This is the back of a $640 phone

Galaxy S4 Plastic QualityLast night I posted a tweet that drew some interesting responses. Beside the text the back of a $640 phone, I posted an image of thecase-back as I contorted the flexible paper-thin cover in my hand. I made no further comment. As I covered briefly for the umpteenth time in an article on Wednesday, . It feels flimsy. The fact of the matter is that the phone is neither cheap nor flimsy . But however expensive and durable the materialsused in the Galaxy S4 may be, it still doesnt feel like a high-end smartphone.

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My tweet got mixed replies. Most people just laughed and a few people retweeted it. A couple of people commented that the phones cheap feel is the reason they will not be purchasing it.Of course, this is not the case for the tens of millions of consumers that will buy the phone they simply dont care. As I wrote on Wednesday, Samsung doesnt really have an urgent need to switch to different materials for its phone casings. Such a move would likely require an investment of many millions of dollars in research anddevelopment, manufacturing equipment and other expenses.

[More from BGR: ]

As the saying goes: If it aint broke, dont fix it. But are we sure it aint broke?

While the phone doesnt feel like an expensive high-end device, Samsung certainly didnt skimp on materials. As Samsungs technical marketing manager Philip Berne noted in response to my tweet, the Galaxy S4 case uses the same polycarbonate material used in Formula 1 cars and helmets. This is not a cheap, flimsy material. This is a durable polycarbonate with plenty of science and R&D money behind it.

But it still feels cheap.

Compared to rival handsets, the Galaxy S4 doesnt feel like a premium phone. And it certainly doesnt feel like a $640 phone. Not even close. I personally believe , but the plasticky feel of Samsungs phones is still an issue that many consumers find off-putting. Many millions of consumers dont mind it, of course, but this could change over time.

As smartphones from Apple, HTC, Nokia, LG and other vendors continue to raise the bar where materials and premium feel are concerned, Samsung may soon have no choice but to follow suit. Regardless of how durable the Galaxy S4s race car plastic is and regardless of how much R&D went into developing it, it still looks like cheap plastic and it still feels flimsy.

Other vendors have realized this and they have found cost-effective ways to mass produce phones that look better and feel stronger. Apples all aluminum and glass iPhone 5 has an estimated BOM totaling $217 for the 32GB model, $20 less than the plastic Galaxy S4. Samsung has a massive team of talented designers and engineers, and . Im confident that it can build a smartphone that doesnt feel like a free toy pulled out of a box of Cracker Jacks.

Here is the tweet and the image I posted last night (click the image to enlarge):

The back of a $640 phone. twitpic.com/cp96lh

Zach Epstein (@zacharye) May 9, 2013

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