Rarely but it certainly happens that the iPhone digitizer gets broken. Instead of buying a new iPhone, the user can spend much less, buy a new digitizer and replace it themselves or have it installed by a professional. The OEM (Original Manufacturer) kits are available for purchase and fill only cost a fraction of the new phone. The kit will include a new 3gs digitizer with glass, step-by-step instructions and tools necessary to do the job. 

If your broken iPhone powers up but doesn’t respond to the touch, that means that the digitizer is broken. What is a digitizer? It is two layers of thin film with conductive points. There is a layer of conductive mesh in between these layers. The layers react to touch and the iPhone responds. If these layers are damaged the display stops responding. But, nowadays there are plenty of options to get it fixed for less than buying a new iPhone. 

Please be aware that the replacement glass that many places sell for about $20 is only glass itself and does not include the 3gs digitizer. The digitizer has to come together with glass as one unit and will cost a bit more than that. The procedure includes disassembling the iPhone and removing the entire front panel and then removing the cracked glass and digitizer from the frame. This has to be done very carefully because when using the prying tools it is possible to scratch the bezel. Many people take pride that their iPhone is scratch-free. To keep it that way, it takes a little time, a lot of attention to details and some patience when replacing the broken parts. If in doubt, please contact a professional. They will charge for their work but will do it well. If you attempt it to do it yourself and the phone is broken during the procedure, Apple will not replace it. 

It is easy to drop the phone and if it falls at a certain angle it can damage the digitizer or even the LCD without damaging the outer glass. Luckily, there are parts available to repair the broken iPhone. And to save money, you can fix it yourself for much less.