By: Chloe Albanesius

Is a third-party case scratching up or even cracking your iPhone 4?
Tech blog gdgt reported Thursday that some slide-on, third-party cases can cause scratches or cracking on the iPhone 4, so Apple pulled them from its retail and online stores. The cases re-appeared online this week, but are still missing from stores, gdgt wrote.
“Internally, I’ve heard the iPhone team has grown to be very concerned by this issue with slide-on cases, and has created a lab and large new test program specifically to investigate this further,” according to the post.
As a result, many iPhone case manufacturers are in limbo, waiting to see if they can get their products back into Apple stores.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The report comes months after “Antennagate.” Following the release of the iPhone 4, customers experienced connectivity issues when gripping the device in a certain way. As a solution, Apple provided free bumpers to iPhone 4 buyers until Sept. 30, which alleviated the problem.

The comments on the gdgt post ranged from those who had experienced their own iPhone 4 scratching and cracking problems to those who said concerns were overblown.

“I’m on my second iPhone 4. The glass on the first one shattered after it dropped about 4 inches out of my pocket onto the ground,” wrote one reader.
Another person, however, said the article was “a story in search of a problem,” while a third said simply that “phones get scratches and glass can break.”
PCMag security analyst Neil Rubenking has been using a third-party case for his iPhone 4. He took a few snapshots (above) of the device this morning, and found the smartphone no worse for the wear. Reporter Leslie Horn found the same thing on her phone.
For what it’s worth, my own iPhone 4 – which is housed in a free Apple bumper – has been dropped several times on a wood floor with no cracking or breaking. There are two, barely visible scratches on the back, but I chalk that up to daily wear and tear.