Apple quietly handling iPhone touchscreen issues?

It doesn't appear to be particularly widespread, but according to a couple threads on Apple's support forums and elsewhere, a small number of iPhones are suddenly getting "dead spots" on their touchscreens -- mostly along the bottom, but occasionally affecting the entire surface. Apple is apparently being extremely proactive in dealing with the issue, calling customers who've posted in their forums and arranging replacements -- the company can't let anything tarnish the image of The Most Important Device Ever, after all. All of our iPhones are still working great (even after some casual hacking) -- anyone else have this problem?

[Via AppleInsider]

[MasonicAngel Posted Aug 9th 2007 10:36PM]

yes there are times when i hit letters/numbers and nothing then all of a sudden (r`32-dfwe87f`3`yd3 revgeoc34) or other times I try to delete and it won't only to wait moments later and it wipes out several words....UGHHHH then other times letters just will NOT come on the screen no matter how often I hit them.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 10th 2007 4:18AM]

I had this problem. I couldn't end calls or answer them...but not all the time. Apple switched out my phone a few weeks ago.

[thrlride Posted Aug 10th 2007 8:33AM]

I would really like to use this as an excuse to get a new phone. Mine does hang up quite frequently and doesn't respond a lot so maybe I do have an issue.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 10th 2007 8:45AM]

The bottom half of my display went out. The top two rows worked fine, however the rest of the screen was a no go. Could answer a call or unlock the thing. Sent off to Apple by way of the Apple Store and 7 days later I'm back in service.

[dsutt Posted Aug 10th 2007 9:30AM]

yes yes not only did my buttons stop working but sometimes in the phone screen it would just start changing by itself between the dial pad , contacts, voicemail and so on.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 10th 2007 12:13PM]

I'm considering an iPhone for Christmas so I have a question. Does the problem seem like it's a hardware or software issue?

[neolives Posted Aug 10th 2007 12:20PM]

If it was a software issue, they wouldn't be replacing the unit. I guess.

[GBot Posted Aug 10th 2007 1:36PM]

Do you guys use screen protectors?

I know, it's a crazy question (but 3rd parties DO sell them) because the glass screen is one of the many sexy things about the iPhone, but I was curious whether it had any effect being with or without one...

[thrlride Posted Aug 10th 2007 4:13PM]

I use the crystal one you can get at the apple store and it works fine.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 11th 2007 5:01PM]

I've experienced the dead spots on mine. I just thought it was a dirty screen. My major issue is dead pixels, just noticed two more this am.