nc10's Full Review: Griffin Black iPhone 3G Clarifi Protective Case Wi...
The Griffin Clarifi case for the iPhone 3G is one of the best hard plastic cases available for the iPhone 3G. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most expensive cases, with a list price of $35 and street price around $25. The Griffin Clarifi differs from many other cases in a couple of ways. The first is the two piece design of the case, which Griffin calls EasyDock. The Clarifi case has a removeable bottom section which allows one to dock the iPhone in almost all types of hardware docks (radios, chargers, speakers, etc), while leaving most of the case in place. The Clarifi also has a lens integral to the case which can be positioned to allow the iPhone's camera to focus on items 4-6" from the camera lens, an inexpensive, but effective macro lens.
Key features of the Clarifi include
Fits the iPhone 3G (doesn't fit the original iPhone) Black polycarbonate construction, two tone black (flat and glossy black) Includes screen protector and cleaning cloth Two piece Easy Dock design, makes it easy to set the iPhone into a dock without removing the case Moveable, built-in close-up lens, allows you to take closeups with the iPhone camera (bar codes, business cards, coins, stamps, small parts, receipts, etc)
I chose the Clarifi case for my iPhone 3G primarily because of the built in lens. I had hoped to use this lens with some of the UPC bar code readers available at the iTunes application store, applications that I'd hope would allow me to quickly access price comparisons and reviews from the internet. The lens does work well enough that it takes pictures of barcodes good enough that applications should be able to read them, most of the applications I've tried, like Snappr, only provide a mediocre amount of information, enough to be occasionally useful, but hit and miss.
I bought my case in from a seller on Ebay for $22 delivered, last December, as it wasn't available in many stores then. The case came in a small package with one screen protector and one lens cleaning cloth. The easy-to-open package seemed a nice balance between not wasting too much plastic and being big enough to be show well in stores, and was made completely of recycleable plastic.
Fit and Finish
The Clarifi case fits tightly and securely around my iPhone 3G, and looks quite nice. It adds about 0.6 ounces to the iPhone's weight, and a very slight increase to it's dimensions, about 2mm on each side. The middle of the case, about 60% of what you see, is glossy black. The glossy black portion of the case looks a lot like the glossy black back of my iPhone, and has a tendency to pick up faint scratches that you can see in bright lighting. The top and bottom portions of the case are flat black and don't show evidence of scratches or scrapes. I've dropped my iPhone a couple of times on pavement (a scary event), the case has remained firmly in place protecting my phone. I don't have any concerns about the case accidentally coming off the phone when dropped. Fitting around the iPhone like a sheet covering a mattress, the Slider covers the back and sides of the iPhone with a glossy, protective, hard plastic shell. The case leaves the screen completely uncovered, though the screen protector does provide some protection, if you choose to use it. The case fits very tightly to the iPhone, if you use a thin designer skin on your iPhone (like a gelaskin), the Clarifi won't fit over that skin.
The edges of the case "frame" the screen with a 1-2mm thick black plastic trim, encroach ever so slightly, perhaps only tenths of a millimeter, onto the screen. This frame does tend to help protect the screen from getting scuffed if the phone is dropped, while not hindering visibility or use of the screen. I was able to put the screen protector on the my phone's screen, centering so that it was completely untouched by the edges of the Clarifi case, meaning the case wouldn't lift the screen protector off the screen. (A similar case, an InCase Slider that I purchased for my wife's original iPhone, didn't fit with screen protectors so well, and tended to pull or scrape the edges of screen protectors.)
Using the Close-Up Lens to decode UPC barcodes I've downloaded and installed several iPhone applications that claim to decode UPC barcodes and provide links to shopping information or product reviews. Iphone applications I've tried include Snappr, NeoReader, and ItemShelf. Without a lens like the Clarifi's, none of those applications could interpret barcodes captured with the iPhone's camera, the images are just too fuzzy and out of focus. With the lens, all three can decode many UPC barcodes, if you take care when taking a picture of a barcode. Key's to getting good images of barcodes include:
- taking the picture in good lighting - holding the camera and item very steady while capturing the image, which can take 5 seconds or more, with the iPhone about 6" from the barcode - avoid trying to capture images of small barcodes that are less than 3/8" or so high.
NeoReader does a decent job providing comparison pricing information on items, perhaps the best of those applications that I've tried. For example, when I took a picture of the UPC on a Turbotax Deluxe box, NeoReader recognized the UPC as Turbotax on my first try of taking a picture, and provided 10 shopping links to web stores, including Best Buy, Walmart, Staples, OfficeMax, and Newegg, and also provided links to reviews. When I tried the same with Snappr, I made three attempts at taking a picture before getting a image Snappr could decode as a Turbotax. Snappr then provided shopping links to Amazon, Yahoo, and Shopzilla for that item, though no direct links to reviews. ItemShelf also decoded the barcode correctly, and provided a link to Turbotax Deluxe on Amazon, as well as optionally adding it to a wish list or an email message.
All of these applications are competent, and provide links to useful information, but none provide a really complete set of information. They provide a good start to helping you make your shopping decision. Most users will find using the iPhone to decode UPC barcodes a little tedious, you have to take great care when taking the image, and you'll often need to take 2 or 3 images before getting a good image. Until you get the hang of it, its not much easier than typing in a bar code.
You can also use the Clarifi lens to capture images of business cards and other small items. The Griffin website has a link to one article about using the Clarifi to capture business card images, and then importing those images into Evernote (a popular information database) to interpret and file the information on those business cards.
Conclusion The Griffin Clarifi is a very good choice for protecting your iPhone, though I wish it was cheaper. It is very light-weight, and doesn't change the phone's portability. It fits perfectly, looks very nice, and stays in place. The removable bottom makes it easy to dock your iPhone in any dock. The close-up lens works as advertised, and isn't just a gimmick. If you want to use this with bar code applications, don't expect too much though, it's a little tricky to catch good images, and most bar code applications are typical first generation iPhone applications, you'll find yourself wishing for one or two more features. I like the Clarifi case a little better than other two piece cases, including the Incase Slider which my wife uses with her 1st generation iPhone. The InCase Slider has the advantage of a wide range of colors, while the Clarifi only comes in black.
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