advice on durable smart phone?

[mattkime]

my gf is kind of rough on phones. her samsung is about 18 months old and has seen enough. despite our best efforts the battery life is terrible. i'm tempted to "make" her get an iphone but a case would definitely be in order.

any durable case recommendations without going full otterbox? is there any reason to believe that an adroid phone would be more durable than an iphone?