I have been looking around for the perfect case for my iPhone 3G when the iPhone 4 was announced, so of course instead of finding one for my iPhone 3G, I was in search of one for the iPhone 4. I have a few friends that have been very happy with the OtterBox series of cases especially the Defender series which is their most expensive but also the most protective. OtterBox was extremely backlogged on orders for this case as it was the first one they produced for iPhone 4, I received an email from them letting me know that my case was going to be delayed a little longer due to unforeseen demand. That was one thing you really don’t see from a company these days, they let me know what the cause of the delay was!!
Anyways the case arrived when they promised and I quickly opened it up and figured out what I needed to do. The case came in a plastic bag with a simple 2 sided info sheet. The reasoning for this was they wanted to get the cases out and didn’t want to make people wait on the packaging!!
The Defender unit came with the 3 piece case and a holster. Here is the case fully opened up ready to place the iPhone 4 in.
Here are the 3 pieces of the OtterBox Defender case. The top on the left, back plate centered, and the rubber surround piece on the right.
Took me a little while to figure out how to get the unit apart so I could place my iPhone in it. Of course if I was smart I would have just looked at the info sheet which gave the directions on the backside!! Anyways I got it apart and it was smooth sailing from there.
The Top plate is a piece of plastic, not too thick around the edges but has a little height on the front. Also included is a clear plastic cover for the iPhone 4 screen. Helps keep finger prints off as well as any scratches.
I would recommend wiping down your phone and the case with a lens cloth or something that will not leave any residue or particles as they will bother you a little bit when your looking at your screen.
Here is the exterior plate of the Defender Case. As you can see there is an opening for the camera and flash in the upper corner as well as an opening for the Apple logo. These are both covered with clear plastic so nothing can get inside the case when closed up.
Here is the Front Plate of the Defender Case. You can see the 3 locking areas one on each side around the center of each side and one in the center of the top area. Also there are recessed areas for the rubber surround to “lock” into. The area in the top left hard corner with the protrusions is to hold the surround in place as there are 2 openings for the headphone jack as well as the ringer/silent toggle on the side.
As you can see the rubber cover is molded to fit like a glove to the hard plastic case. It has the openings for the Camera and flash as well as the Apple logo on the backside. The home button is on the front as well as the up down buttons for volume on the side.
Putting the case together was pretty easy you just line up the front and rear case. There is a recessed area on the front case for the rear plate to slide into once it matches up its good to go. There are 3 places that lock together one on each side and one at the top. The rubber cover then slides over from the back side and locks into place in the few recessed spots on the front cover.
Here is the full case put together without an iPhone 4 in it. It is well though out and molded very well. It fits the iPhone 4 very well.
Here is the case in full glory. The rubber backside has a textured feel and look to it which gives you a little more grip. It does fit pretty well but does seem a little loose in some areas. Could be due to my usage, but it seemed a little loose from the start.
Here is a close up look at the openings for the headphone jack and toggle switch. They work very good and are very well implemented. The headphone flap had an opening in it for the upper microphone. I have used the case with the speakerphone and some people have an issue hearing me. It isn’t all the time so I am unsure if it is the case or something else.
These last 2 shots show the opening at the bottom of the case and iPhone 4 to allow for the speaker and lower microphone to be open as well as the area for the docking connector. This way the are is protected and you don’t need to remove the case to sync your phone.
All in all the case is built pretty well, I haven’t used the holster as I feel its a little bulky but it is well thought out. The rubber surround does seem a little loose fitting, but works very well and pretty much stays in place. Would love to see the other cases as well as they have 2 more production cases in the works. If you would like to get more info on the OtterBox cases head over to Otterbox.com They have cases for many cell phones as well as the iPad. As a disclaimer I am not an employee of OtterBox, nor am I getting anything in return from them. I am a happy customer and hope to be for a good while. Also an iPhone 4 review is in the works finally feel I got enough time to give it a good review!!
If you are interested in contracting me for any photography needs please contact me through my contact page!!
Recent Uploads to Atlantic Expressions Print Sales
Geoffrey Bolte is a Freelance photographer based in Northeast Connecticut accepting all photography assignments world wide.
Design by Graph Paper Press
Subscribe to entries
Subscribe to comments
All content © 2012 by Geoffrey Bolte Photography's Blog!