iPhone Case Smackdown

Which iPhone case suits your lifestyle best?

 By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Selecting the perfect case for your  iPhone 3G and 3GS  is one of the toughest and most time-consuming activities faced by new owners. The iPhone is an extremely well-designed, well put together  smartphone but Apple's choice of shiny plastic material and chrome accents has  made the device susceptible to scratches and smudges.

A good case is one of the first accessories new iPhone owners consider investing in and this is where things can get complicated. There are cases of every size, colour, shape and material and while some of them are pretty good, a lot of them aren't. We know this because we've spent the past two years cycling through a steady gamut of iPhone cases.  Here are some of the more outstanding cases and the type of users  that will benefit most from them.

Best Case/Dock combination - Idox Traveler

 

The idox Traveler for the iPhone 3G/S which is a hard plastic case that snugly surrounds the iPhone and covers its front and back. As a case, the idox Traveler adds substantial bulk and some weight to the iPhone which some may see as additional protection but inevitably decreases the device’s portability. In terms of industrial design and quality, idox went out of the way to create a tough case and dock in one.

In case mode, the iPhone is completely covered save for the power button and the charging dock and speakers which are quite exposed. You completely lose access to the volume control buttons and the silent mode switch as well.

The problem might arise when you need to use the iPhone as, well… a phone.  The case’s design makes it impossible to simply open the case and put the iPhone to one’s ear, your options are to use the iPhone headset or the speakerphone or remove the whole thing in order to answer the phone.

In dock mode, the idox Traveler is probably the best option for media-centered iPhone users. The design ensures a stable and well-angled positioning of the iPhone’s screen for viewing videos.  We used it on a recent airplane flight and it worked well, angling the iPod's screen while offering stability and freeing up our hands for pop and peanuts.  We have seen cases with built-in stands and cases with external attachments that allow the propping up of the iPhone and while convenient, most of these solutions lack stability. Any sudden movement can tip them over and potentially damage the iPhone.  The traveler is a great dock but a bulky case.

 

Green Option - Agent 18 Ecoshield  Slider

We keep on going back to Agent 18's Ecoshield case and it has been our favourite everyday case to use. Made from recycled post-consumer plastic bottles, the Ecoshield is earth friendly and very iPhone friendly. The plastic is tough all around and has a nice eggshell-like texture. There are interier silicon pads that serve as as a buffer between the iPhone's body and the case plastic. Rubber side grips and ingeniously placed bumpers add grip and protection all around.

The best thing about the Agent 18  Ecoshield slider is that it doesn't add substantial weight and heft to the iPhone. You also get  a table stand to prop it up when watching video plus protective screen film. the Ecoshield is available in black, white and blue. Our experience with this case is that it thoroughly protects the iPhone and while it is a bit of a struggle to install and remove, its one of those set-it and forget-it cases that is great for general use.

The downside is the price. The Ecoshield Slider costs $34.95. Does ecycled plastic and silicone really cost that much? The good news is that it comes with a two-year manufacturers defect warranty and a lifetime half-price replacement program should you want to upgrade later on in the future.

Executive Class: Griffin Elan Form

Oozing corporate class appeal and a secure and relatively lightweight body- the Griffin Elan Form for the iPhone 3G offers the protection of a hard shell and the quality of leather protection in one case. The top-grain leather adds a substantial grip to the iPhone gives it the same kind of high end look that's better associated with the most recent Blackberry devices from RIM.

One issue with the Griffin Elan Form is that it tends to scratch the iPhone in the area where the top case meets the bottom case. We remedied this by adding a Post-It note to buffer the area of contact but still, the damage was done.  Aside from this minor quibble, the Griffin Elan Form is a viable and good looking all-around case.

Multi-flavoured Protection:  Ideal Case AFT Series

Ideal Case has created hundreds of iPhone cases of different colours, finishes, sizes and textures. No other case maker takes individuality as seriously and offers suhc a staggering and somewhat confusing range of options. If you take the time to peruse their website, you're certainly going to find a bunch of cases that will suit your particular style. We were taken by their AFT Series Metallic Case in Light Blue. AFT  stands for Anti Finger print Technology and comes by way of a granulated finish.

This is a clip-on case which is light, low-profile and protects mostly the back of the iPhone. it adds very little weight to the device but improves the grip. The stainless steel bezel covering the screen is not completely protected.

We found Ideal  Case products to have a high level of quality and  design plus the range of materials goes beyond plastic, rubber and metal. 

 

More than meets the Eye -Scosche kickBACK S

Every once in a while an accessory comes along that makes you think, "well, that makes sense, why didn't they just build that in?" One such accessory is the Scosche kickBACK S HyBrid case for iPhone 3G/3GS.

The kickBACK S HyBrid case is a slim line case that acts as armor without adding much bulk to an iPhone 3G or 3GS (same chassis, different guts).

Made of plastic and rubber in all the right places, it offers fairly good protection for your expensive and otherwise naked device.

The kickBACK S also sports a tripod of non-slip protruding nubs on the back, so your phone doesn't skitter about when you plop it down flat. Aside from that little shortcoming, the kickBACK S is well-designed; there's no denying its on-the-go usefulness making for a free standing video player, juke box, or even a bedside alarm clock (with certain apps) that you can actually look at without rummaging around the nightstand to find the thing.

As a two-in-one product - i.e. a protective case and iPhone stand - Scosche's kickBACK S is a pretty good deal, priced in and around the going rate for comparable iPhone wraps that sometimes only do half as much.