OtterBox iPhone4 Cases: FirstLook

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Everyone  knows we favor Apple gear. When we gathered this past weekend at the Cape, even we were surprised by how much of it we had. We had two iPads, two iPod Touches,  three iPhones, and two MacBook Pros amongst the six of us.

Even though we were supposed to be on vacation, we could not resist bringing a few items for folks to check out between naps. Two of the items were the OtterBox  iPhone4 Commuter and Defender cases. These OtterBox cases, like other OtterBox enclosures, are custom-designed for the specific devices. Like the iPad Commuter and Defender series, these iPhones cases are comprised of a screen protector, a shock-absorbing rubber skin, and a protective hard outer shell.

The Defender differs from the Commuter in that it has a built-in screen protector. Like the iPad Defender case, the tolerance of the iPhone Defender case is very tight. The phone will NOT fit into the Defender case if a protective film has been installed on the screen. The Commuter case, however, can accommodate the film. Since both of our phones already have protective films applied, we’ll focus on just the Commuter case for this FirstLook report.

Installation of the phone into the Commuter case is simple: fit the rubber skin around the phone, then slide the hard shell onto the padded unit (i.e., around the rubber skin). Even with the two additional layers, the phone did not feel bulky. All of the ports, buttons, and openings are protect yet readily accessible. Having the sides wrapped solved the well-known interference problem with the antenna. We noticed that having a hard shell made sliding the phone into and out of our jean pockets much easier compared to having it in a neoprene case. If you are looking for no-nonsense protection in a great looking case, look no further than the OtterBox Commuter. Really.

We know we didn’t show much of the Defender case in this FirstLook write-up, but that is because we have an interesting DIY modification planned for the Defender case for a future article. We can’t say much about it now, but if it works we promise it will be something pretty awesome 🙂