Best place to buy replacement iPhone screen kits?

Posted by DOAbarrelroll on June 29, 2012 02:44 pm 3

Dear the Internet,

Recently an acquaintance approached me with a relatively simple request. "Can you fix my iPhone? I've cracked the screen and don't have insurance!", she cried. "Uhhhhhhhh, god. Fine. Damnit", I humbly replied. I snatched the phone out of her hand with the sort of gusto a parent might display when grabbing a sharp object away from a young one. "I will never forgive you for this, you jerkface!", I screeched as I pranced away, as a gentleman such as myself is wont to do.

Now I'm left with a dilemma -- I'm not sure which supplier provides the highest quality iPhone parts. In an ideal world, all of the different repair shops and part suppliers which have popped up in response to the recent smartphone boom would all use the same exact parts and materials as Apple itself does. Sadly, I know that this is not the case. Many of them use sub-par materials and parts from no-name Shenzhen based bootleggers. Attempting to divine the quality of the parts based on the descriptions provided on the suppliers' sites is an exercise in futility.

So tell me, the Internet, have you had any particular stand out experiences with any of the multitude of 3rd party iPhone repair sites or part suppliers? Which should I avoid and which come highly recommended? The iPhone in question is a white Verizon iPhone 4S. The qualities I'm most concerned with most are as follows:

1. Does the outer glass have an oleophobic coating? In other words, is it as smudge resistant as the official iPhone screen?
   
   
2. Is the glass fortified and scratch resistant (à la Gorilla Glass)?
   
   
3. Is the glass coloring (in this case white) consistent and/or indistinguishable from the official iPhone parts?

Please share any advice, experience, or expertise you might have in the comments below. Not just for me and not just for my idiot friend. Do it for the children! Think of damn children!

Love, DOAbarrelroll
xoxoxo