Replacement Screen for Dell Streak

First things, first.  I'd like to make the Streak owners without a broken screen aware of how potentially fragile the screen can be.  From what I had read, I assumed that the screen could take a reasonable beating and in most cases, that's probably true.  But alas, I dropped my Streak and now the glass is shattered.

Here is my story to add to the list:

I was sitting at a park picnic table that sits on a concrete slab.  I was facing away from the table top with my legs out.  I was checking into FourSquare and while I was waiting for the GPS to get a fix, I decided to do my usual slide-the-phone-on-my-thigh-to-wipe-the-screen move and when I turned the Streak over to finish checking in, I lost my grip and it slid down my legs and hit the ground.  It even hit my shoes before landing.  I was instantly disappointed at my clumsiness, expecting to pick it up with some scuff marks on the ends.  I was blown away with disappointment when I realized that the screen was cracked as well.  The Streak hit with very little force, but I must have found the (not-so-sweet) sweet spot.  That, or there was a defect in my particular unit's screen.

My wife also has a Streak and has dropped it several times with only minor damage to the plastic ends.  One time it shut off when she dropped it, but it powered back on.  Those drops were from about pocket height onto ceramic tile which is probably a little better than a concrete slab.

What's the next step?

Well, the first thing I did, was to order the plastic Dell case for my wife's Streak.  My hopes for it being a real Streak-saver are minimal, but I have to assume that it's better than nothing.  I hope to get something better if/when more third parties decide to offer cases.

I also looked into getting insurance for our phones, but that doesn't look promising.

I then contacted Dell, and, after several transfers, finally was able to ask the question of all questions: "Can I order a new screen?"  Nope.  The lady I spoke to, said that replacement screens aren't available for purchase "yet."  I'm really hoping that that means what I want it to mean.  That, in the future, we will be able to order a replacement screen.

I've replaced the home button on an iPhone before (which is more complicated than you might think) so I'm not at all afraid of tackling this repair myself.  I just need the part.  Looking at the Streak teardown at iFixit.com, the Streak's design is fairly well suited to self-repair.

I'm not completely convinced that this is an absolute design flaw, yet.  But I do join the group that suggests that Dell needs to handle this issue sooner rather than later.  My Streak still works, but I had to put a piece of tape over the crack origination spot to keep as much of the bits of glass still in place as I could.  It will only be a matter of time before the screen completely falls apart.  I just hope I don't cut myself when it does!

Call to action for Dell?  Please give us the ability to order replacement parts.