So just over a month ago our friends at OtterBox took a huge step and released something that isn’t quite tough enough to protect your iPhone 3G from getting rolled over by a car, hit by a truck, or dumped into a raging river – but tough enough to protect your iPhone from life’s daily battles and still look and feel great doing it. OtterBox is known for tough. They aren’t known for smexy, they aren’t known for girly, they sure as heck aren’t known for making cases that include anything that might resemble stylish. They are known for tough. Take a look at this clip from their "About Us Page"
Our cases are dedicated to all the klutzy, spontaneous, chaotic, graceless individuals who have broken a device or valuable due to their active lifestyle. Like our customers, we’ve been there too!
So naturally I was a bit surprised when they announced the Impact series. I mean come on – something that promises to not be just as thick as your iPhone, soft, and yet still tough enough to bear the OtterBox name? That sounds like it might be pushing the limits of technology there. So how did they do? Read on…
First thing I noticed when the review unit came in the mail was that it was missing something I was quite used to seeing – that big yellow OtterBox box. Instead I got this plastic packaging like I’d expect to see from a case I bought at Best Buy. Thankfully the packaging really is something you’re only going to have to deal with once, and I got over my box shock pretty quickly. (Although I’m still a little depressed over not getting my OtterBox sticker).
Lets get the specs out of the way:
Dimensions (Case Only):
4.66” x 2.59” x 0.64”
Approximate Weight (Case Only; including layer 1):
0.6oz (15g)
Colors:
Black
White
Environmental Protection:
Added protection against bump and shock
As you can see from the specs – the Impact is quite different from the OtterBox Defender I’m normally raving about. The Defender rings at a scale busting 1.9oz so at 0.6oz, the Impact isn’t really even noticeable weight wise once you get it onto the iPhone. Holding the device however you’re bound to notice that the Impact is on there.
I say you’re bound to notice for a couple reasons. First, as you can see from the very first image in the review there’s a (relatively) thick section on the backside of the case which thins out significantly to the sides. This actually gives a good amount of protection, while still keeping the "thin" feeling of the case. Second, there’s the corners of the case which are just as thick as the backing. The shot above should give you a good idea of just how much protection there is around the corners compared to the parts of the phone (like the sides) which are less likely to suffer from a direct impact.
The main reason you’re going to notice this case on your iPhone aside from the added padding on the back, corners and the front face is the feel. This case doesn’t really have a texture like anything I’ve experienced in prior reviews. Typically cases of this style are either slimy or just feel icky. You know what I mean – that "feels dirty" feeling you get from some silicone cases. Well the OtterBox doesn’t have that. It doesn’t get sticky or greasy feeling and I was really impressed by the fact that it doesn’t collect gunk. I’ve had many silicone style cases that collect every bit of dog hair, lint, and random gross stuff you can think of. Matter of fact one of my buddies just got rid of his silicone case because he just couldn’t handle how nasty it was getting. Well, I’m here to tell you – I’ve had this case for a month and there isn’t one dog hair on it, not one icky spot I that I can’t identify, nothing. Looks just like the day it came out of the package.
Quick two pack of images there to show you that the expected cutouts are all there for the silent switch, camera and headphones. The volume and screen lock switch are covered but still easily identifiable by touch.
GPS, light sensor, etc are all exposed as well. Its important to note something here. I love, love, love the cushion that the thicker silicone provides compared to the hard glass when you hold the iPhone up to your ear. I also love it compared to the hard plastic that is included in the Defender line. Long story short – love the ear piece. No sound loss, lotsa comfort.
Alright I’m wrapping this up with really the only complaint I’ve got. The sides around the screen are somewhat sloppy and are very loose at the ends, so you end up dragging your finger around the edge of the screen and lifting the case edge up with it. I’m not sure how OtterBox can fix this since the sides are quite thin, but I think if they can figure out how to trim the edges to where you can swipe left and right across the screen without catching the sides it would make this case nearly perfect.
Info:
You can get the OtterBox Impact directly from OtterBox for $19.95 … Oh yea, and there’s a white one.
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