Tseng for the high claim rate of 's newest , and said he wasn't surprised that devices such as the Evo and Droid -- both which feature large glass displays, albeit only on the front -- also had higher than average rates.

To curb breakage, Apple should reconsider its decision to use glass rather than plastic. "If Apple would move back to the same design as the 3GS, I'm sure we'd see a corresponding drop in accidents," Tseng said.

The iPhone 3GS is significantly sturdier than the iPhone 4, Motorola or HTC devices, with a 12-month accidental damage rate of 9.4%.

When SquareTrade combined malfunction and accident rates, the field was much more level, the company said in the survey results, which were released today. The iPhone 4's total claim rate was 14.9% -- identical to HTC's but slightly higher than the 14.6% of Motorola.

SquareTrade's smartphone reliability report can be or .