Speck ToughSkin For iPhone 3G Obtained

I found and obtained the case that interested me the most for my iPhone, the Speck Products ToughSkin for the iPhone 3G. You see, I don't know about Carlton or any of you, but I definitely have a tough time preventing my phones from hitting the ground often during their use and I need to protect them as best I can. My Treo, which I owned prior to moving back to AT&T and getting the iPhone, hit the ground so often I can't believe it's still working normally. And some of those hits were so hard that I was amazed it was working after picking it up off the ground. A favorite spot for my Treo to travel down to was the concrete driveway at our house. Maybe its second favorite spot was the ground, under the stadium seats while I was at football games. So it should be obvious, now, that I was looking for a lot more than just a screen protector or a pretty color.

I purchased the Speck ToughSkin Case for the iPhone 3G from BPAV after identifying it as the option that would be able to give me the best protection from a case that was still pretty compact. I was perfectly willing to add a little bulk to the iPhone in exchange for the protection, but I didn't want to get into something that would prohibit me from keeping it in a pocket or anything like that. BPAV shipped it to me in just two days (nice job!) and I immediately opened it up and applied it to my new iPhone.

First impression was that this case was definitely going to do the trick. Yes, it does take the smooth, sleek look away from the iPhone but I feel that even many of the hard-shell cases accomplish that as well and don't offer enough rugged protection in return. The sides are nice and thick and the corners are formed of an ideal amount of contoured reinforcement, making me think my iPhone can now take any normal bump from the side and could probably take a fair tumble without too much shock getting to the iPhone shell or systems within. The back looks like a stretched mountain bike tire and the contours molded there allow for both reinforced protection and a solid degree of traction that prevents the iPhone from sliding, even on a pretty decent slope.

The bottom of the case is cutout to allow for the right amount of room needed to connect chargers, FM transmitters and the like, and folds back to allow for connecting to docks or other larger devices that utilize the dock connector without having to remove the case from the iPhone. The cut out is also wide enough to allow for clear and seemingly normal speaker and mic performance. The back has an eyelet designed for the camera lens and, even with this particular case's thickness in play, there is no vignetting or camera blockage at all. A reinforcing frame with wrap-anchors is included and definitely helps secure the case to the iPhone so that the case is not squirming around the iPhone while in use. Some other cases I looked at did not have this and clearly had a bit of play to them that I felt made those cases feel cheap and loose-fitting.

In talking with others there seems to be 3 common complaints or questions with iPhone cases: 1. Does it add bulk around the screen edges that interferes with typing on the iPhone? 2. Is the front button covered up and, if so, does that cover allow for responsive use of the button? 3. How does the look of the case hold up with use?

The speck ToughSkin case does add a little more bulk around the edges of the screen than some other cases do, but this is to prevent the screen from coming in direct contact with the surface if it is sitting face down. I was actually hoping for this, but I was not thinking about whether or not this feature would cause any difficulty with typing. After typing on the iPhone for two weeks, with this case on at all times, I will admit that it can be a tad obtrusive to the space bar and the return key when trying to type quickly. I'd go even further to say that I do not feel this is due to my getting used to the keyboard. How much of a problem is this? Not very much of one, would be my answer. Basically the issue is that your thumb tries to go over the case and, in an extreme example, you end up with something such as, 'Are younsurenyou want tobdo that?" where the 'n' or 'b' key is hit accidentally when trying to hit the space bar. It think I've run into this mostly when typing longer items on the iPhone, such as an e-mail or a post on facebook or twitter, and I really don't consider this to be something that would drive anyone to the point where they were not satisfied with the case.

The Speck ToughSkin case does cover the iPhone's home button on the front but the reinforcing frame and matching molding on the front are made very well so that the button is perfectly functional and still offers a decent tactile click response. So there's nothing to worry about with regards to the home button.

Lastly, though I have only used the case for less than two weeks, I can comment on one of the gripes that people have with skin-type cases: lint grabbing. This case seems to have a finish on it that prevents a great deal of the lint collection that can occur with cases like this. There is clearly a little of that happening, but I was expecting it to be much worse than it is and am quite pleased at that. Also, what little does collect is very easily wiped off and so I do not have to constantly be wiping and rolling lint off of the iPhone. (Hey, on a black case little gray bits of thread and dust are not cool!)

All in all this looks to be a great case and I am very pleased with it thus far. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to forget about being worried about bashing up an iPhone while on the go.

I'm not sure what case my wife will be going with (she doesn't let her phone hit the deck as much as I do) but I'll be sure to review that as well.

Later all.