[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] puremind:
From an economy standpoint, the cost to an individual is exactly the same...it is just less evenly split between cautious users and casual/sub-cautious users.

It is like the new "unisex" insurance law in Germany. As of 2013, insurances are more expensive for men and less expensive for women, because law imposes on insurance companies that they treat both sexes the same in spite of different risk profiles...The law did not change the price of insurance, it just shifted a portion of the cost from women onto men, as women just have a higher "risk" (from an insurer point of view) of living longer...

In our particular case, users have a choice to be more cautious providing they KNOW about the issue.

So in the end, when all is said and done, the ones that are reducing the cost are the ones that complain publicly about the phone's weakness. This will prompt more cautious behaviors or even shying away from the phone, therefore reducing the overall cost to the population.

Maintaining the status quo will make it costlier for the entire population to buy the S4: arguing that the frequency is within the norm will just shift cost from extremely cautious users, to marginally less cautious (and significantly unluckier) users...!

The crux is always going to be whether the fragile behavior of the phone can reasonably be expected. When I pocketed my S4 in tight jeans the other day, considering the thinness of the phone, I did not feel comfortable sitting with it in my pocket (that's even before I heard about this issue). Also, when my phone came out of a loose pocket in the cinema, I got pretty scared that I might sit on the phone and break it! When the phone dropped on the floor several times while I removed my trousers, I was also a bit worried and promised myself to pay more attention.

As a consumer, I can either not purchase the phone, seeing as it is so thin and fragile-looking OR I can make some noise to warn others that the phone appears more fragile and susceptible to compression than other phones.

My expected outcome is:

1. Reduce cost to the population

2. Raise Samsung's awareness around this issue to hopefully curb their design policy

The bad publicity stemming from the "9GB available space" issue did hurt Samsung's reputation to an small extent, It deteriorated public opinion ever so slightly (and people may prefer 32GB devices which seem to be the norm for 2013 flagship devices as a result).

Likewise, if the apparent frailty of the S4 makes it to a TV show or a couple of web sites, this will cumulate to make another small impact on Samsung's sales.

Remaining at the top of the game requires companies like Samsung and Apple to pay attention to every detail. Apple with their glass design had many disgruntled customers who thought they were purchasing quality and ended up disappointed. Samsung will have to keep an eye on this, and if they are clever they will tweak their design to avoid these issues for their next generation of devices. That of course, supposes that disgruntled users make noise.

“My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?” You should never forsake your freedom to curb the ocean!

"All revolutions are the sheerest fantasy until they happen; then they become historical inevitabilities." Odds of success don't matter when you do the right thing!

As an idealist, I want all the right things to happen faster. And this always requires a vigilant mind, and a tenacious will to reveal the greatest amount of truth.

Laziness, skepticism, cynicism and pragmatism are all different forms of egoism. But for every individual who is too lazy, too complacent or too mindful of potential outcomes, there is one like us, willing to sacrifice more, with no other benefit than the faint promise of a more ideal future.

So I beg you, help all those burdened with unfair cost. Publicize this issue, so that smartphone frailty becomes a shadow of the past!