A friend of mine recently had a bright blue pixel show up – and stick – on his iPhone 3G’s touchscreen. He told me about it, and I recommended he go to his local Apple Store and see if the Genius Bar would swap the device, as it is still under warranty and had no damage.
In the past, they would have simply swapped it, but instead, a Genius took the phone into the back room and replaced the glass (which includes the LCD display) while he waited.
When my friend asked about it, the Genius told him that this was a new trial program – that only some Apple Stores were able to replace the glass as an individual service part.
The program seems to be an option only for defective screens – not ones broken due to accidental damage.
The paperwork from his Genius Bar session shows the following under “Repair Estimate” and “Parts and Service:”
Item Number: 601–5093
Description: iPhone 3G Display Replacement
While the extent of the trial isn’t public, it’s a good thing: customers can get their phones serviced quickly and without the hassle of having to load their data on a new iPhone.
It’s good for Apple, too: the program should save Apple money on the refurbishment of defective iPhones.