Newer iPhone USB cables tear at the ends, unlike old style iPhone USB cable

The same happened to me, the plastic/rubber coating at both ends tore :s

Only Apple can decide whether it is a warranty issue or user abuse.

Happened to me too!

Same thing happened to me too.

I have never seen that happen on an iPod cable. I suspect you are bending it too much at the connector ends, as this will not occur with regular usage.

Really?
2 of my coworkers have had their cables "tear" or come loose from the usb connector end-they are the cables from iPhone 3G and a 3GS.

It's caused by pulling the cable instead of grasping the connector.

Oh yeah. Our household has torn a total of three already in precisely that way. In fact, the one I'm using as we speak to connect my iPhone 3G to my computer is actually shredded from both ends (though the USB end is worse; the other two were also only torn at the USB ends).

Sure one might attribute that to "user abuse" -- I don't know that any of us have been particularly
gentle with our respective iPod and iPhone cables -- but personally I've found that the new cables (as opposed to the old cable that came with my first iPod) break in exactly this way unusually easy, without any extra unkind handling. Surely such an essential part should be able to last ordinary use beyond the first year?

This happened to the iPhone I bought last November. In March I took it to the Apple store and they exchanged the charger cable for me, no charge, no pun, no questions.