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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > iPhone, iPad & iPod > I need a case for iPhone 4

I need a case for iPhone 4
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Snow-i
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Jun 24, 2010, 08:05 PM
 
Does anybody have any recommendations for a case for my new phone?

My requirements:
-Low profile - nothing too thick
-does not compromise functionality of screen, ports, or buttons.
-no/removable belt clip.
-Any color
-ability to use/includes screen protection
-will protect my iPhone from bumps, scratches, and drops (if my woman gets her hands on it )
-Price: $40 or under
-will not fall apart in 6 months.

Are Apple's bumpers worth it? Does anyone have any suggestions?
     
Snow-i  (op)
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Jun 24, 2010, 08:08 PM
 
Oh, and one more thing - Sometimes my iPhone will share a pocket with my wallet, another cell phone, and other items (never keys). The case will have to be able to prevent other items from scratching the iPhone in the confines of my pocket. Looks like the bumper is out.
     
Amundyeus
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Jun 26, 2010, 08:18 PM
 
bumper + invicible shield?
     
Brien
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Jun 26, 2010, 10:02 PM
 
My plan is to stick a couple of films on the glass and maybe a bumper on the phone, depending on how they feel in-hand.

I'm just hoping that I can pick up a cheap (under $10) pack of films for the front and back of the phone. While I'm sure the glass on the new phone is fairly scratch-resistant, I'd rather scratch a $10 screen protector versus a $100 replacement part.
     
jvr2
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Jun 26, 2010, 10:48 PM
 
I don't have the iPhone 4 and it doesn't look like I'll be getting one anytime soon but I've been looking at cases to see what my options would be if I broke down.

I always used the clear case apple sold, I think it's called the Air Jacket. Well this company seems to have created the same thing for the 4.

Crystal - Clear case for iPhone 4

Me like and would be what I'd use on my phone plus a screen protector on the front.

I also like this one they sell, Molecule - Perforated silicon case for iPhone 4 , just looks cool, but I hate covering up the design of the phone in any way.
     
Snow-i  (op)
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Jun 26, 2010, 10:54 PM
 
I think I've decided on a invisible shield and a bumper - this will pretty much satisfy all there requirements i listed above.
     
mrtew
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Jun 27, 2010, 01:06 AM
 
I'd never put anything else in the same pocket with my iPhone!!!

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David2213
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Jun 28, 2010, 12:01 PM
 
I just ordered this one for my phone.

Hard Candy Cases - iPhone 4 Cases - Featherlight iPhone 4
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mrtew
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Jun 28, 2010, 11:36 PM
 
I just saw my real-estate agent drop her iPhone3GS from the height of the doorknob she was unlocking onto the cement and shatter the screen today. I now think that cases are like airbags and anti-lock brakes that give a false feeling of security and just make people be more careless and mess up more often.

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Brien
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Jun 29, 2010, 01:25 AM
 
Well, the bottom line is it's a glass phone. Unless you carry it around in box of packing peanuts, don't drop it.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jun 29, 2010, 02:13 AM
 
Having experienced an airbag first-hand and not due to carelessness, I am *slightly* offended and must disagree with the Canadian sentiment.
     
osiris
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Jun 29, 2010, 08:31 AM
 
Originally Posted by David2213 View Post
I just ordered this one for my phone.

Hard Candy Cases - iPhone 4 Cases - Featherlight iPhone 4
Nice case, please post an update after you get it!
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
mrtew
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Jun 29, 2010, 09:25 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Having experienced an airbag first-hand and not due to carelessness, I am *slightly* offended and must disagree with the Canadian sentiment.
Sorry to offend you to the point that you dismiss my statement as merely "Canadian". Do you think that people don't drive more recklessly than before cars all got anti-lock brakes and airbags though? If not I bet you're too young to remember what the roads were like 20 years ago. Riding someone's ass down the freeway used to be the ultimate in a$$holeness and now it's totally normal driving. I can't remember the last time I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw more than 5 feet between my car and the one behind me, even when I'm going 15mph over the speed limit right behind the car in front of me. I agree that they do save the lives of innocent people too so please accept my apology, but the theory that they've given people a huge false sense of security is not mine nor Canada's and you can find that it's widely accepted if you google a bit. The theory about the iPhone cases is mine though, and on second thought I'm sure they've saved more iPhones that they've endangered.

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Bearsfan34
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Jul 11, 2010, 05:29 PM
 
We have a few iFrogz Luxe Lean cases in house where I work. Green, and Gunmetal in color. So far, the consensus is overwhelmingly positive. There are no issues as far as we can tell with the camera flash, the case has a special "grippiness" to it, and it covers the corners nicely while leaving the volume buttons, vibrate switch, and the headphone jack/bottom speakers & 30-pin connector exposed.

Will the Luxe Lean completely 100% protect you from glass breakage? No. I doubt too many cases will outside of the Otterbox. But it costs $24.99 at Worst Buy, it comes in other colors besides green & Gunmetal, and the case has velvet on the inside to keep the backside of the iPhone 4 from getting scratched.

I don't work for the company; just am an IT guy with several users with iPhones. Some of us tried the Apple Bumper, and it worked fine...but there were issues with car chargers (like me) and not feeling "secure" with the glass on the back. The Luxe Lean is thin enough to where it doesn't add "bulk," but yet for the users I know they feel more confident that should there be a drop (other than directly on the front glass) there's protection.
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amazing
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Jul 11, 2010, 05:36 PM
 
My boss got this case, which I like a lot. Protects the glass on the back quite well, though not the front, and also helps make the antenna problem better, $22 from amazon:

Amazon.com: Incipio SILICRYLIC Case for iPhone 4 (White/Silver): Cell Phones & Service

PS: there should be a forum sticky for this question?
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jul 11, 2010, 05:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by mrtew View Post
Sorry to offend you to the point that you dismiss my statement as merely "Canadian".
Figure of (internet) speech.

Germany apologizes.

Originally Posted by mrtew View Post
Do you think that people don't drive more recklessly than before cars all got anti-lock brakes and airbags though? If not I bet you're too young to remember what the roads were like 20 years ago. Riding someone's ass down the freeway used to be the ultimate in a$$holeness and now it's totally normal driving.
Can't say I agree, especially since in recent years, German law enforcement has come down pretty hard against tailgating and/or reckless speeding/overtaking.

I'll say that I'm pretty sure that a certain number people have *always* driven beyond their means. The asshole quotient in any population is more or less constant over time, in my experience.

I have no doubt whatsoever that seatbelts, airbags, and anti-lock brakes have saved a whole lot more lives than they have cost through encouraging recklessness.

SUVs, probably the opposite.
     
mrtew
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Jul 11, 2010, 10:59 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
I have no doubt whatsoever that seatbelts, airbags, and anti-lock brakes have saved a whole lot more lives than they have cost through encouraging recklessness.
Glad you "have no doubt whatsoever" but people who research them do.

"Researchers have compared accident and fatality rates for vehicles with and without ABS. Other studies have examined the driving records of ABS and non-ABS equipped taxi drivers in Munich and Oslo. The accident and fatality data shows that ABS exacerbates the severity of accidents in certain situations. The taxi study proved that drivers tend to take greater risks in cars equipped with ABS (although the difference in collision rates was not significant). In short, ABS may do more harm than good.

More specifically, the studies show that ABS has no real-world effect on dry-surface braking, ABS-equipped vehicles take longer to stop on ice than non-ABS vehicles, ABS-equipped vehicles are more prone to roll-over accidents than non-ABS vehicles, ABS-equipped vehicles are involved more often in single car fatal accidents than non-ABS vehicles, and drivers of ABS-equipped vehicles tend to drive faster and apply their brakes later than non-ABS drivers."

--- Killer ABS | The Truth About Cars

The mandate requiring airbags was supported by government claims, documented in the 1977 Federal Register, that they would save over 90,000 lives per decade -- an absurd claim relative to technical data then available. The current (far too optimistic) claim is that they have saved 1700 lives from 1986 to 1996, less than two percent of the original claim, and an even smaller percent of the over 400,000 traffic deaths that occurred in this period. The claim that airbag policy has saved lives is based on a fundamental assumption that is false – namely, that the policy has zero influence on driver behavior. A number of short ladies have informed me that they began to drive more cautiously when they realized airbags could kill them. The opposite effect also occurs -- the belief that we cannot get hurt produces less cautious driving. If the misconception that airbags substantially reduce risk led to even a 2 mph increase in average travel speed, this would more than cancel the modest benefit of the airbag, thereby increasing national traffic fatalities.
--- Mandating airbags -- wrong then, more clearly wrong now


Economist Sam Peltzman argues that manadatory safety features like seat belts and air bags reduce the probability of death or serious injury to the driver in an accident, but the increased feeling of safety from seat belts or airbags would actually cause drivers to drive slightly more recklessly, which would increase the number of accidents. Likewise, seatbelts and airbags make drivers feel slightly more "empowered" with the increased safety and protection, and would drive slighlty more recklessly. Drivers would be more likely to survive a serious accident with seatbelts and airbags, but the number of accidents would go up, so the net effect on overall deaths from car accidents could go up, down or stay the same. --- CARPE DIEM: Automobile Safety: Seatbelts Cause Accidents

"Seat belts save lives" is a popular adage so widely believed that, by year-end 1997, 49 states plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico had adopted mandated usage laws (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1998:186). Although it is generally agreed that motorists wearing seat belts will be better protected than those not using seat belts, new evidence has emerged on the overall effectiveness of mandated usage. Beginning with the path-breaking work of Lave and Weber (1971) and Peltzman (1975), theoretical and empirical work has suggested the possibility that higher rates of usage of safety devices or regulations, which reduce the probability of death from any given accident, may result in more risky driving. In particular, the existence of such "offsetting" behavior would tend to counteract any lifesaving effects of increased seat belt usage. --- Article: The effects of mandatory seat belt laws on motor vehicle fatalities in the... | AccessMyLibrary - Promoting library advocacy

I love the U.S., but we need some time apart.
     
reRESERVEDMD
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Jul 12, 2010, 12:31 AM
 
Belkin ClearVue or something like that at Best Buy! $25 and it protects the entire phone. It's also clear, so you can see your device and is everything but bulky!
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olePigeon
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Jul 12, 2010, 03:31 AM
 
mrtew, you're misquoting, taking out of context, or not understanding a few of the studies you listed. Airbags in general do help to prevent further serious injury or even death. There has been a recent study that showed flaws in recently redesigned airbags and deployment systems, but you're talking about a design flaw introduced after the fact, and with a limited number of vehicles.

In regards to your ABS article, it has more to do with peoples' driving habits and ability versus the ABS system. A vehicle will stop sooner and faster using ABS than it will without. How a vehicle reacts with or without ABS is very different. If a vehicle has already entered into a skid, there's less friction to cause a rollover. Since ABS helps to prevent skidding, there's probably an increase in rollover accidents, but a decrease in front-end collisions. You're also comparing low-center, heavy vehicles from the 1970s with high-center SUVs of today.

I think the correlation has little to do with ABS itself and more to do with people just flat out not knowing how to drive. No one receives safety driving lessons in America (or probably Canada) unless you sign up for them separately. Ironically, no one is required to know how to avoid and accident when getting their license.
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mrtew
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Jul 12, 2010, 06:31 AM
 
Originally Posted by olePigeon View Post
mrtew, you're misquoting, taking out of context, or not understanding a few of the studies you listed. Airbags in general do help to prevent further serious injury or even death. There has been a recent study that showed flaws in recently redesigned airbags and deployment systems, but you're talking about a design flaw introduced after the fact, and with a limited number of vehicles.

In regards to your ABS article, it has more to do with peoples' driving habits and ability versus the ABS system. A vehicle will stop sooner and faster using ABS than it will without. How a vehicle reacts with or without ABS is very different. If a vehicle has already entered into a skid, there's less friction to cause a rollover. Since ABS helps to prevent skidding, there's probably an increase in rollover accidents, but a decrease in front-end collisions. You're also comparing low-center, heavy vehicles from the 1970s with high-center SUVs of today.

I think the correlation has little to do with ABS itself and more to do with people just flat out not knowing how to drive. No one receives safety driving lessons in America (or probably Canada) unless you sign up for them separately. Ironically, no one is required to know how to avoid and accident when getting their license.
I think you're missing my point completely about these safety devices. I'm aware that they all work well in a crash or to prevent a crash. My point is that they are such great safety devices that they cause people to change their driving habits and drive more dangerously than they would if they thought their lives were at risk. Don't even get me started on stability control. It was all an analogy to how iPhone cases make a person handle their iPhone in ways that make them more likely to drop it since they think it's safe inside a case.

I love the U.S., but we need some time apart.
     
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Jul 12, 2010, 06:56 AM
 
Interesting conversation re: airbags, etc., but let's stay on-topic, please. Thank you.
     
olePigeon
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Jul 16, 2010, 12:13 AM
 
I think iPhones should have airbags so when you get into a car accident while texting, your phone will be fine.
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MacinTommy
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Jul 18, 2010, 08:11 PM
 
Any more user reviews of iP4 cases? I'm in the market.
     
mrtew
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Jul 18, 2010, 11:22 PM
 
I wonder what kind SteveJobs is going to be giving away!

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MacinTommy
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Jul 18, 2010, 11:49 PM
 
Originally Posted by mrtew View Post
I wonder what kind SteveJobs is going to be giving away!
I was wondering the same thing... Since they'll be giving away free bumpers then I'd assume cases in the $30 and below range... So that doesn't really narrow it down.
     
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Jul 19, 2010, 10:24 AM
 
I have purchased the quirky TILT because it not only offers a unique design, but it also has a "kickstand". They have to meet sales of 990 before production but for $28 it rocks.
     
vmarks
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Jul 19, 2010, 03:42 PM
 
As for iPhone cases, nothing is going to be helpful if you have a highway crash at speed - either the phone survives, it hits you in the passenger compartment, or it goes through a window. I've been rammed on the highway before and my phone survived without going through the glass or hurting anyone - keep things low so they don't fly around.
( Last edited by vmarks; Jul 29, 2013 at 12:34 PM. )
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vmarks
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Jul 19, 2010, 03:47 PM
 
Originally Posted by MacinTommy View Post
I was wondering the same thing... Since they'll be giving away free bumpers then I'd assume cases in the $30 and below range... So that doesn't really narrow it down.
consider that Apple doesn't want to spend a lot of money on this. Expect that they're going to pick the lowest price-some quality combo they can find. Maybe silicone, maybe a harder material one step above silicone. Expect it to cost them a less than 5 bucks at the most per case. They don't pay the 30 dollar retail, they pay cost, and they don't have to pay themselves margin.

Do some math. Suppose they sold 3 million iPhone 4. This number isn't correct, since the deal is through September. Imagine a 15 dollar case at cost. (I know, crazy.) 3m x 15 = 45 million dollars. So they'd much rather spend 15 million on customers than 45 million. Spending 15 million is still pretty big.
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mrtew
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Jul 19, 2010, 10:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by vmarks View Post
Do some math. Suppose they sold 3 million iPhone 4. This number isn't correct, since the deal is through September. Imagine a 15 dollar case at cost. (I know, crazy.) 3m x 15 = 45 million dollars. So they'd much rather spend 15 million on customers than 45 million. Spending 15 million is still pretty big.

Here's my math... over the next two years Apple will get $200-$400 from AT&T out of your monthly bill to pay for the rest of the iPhone in addition to the $200-$300 that you already paid. It's totally worth it for Apple to spend $15-$30 to get all those hundreds of dollars in addition to avoiding the public humiliation of half their customers rejecting their hottest new product. Seems like it'll sure piss off the other case manufacturers though that are trying to sell their cases to people that are already getting free ones.

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ajprice
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Jul 20, 2010, 01:47 PM
 
I've got a £10 leather case for mine, it has a plastic insert inside that the phone clips into. It's fine but it needs a bigger hole for the camera, you can see a border around the edge of the photos from the shape of the hole. I'll see what's available from Apple for free this week.

It'll be much easier if you just comply.
     
MacinTommy
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Jul 20, 2010, 07:24 PM
 
Originally Posted by vmarks View Post

Do some math. Suppose they sold 3 million iPhone 4. This number isn't correct, since the deal is through September. Imagine a 15 dollar case at cost. (I know, crazy.) 3m x 15 = 45 million dollars. So they'd much rather spend 15 million on customers than 45 million. Spending 15 million is still pretty big.
OrFree iPhone 4 Cases Will Cost Apple About $175M | Cult of Mac
     
MacinTommy
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Aug 13, 2010, 12:36 PM
 
Does anyone know a good car mount for the iPhone 4? I want to know someones opinion before I pull the trigger.
     
mkerr64
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Aug 13, 2010, 11:49 PM
 
R.I.P Steve Jobs
     
mrtew
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Aug 28, 2010, 12:18 PM
 
I got a really thin cool looking case at best buy yesterday for my phone replacement after I dropped and broke the one I got on June 24th. Ifrogz - Product Details




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Randman
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Sep 11, 2010, 03:44 AM
 
Otterbox Commuter. Easily best out there.

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mrtew
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Sep 11, 2010, 08:27 AM
 
Originally Posted by Randman View Post
Otterbox Commuter. Easily best out there.
Is it a soft silicone case with a hard plastic clip kind of snapped over the back of it? It's hard to tell in pictures.




The one I had for my iPhone3G was hard plastic with a silicone cover OVER it and it was so cool looking without the silicone part. Like Battestar Galactica or something. But it broke when I dropped it :-[ At least the iPhone survived. I'd like to find one of those for the iPhone4



( Last edited by mrtew; Sep 11, 2010 at 08:43 AM. )

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Randman
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Sep 12, 2010, 02:02 AM
 
It has the soft cushion then that fits in the hard case,
Using with the Seddio Active holster which also fits it perfectly.

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