I finally found a decent case for my iPhone. I’ve been carrying it caseless for months now, and can attest to the durability of the device: a case is absolutely optional, unless you intend to drop the thing on concrete several times. The glass screen is nearly unscratchable - keys won’t even faze it - and the matte finish on the metal casing hides nicks in a way that the mirrored iPods can only dream about. So why would I want a case at all? In a word: Looks.
I really hate the chrome bezel on the iPhone. I know I’m in the minority here, but I think it’s such a mistake to introduce shiny chrome into an otherwise beautifully understated device - why can’t we have the gorgeous matte-black iPod Touch bezel? And I haven’t even mentioned how the bezel pinches and plucks my beard for me while I talk on the phone (ouch!). And as more and more friends are getting iPhones, the chances of mixing mine up with theirs grows. Finally, I’m not always comfortable pulling the iPhone out in public, since it’s an easily identifiable and valuable little gadget. Because it’s also my phone, though, sometimes I don’t have a choice. So I’ve been looking at cases for a long time.
Before anyone says anything, I’ll just say that I’m too cheap to get it painted by ColorWare, especially since I want matte black! But if I wanted a more exotic color, this is probably where I would end up.
I really wanted my phone to be entirely black. Simple, understated, goes with everything. I started by looking at the Incase Protective Cover for iPhone, but it was a bit too grippy - I had trouble getting the phone in and out of my pocket! Also, the case added a lot of bulk, and I’ve heard some of them stretch out, allowing the hideous bezel-beast to peer out from underneath. Aside from these complaints, I love the case, but those were dealbreakers for me.
Next up was the Agent 18 Eco iPhone Shield. This is a hard plastic case that comes in two parts, snapping together around the phone to leave a seam. While the case looked great in pictures, in-person inspection revealed that the two halves didn’t always come together nicely - and an uneven seam just looks cheap to me. Also, the plastic (which is recycled, I believe) is not something I’d like to hold - it feels cheap. The case did add minimal bulk, though, and was easy to retrieve from the pocket, so I almost bought one despite my reservations - until I saw a picture of a tree on the back. That’s ummm… not me.
Finally, I heard about the Slider case from Incase. While glossy black and white versions had existed for some time, I saw a blurb on the introduction of a matte-black version with a rubberized finish - think the back panel of a Samsung Blackjack - that sounded perfect. Because it’s a hard case, it doesn’t make the phone too much bigger - certainly, it’s the smallest case I’ve seen save for the Agent 18 offering and the various skins available. And the rubberized finish makes the phone a lot easier to hang on to, without making it too hard to get in and out of pockets. It’s a two piece case, so there is a seam, but it’s positioned lower on the phone and feels more natural. Also, the bottom portion of the phone is designed to be removed so that the phone can be docked, and the bottom piece has a cut-out so the cable can be connected while the case is on. The inside of the case has strips of rubber to keep the phone from moving around inside, which prevents any scratches or rattles. The case runs $35, but is currently out of stock on the Incase website. Check out the galleries though, they have some great pictures of the cases on there - most of mine didn’t come out at all.
All in all, I’m really happy with this case. It makes the phone far less noticeable, which is nice - I never really wanted the phone to attract attention, I just have a raging gadget-fetish that I’m trying to hide from the world. So my new, stealth-ified iPhone is just what the doctor ordered!
Velvetron
