Unlike our previous poll regarding what to do if you drop your phone in the loo, this time we're not really asking for advice: this iPhone 3G has had it.

The iPhone's exquisite design carries over into its faults too! (Credit: CNET Australia)

What we would like to know is if you've seen anything like it, with your iPhone or with any other large screen handheld devices you might have owned. We've heard there may have been similar issues occurring with previous generations of iPods.

For the record, this iPhone, owned by one particularly glum member of the CBS Interactive team, hasn't suffered any physical trauma, and has been through a rigorous troubleshooting routine including hard resets and firmware updates, all to no avail.

Interestingly, part of the iPhone is still working. While all incoming calls are being diverted, the phone is automatically connecting to a previously paired Bluetooth connection in the owner's car and is still capable of making outgoing phone calls.

All that's left to do now for our brother in arms is to take the recently out-of-warranty iPhone back to Optus and throw himself on the company's mercy. Though surely with such an obvious malfunction in the hardware, Optus will just replace the phone without a fuss, right? We'll update you as soon as we know ourselves.

Update: After a quick response from Apple and Optus, the problem has been resolved with a replacement, despite the handset being out of warranty as reported. In case you suffer similar woes at home, it seems the problem boiled down to a dodgy screen connector.