“Antenna-gate” and Apple’s Free Case Program have made many of us think about cell phone cases more than we ever dreamed we would. So many styles and concepts to choose from — and more importantly, price ranges too. Yes, it is possible to spend $90 or upwards on a case for a $200 smart phone.
With that in mind, I take a look at the Griffin Reveal Etch, the free iPhone case I received from Apple.
Here were my criteria for choosing a case:
- help with signal attenuation
- offer some level of drop protection without turning my thin and sleek phone into a something that looks like Batman might hook it to his utility belt
- give my phone a little flair, since the original design was now going to be covered
- allow me to use my 3rd party headphones and speaker dock without having to remove the case
How does the Griffin Reveal Etch fare?
Pretty darn well.
But first let’s look at the disappointments:
Yes, this case does help to dull signal attenuation to a certain extent. In my experience, I’ve been able to death grip a naked iPhone 4 in a weak signal area until the call was dropped. With the Etch case on, I can drop my signal from 3 bars to 1 bar — but I don’t lose the call. That said, the $10 gel case I’ve been using for the past month (which I bought from one of those mall vendor stands) has the same level of drop-off effectiveness — from three bars to one bar. So it seems as if just about any protective case helps, but doesn’t completely alleviate the issue.
Second disappointment — the sides of the Reveal Etch are made of rubber, which makes them pretty flexible. With only a little effort you can pull away the sides and expose your iPhone to the elements — thus potentially accumulating a bit of grit and grime along the way. So basically, if you’re looking for a case that will snap together and never reveal the stainless steel sides again, then this isn’t the one for you. Griffin does sell a snap-case polycarbonate variation on the Reveal Etch called the Elan Form Graphite for $5 more (as seen below)
On the plus side, the Reveal Etch’s cut-outs gave me no trouble connecting to my 3rd party speaker dock or using my 3rd party headphones. And I have had none of the flash discoloration problems that some cases have had (including the original Griffin Reveal) with the camera lens cut-out on the back of the case. The rubber sides and polycarbonate backing of the Reveal Etch don’t exactly pad the phone to Otterbox Defender-like extremes, but it does seem to provide a modest level of drop protection (sorry, the only drop tests I will subject my iPhone to are of the accidental variety and thankfully it hasn’t happened yet)
So why am I liking this case so much? Style. It looks and feels great. Aesthetically, it does something very rare in the world of iPhone cases – it manages to replace the elegant design of a naked iPhone with something different, but still appealing.
The Reveal Etch’s unique combination of two textures — the rubbery sides mixed with the polycarbonate backing — is a great homage to the competing textures of the naked iPhone 4 (stainless steel sides and glass backing). It seems as if whoever designed this case gave real thought to complimenting the iPhone 4 as opposed to overwhelming the look of the phone with gaudy colors and tacky designs.
And for those holding out for a white iPhone 4, I have a feeling that the Reveal Etch in Graphite will be a visually pleasing choice for it (you know, when the white iPhone finally goes on sale in late 2045).
So if you’re still deciding on a free case from the Apple Case Program, I highly recommend the Griffin Reveal Etch. If you’re not eligible for a free case, it’s still a solid choice at $29.99.
The Griffin Reveal Etch was independently obtained by the post author through the Apple Free Case Program. For further information regarding our site’s review policies, please see the “About” page.
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TAGS: iPhone 4 cases
