My iPhone Deserves Better
Written: Jul 16 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Clear design shows off your iPhone from every angle. Raised edges help protect the screen.
Cons: Comes apart easily. Feels icky and bulky in my hands.
The Bottom Line: Keep looking. Buy your iPhone at the AT&T Store, but head over to Apple for a cover.
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| prfstars's Full Review: Belkin Remix F8Z172 (Acrylic) Case for Apple iPhon... |
I'm just back from the AT&T store, where I returned my Belkin Acrylic iPhone Case. When I bought my 4GB iPhone the other day, the salesman at AT&T assured me I'd love this case.
I didn't.
I love the idea of clear cases, but with all the various iPods I've owned, I should know better. The soft silicone ones start to look filthy after a brief honeymoon period, and the hard acrylic ones feel terrible in my hand.
Belkin Clear Acrylic iPhone Case at a glance.
* Two piece case that snaps over your iPhone
* The screen and all buttons/ports are accessible
* Swivel belt clip/easel works in either horizontal or vertical orientation.
* About $25 and widely available at AT&T stores
A tangential aside: don't wait in line at the Apple Store for an iPhone
Apple has set up a website to show you the iPhone availability at local stores, but it's not very useful. All it tells you is if your local store will have a phone when it opens in the morning; there's no way to know how many it will receive, how fast it will sell out, or if you'll get the size (4 GB or 8 GB) you want to buy. When I decided to buy my iPhone at 6:30 PM on Saturday night, the Apple store was sold out, and still had a line out the door. I didn't even go in. I walked right on by and into the empty AT&T store that had ample stock of both the 4GB and 8GB iPhones. Some folks may think there's an advantage to buying at Apple, but everything from the warranty to the activation process is identical at both stores. If you want a phone, don't wait in line at 9AM-- head over to AT&T instead. Do not, however, get snookered into buying any accessories at the AT&T store; Apple has a much better selection of those. / end rant.
One of the biggest complaints I've read about the Belkin Acrylic case is that it offers no screen protection; this is untrue. While the case has a relatively small profile, its edges are raised up slightly higher than the iPhone's screen. If you set your iPhone on a table face down, your screen won't even come in contact with the table's surface. The iPhone's screen is supposed to be very scratch resistant, but if you're concerned about it, a second product such as the $15 Power Support Crystal Film Set for iPhone that they sell at the Apple Store.
Ease of Use
The Belkin Acrylic Case (henceforth Bel-Acryl) is not intuitive. It requires some force to snap it apart, and more force to snap it back together. If you don't do this with some degree of precision, the face could fall off and your precious iPhone might follow it to the floor. This didn't happen to me; fortunately, I realized my case wasn't on securely before I attached the clip to my belt.
That Nifty Belt Clip
I happen to like this feature a lot. The Bel-Acryl's belt clip swivels into either a vertical or a horizontal orientation, and then slides away from the main case for use as an easel. You may never wear your iPhone on your belt in its horizontal orientation, but you will use it that way to watch videos. My son and I watched YouTube videos on my iPhone yesterday, and we stood the phone on the Bel-Acryl "easel" in its horizontal orientation for better viewing.
It's 85 degrees and 90% humidity: the Bel-Acryl and Sweaty Hands
I'll be succinct: it feels downright icky.
It also feels big. Despite its slim profile, it reinforces the iPhone's chunky dimensions instead of making it feel more streamlined.
I appreciated my Bel-Acryl's crystal clear appearance, but functionally, it was a big disappointment. Between the difficulty keeping it securely closed and the way it felt in my hands, I decided after less than a day of use to return it.
This morning, I replaced my Belkin Acrylic case with a leather InCase case that I picked up at the Apple Store. HUGE improvement. The leather case helps my small-ish hand grip the big-ish iPhone comfortably, and I'm glad I made the trade.
The Belkin Clear Acrylic Case isn't downright awful, but with several other options out there already, I can't see any reason to recommend it.
Recommended:
No
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prfstars
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Location: The Burbs
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