The iPhone will damage the handheld market for everyone and this is why

[greenmedic88]

HappySqurriel said:

A teenager buying their own "stuff" is different from a parent buying their teenager stuff ... and a parent who decides that no handhelds are going to be in his house and his children will have iPhones will likely be buying these products for their children.

Beyond that, having been a teenager myself, dealt with enough teenagers in my life, and known enough parents it has become clear that anything a teen has is far more likely to be broken or lost then it is for their parents. Some of this is simply because of the activities the two groups take part in, for example a teenager is far more likely to break their iPhone while skate-boarding than their parent is walking to their car.

And talk to any Apple Store sales person about how many broken iPhone customer service issues they've had to respond to due to a "I sat on my phone and now it's broken" or "I dropped my phone in the toilet and now it doesn't work," from adults, and you're likely to get an arm's list of amusing anecdotes.

While it's great that you automatically assume all teens don't take care of their stuff, they go around breaking expensive goods whether they are personal possessions, earned or given, or on loan, your opinion is hardly a reflection of reality.