OtterBox Defender Series for 3G Phones Review

With so many choices today for iPhone 3G cases, what really makes one stand out from another?

Lots of cases are made from silcone, some are made to dock easily, some from high quality materials like exotic leathers, and some are made to withstand abuse.

The OtterBox is one such case (no pun intended)…

   
It is built from 3 separate layers of protection.  The first is a hard shell which completely wraps the iPhone in a hard plastic case.  Even the screen, logo, microphone, and speaker, are covered in their own special ways.  The screen is covered by a plastic screen which allows you to still use your hands to interface with the phone.  The microphone and speaker are both covered in what I can only describe as a mesh film.

The second level of protection is a silicone skin which neatly wraps itself around the hard shell case.  All of the protrusions from the hard case are cut out in the silicone, so it grabs the hard shell case very well and doesn’t slip around at all.

The third level of protection is from the holster clip, which when the iPhone is attached to it, protects the screen even more beyond the clear plastic in the hard shell layer.  One of the nice things I noticed about the holster is that it allows the clip to rotate into both a horizontal and vertical position.

  In addition, the clip on the back of the holster can be set all the way back and used as a stand for putting your iPhone in a display position.  I could easily see using this feature the most, as it’s something that is not available on many cases, especially ones that are as durable as this.  I’m envisioning my kids watching a quick video on my phone and not worrying too much that they are going to break it.

The other thing I’ve noticed, and think is a great feature, is a protrusion that exists in the hard shell case which clicks into the holster.  Because this is on both sides of the hard shell case, it locks the iPhone into place when you dock it into the holster.  It really feels like the phone isn’t going anywhere with this design and, with a device as expensive as this, that’s a good thing.

While covered and protected by the case, all of the buttons are surprising easy to press. In fact, even the home button on the front of the iPhone was easier to press than I expected (the button is half covered by the hard shell portion of the case), and the docking port, and mute switch are easily accessible through silicone flaps.

One other thing I failed to mention was that the holster clip has a cut out area for the home button when you decide to dock your phone with it facing forward.  This makes it very easy to always keep the phone in the doc and have complete access to all of the buttons and screen.  This was not available on the prior version of the Otterbox case, and I’m glad this was changed.

The Otterbox case is made for the rugged user, hence all of the images of people outdoors playing sports, and working in rugged area.  Of course, anyone who wants the ultimate in protection for their iPhone (excluding being waterproof) would do well choosing the Otterbox.

PROS

• Excellent Protection from scrapes, dings, scratches, and any hard surfaces you may drop your phone on.
• Soft, comfortable Silicone outer shell
• Easy access to all ports, and features
• Screen interaction is not affected by the screen protection

CONS

• Price ($49.95)
• Bulky