iPhone style sync cables breaking - any Apple Store hope?

I suspect a design problem rather than a manufacturing problem.

The small tab, smooth surface, and friction lock make it difficult for people with weak finger grip strength to remove the cable. That includes children, the elderly, some women, and many people with disabilities including joint disorders.

The old design had a large grip surface. The pressure to release the catches was minimal. Once the catches released removal was easy. Misuse, however, could damage the phone.

With our 3 kids we had no cable damage or phone damage with the easy release design. With the new design we have $80 worth of cable damage.

People who do good design don't use terms like "user abuse". They use terms like "common usage is resulting in damage -- we need to reexamine our design".

Martin Steiger has a superb post on this design problem -- written in Jan 2010!

http://www.macmacken.com/2010/01/25/ipod-usb-kabel-mit-weniger-benutzerfreundlic hkeit/

It's in German. The Google Translate bookmarklet will help ....

http://translate.google.com/translate_buttons

Only people with relatively high finger strength can use the post 1/11 design safely. Everyone else puts tension on the cord. Invariably the cord separates.

It's a design failure.