Bumper alternatives to the Apple Bumper (with updates)

jrbdmb · Jul 6, 2010

I'm trying to avoid the Apple bumper as I do not want to have to remove it to plug my iPhone 4 into my car stereo, or remove to use some of my aftermarket earphones (apparently the holes for the dock and phones are cut extremely small). So I thought I'd start a "semi-official" thread to bumper alternatives to the Apple product. There are plenty of threads on full cases, no need to rehash them here.

So far I've found / been pointed to:

The original bumper by Apple, $29.95

Element Vapor 4 Starting at $79.95

iLuv Silicone trim case with dual films $24.99

Scosche BandEDGE G4 $24.99

Marware Sportgrip Edge for iPhone 4 $19.99

Unfortunately I haven't seen any external reviews for any of these products yet. Any reviews / note for these products, or additions to this list of bumper style cases would be appreciated.

Added, thanks WhyYouSoBlurry - Agent 18 ShockBand for iPhone 4 $19.95

Added, thanks dgoldak - Tech21 iBand for iPhone 4

Added, thanks Amnesia87 - Uncommon Products iPhone 4 Loop

WhyYouSoBlurry · Jul 6, 2010

Agent 18 will be producing the Shockband.

http://www.agent18.com/productdetail/iphones/shockband-for-iphone-4/198.aspx

glen e · Jul 6, 2010

Finally - a clear bumper - I'm in....

SFC Archer · Jul 6, 2010

glen e said:
Finally - a clear bumper - I'm in....

+1 Finally a company that has intelligence and is creating a clear one. Guess they get my money unless a better one comes along

bobright · Jul 6, 2010

WhyYouSoBlurry said:
Agent 18 will be producing the Shockband.

http://www.agent18.com/productdetail/iphones/shockband-for-iphone-4/198.aspx

That is a sweet case, similar to the Bumper but way slicker.

Bootsie · Jul 6, 2010

Dang, I wish the agent 18 one came in white. I can't wait to see actual pictures of this one.

katai · Jul 6, 2010

These cases looking nice. Hoping the clear ones turn out great. The prices are cheaper than apples too so that's a plus for aftermarket companies.

Brien · Jul 6, 2010

I'd have to see that Agent 18 case in person, but at least in pictures it looks much slimmer than the bumper. Yes please!

dgoldak · Jul 6, 2010

I'm interested in Tech21's iBand for the iPhone 4 although they haven't provide much information, only a small picture on their website and a release date of July 30th.

http://www.tech21.uk.com/index.html

Interesting video about the product:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4uMTZWh0Rc

jrbdmb · Jul 6, 2010

I really like the look of the Vapor4, but $80? Yikes!

2nd choice for me is the Marware, but I'd like to see if somebody with it has issues with dock and headphone ports first.

Mrrikki · Jul 6, 2010

I was going to order a Argent 18 clear but cheapest postage to the UK was $65!!!!! So I will wait till it reachesvthe UK lol

sheaitisnotso · Jul 6, 2010

FYI, I emailed Marware about their availability of the Sportgrip case and this was their response:

Due to unanticipated delays in production we do not expect to receive our inventory of the Sport Grip and SportGrip Edge for iPhone 4 until the week of July 12th. All pending orders will ship immediately after we receive our inventory.

I apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience and understanding.

Best regards,

Carmine Delligatti

Customer Support Manager

Also I emailed Scosche to see if they have plans for other colors because I really like the looks of their cases, but they just said "not at this time," and to keep checking the website for updates.

Hakushox · Jul 6, 2010

I'm scooping up a couple the Element Vapor 4'sas one of my main cases. Haven't decided on the color combo yet though. I do wish they had a so-called add free version, but oh well they still look great.

Drakdaddy · Jul 6, 2010

Getting the Vapor as well, but I also want to get a Dock. I know the Bumper doesnt work with it, but do you guys know if some of the Bumper alternatives work with it?

jrbdmb · Jul 7, 2010

Seeing that the Apple bumper is probably the smallest of the alternatives out there (adding the least to width and depth), if the Apple bumpered iPhone won't fit in the dock I doubt any other bumper or case will fare any better.

FieldingMellish · Jul 7, 2010

The clear gets my vote. Seeing the stainless steel band is a plus. Apple dropped the ball on that one.

jllawrence · Jul 7, 2010

Great post, thanks!

topher2889 · Jul 7, 2010

I like the idea of a clear one too. I really like the bumper style cases but would rather not spend $30 on it!

tctony · Jul 7, 2010

Can someone get a photoshop with the clear shockband on white i4? Up until now, I was convinced on white i4 with black bumper, but I'm interested in the clear case.

vchalupa · Jul 7, 2010

Just a heads up, the Marware case is actually cheaper at MacMall at only $12.99. I called them up because they didn't have any in stock and I asked them when they should be getting a shipment of them. They said they should get a delivery sometime this week when I called them last week. The person I spoke with did say that it was tentative and nothing was for sure but I'm assuming they might be severely back ordered or something like that.

Btw, just out of curiously, for those of you interested in the Vapor case, could you explain to me why you're willing to spend so much money on a case? Wouldn't getting AppleCare be cheaper at that point? The case itself is beautiful but the price is what's holding me back.

Thanks

jrbdmb · Jul 8, 2010

I updated the pic for the Marware product. Consensus in another thread is that the mock-up looked better

, but the white and black cases look OK.

BulletToothTony · Jul 8, 2010

add this one to the bunch.. nice thread.. hopefully helps people from starting new threads all the time about bumpers

http://www.ivyskin.com/iphone-4-case/iphone-4-reception-case.html

Bootsie · Jul 8, 2010

BulletToothTony said:
add this one to the bunch.. nice thread.. hopefully helps people from starting new threads all the time about bumpers

http://www.ivyskin.com/iphone-4-case/iphone-4-reception-case.html

That is not a bumper, it has a back piece...

sparrky · Jul 8, 2010

dgoldak said:
I'm interested in Tech21's iBand for the iPhone 4 although they haven't provide much information, only a small picture on their website and a release date of July 30th.

http://www.tech21.uk.com/index.html

This looks so much nicer than their original product! I wasn't even going to consider them, but I may have to rethink that.

mavis · Jul 8, 2010

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4 (32GB): Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A293 Safari/6531.22.7)

WhyYouSoBlurry said:
Agent 18 will be producing the Shockband.

http://www.agent18.com/productdetail/iphones/shockband-for-iphone-4/198.aspx

Only problem with a 100% TPU bumper is the lack of rigidity. The tiny strips of material on either side of the dock connector are very easy to push up/down by simply holding the phone. That Agent18 case does look nice, but I just bought a TPU bumper here in Japan yesterday and it's already off my phone - the flimsiness (is that a word?) drove me crazy.

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