Not really.. Did the 1st Gen have aluminum backing? I think it did... But compare that dropping to cheap plastic and glass.. The durability isn't great. My brothers iPhone 4 has a crack on the front side (then again you should've seen what he did to his 3GS...god help that device..) and after that he stuck a case on it. On the other hand I've dropped my 3GS a billion times and nothing is broken on it.
I wish I could upgrade, are there really no early upgrades on the 2 year contract? I bought the 3GS refurbed earlier this year when they were going for $9.99 so I guess I have a while to wait..