Apple has touted the aluminosilicate glass used for both the front and back of the iPhone 4 as "ultra durable," and "more scratch resistant than ever." Its current marketing message on the iPhone site also claims that the glass is 30 times harder than plastic.

Computerworld has the details HERE!