To protect or not to protect?
Day one of owning the iPhone 4 I have had a case on it. I walked out of the Apple Store and straight to a case vendor at the local mall to purchase a case. This of course was because Apple had no bumpers in stock on release day.
The case I purchased, while not perfect, did it’s job. It offered me some protection from a small drop, which I am sad to say did occur within two days. The “generic” case protected my phone perfectly. No scratches on the phone and the phone continued to work without issue. I have included a picture of the case just for reference.
A week later, I was at the Apple Store to pick up a bumper case that was now in stock. My first thought about this bumper case was that it seemed expensive for what it was. However, it is an Apple product and higher price really should have been expected. After opening up the packaging I found the design of the bumper to be very appealing. In typical Apple fashion, it’s the little things that make a difference. An example of this are the silver accents for the power and volume buttons. These accents add something that I have yet to see in other cases so far. Most of which just expose the buttons though holes or completely cover them with rubber buttons.
A plus and negative of the Apple bumper case is the open back. The back of the phone being exposed is a concern because of the back being glass now. There have already been a good number of videos online showing how easy it is to break the glass on the iPhone 4. Most videos show a complete break after 3-4 drops, on average. A bumper appears not to be enough to protect your device.
This leads me to the point of this entire post. To protect or not to protect your investment.
The iPhone 4 is a beautiful device. A device that should be admired for it’s design. A case, bumper, sleeve….these all take away from this design, but offer protection.
I am very curious to know how many iPhone 4 users have purchased a bumper, case or sleeve to offer some protection - or - if they purchased any of these just because they usually have a case for their phone. Additionally, if you purchased any of these for protection purposes, does it bother you that you are not able to enjoy and admire the design of this device?
I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this subject.
