A hard case that’s… not so hard

Being someone that likes to drop his phones, having solid protection for my phone is a must.  As such, finding a case for my iPhone has always been a priority for me.  One of the cases that I tried was the Belkin Ballistic Formed Hard Case.

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This case features a leather front coupled with a “ballistic nylon” back - a textured nylon plastic of some sort.  It also comes with a standard screen protector for the touchscreen as well.  After using the case for about a week, there are two things I noticed about this case.  First of all, this case turns your phone totally inconspicious.  With the touchscreen off, it’s hard to tell that it’s an iPhone at all.  The leather front, which extends about a 1/3cm edge to the phone, makes the case look a lot larger than the phone really is, making it feel a lot more like a PDAin your hand than a smart phone.  During those first weeks it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing; I was one of the first to get the new 3G, and the fact that it didn’t look like the 3G made me feel a little less self conscious.  For a while.  Then you finding that it’s hard to show off your iPhone when it doesn’t look like one. The other thing that I found was, due to the larger front, the phone is a lot tighter in your pant pocket.  These two things considered, I preferred a sleeker, more form fitting case.

So that pretty much covers the front of the case.  Now for the back.  Belkin advertises this case as a hard case; but technically, it’s not really hard.  The “ballistic nylon” as mentioned above, is a type of textured plastic that’s about the thickness of a folded greeting card.  It’s also flexible.  While I have confidence that this nylon would protect my phone against scratches, it doesn’t seem thick enough to provide impact absorbtion of a silicon case, nor the impact protection of a pure hard case.  I for one would am not willing to test this out.

The Verdict

This case loses in two ways for me. The front adds additional width to the phone, turning the sexy iPhone into a PDA-like size and making it uncomfortable to put in your pant pocket. On the back side, the textured ballistic nylon doesn’t give me confidence that it would protect my phone in case of a drop, which is why I am using a case in the first place.

Review Score: 2.0 out of 5

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A hybrid hard/soft case that’s just right

One of the first things I did after I ordered my iPhone 3G was to search for a hard case.  Let’s just say I’m not very good at keeping my phones new.  My last phone, the Blackberry Pearl, has 2 holes, 1 dent, and 1 missing piece in it after 16 months of use.   I am determined that my 3G is here to last and this time I will do everything to make sure it’s kept as new as possible.

The first thing I did was keep the clear plastic screen cover that came with the iPhone on the phone until I could find a proper screen protector, which I subsequently replaced with a BestSkinsEver full body skin.  The skin would cover all of the scratches for those times when I put the phone in my pocket and forget to take out that last quarter.  The second was to find a hard case that looked good, and protected my precious iPhone from falls.

After a lot of research, I decided to give the Capsule Rebel from SwitchEasy a try, and so far I really like it.  It’s actually a combination of a hard and soft case.  The phone is wrapped in the soft case, which is a light rubbery material SwitchEasy calls ADSP (Adaptive Dynamic Soft Polymer), then supported by a “backbone skeleton” made of Lexan plastic (the same stuff Nalgene bottles are made of) which cover the four corners and approximately alternating 1cm intervals on the side.  The ADSP even covers the volume and lock buttons, which is something I really like about this case.

After putting it all together, I find that I quite like this case.  My iPhone with the full body skin was a little tight, but I was able it fit it after a little bit of work.  the ADSP is an interesting material.  Soft when you put it onto the phone, but add the backbone support and it feels quite hard.  Other than the button covers and the very bottom, once the backbone is on it tightens up and you can’t really tell that it’s soft material. It seems to harden up somewhat.

The package comes with quite a bit of stuff.  Besides the case itself, the box comes with 2 screen protectors, 1 screen cloth, a plastic stand for watching video, and a plug for protecting the USB connection when you’re not using it.  The case looks good, doesn’t add a lot of additional size to the phone, and I feel pretty comforable that my phone is safe if (when) I drop it.

Conclusion

I plan to be using this case for a while - it looks good, and the combination of hard and soft case should provide the iPhone with ample impact and shock absorbtion.   Combined with my full body skin, I feel like I can keep this phone even until the next iPhone comes out.

Review Score: 4.5 out of 5

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