Beaverbrook gave a great review. I agree 100%.
I was just in the shower with mine. I was worried about the capacitance of the screen not working great with water on it, but I had no problems at all (to be fair, it wasn't submerged, just covered with spray from the shower head whenever I was using it). If there had been problems using the touch screen, I wouldn't have minded, I really just wanted to listen to music. Worked great for that, but it was a nice surprise having full use of the touch screen while covered in water too. I have to think this might actually be the result of the air gap under the protective screen (more on that later).
I actually used an IRC app and was telling people about the case on IRC. Hard to read the screen with too much water beaded on it, but no big deal. They didn't believe me, so I took a picture (headshot only, hehe) and posted it to twitter, all under the running water. Worked great, and I'll be using my iPhone in the shower to listen to internet radio or my iTunes from now on.
The waterproofing, to me, was more of a "just in case" thing, but it's really quite remarkable. I can wash the case with the phone inside it, no problem. I can take it in the shower. If I had a pool, I might be tempted to take videos underwater while swimming around.
I'll take LifeProof's word for it that the shock resistance is good, I don't feel much like dropping my phone just to see if it breaks, but the thing feels really very sturdy, better than the case I used with my old 3G (which was quite fine too). Still, I watched their PR videos, and was very impressed with how much they abused the cases, in terms of shocks, so it's good to know I don't have to treat my phone too carefully. I'm sure I'll drop it eventually, but it won't be the sort of slow-motion panic-inducing moment it would be without this case.
I got a lot of grime all up in my old case, as well, so it's nice to know the LifeProof case is completely sealed from dust and dirt. If I resell the phone in a couple years, I know I can sell it as "like new" since I've never touched the glass and there's nothing in there scratching it.
In terms of call quality, I put the case on before I even charged my new iPhone, much less activated it, but when I made a test call, one of the first things the person on the other end said was how clear my voice was. I hadn't even had a chance to tell them yet I had gotten a new phone, but even through the LifeProof case, the 4S call quality was remarkable. I didn't compare it to going caseless, so I don't know how much it really impacts things, but that's still something. In terms of listening to my music over the iPhone speakers, it sounds quite loud and quite clear. If you're really worried about it, you can always use headphones, even while maintaining waterproofing (just use their screw-on attachment that comes with the case and some waterproof headphones).
The case looks great, too. It's a really clean design, built like a tank, but really slim. The amount of protection it affords is remarkable for a case this low profile. I say it's built like a tank, because it looks very much like it's a protective case. It fully encloses your phone, but it's tight-fitting, it adds very little weight, and very little size. Just on looks alone, I like it a lot better than a lot of the other cases I looked at.
As Beaverbrook said, there are a couple downsides. The glare is rather extreme, though the screen itself is bright enough, I don't think it's that big a deal. I haven't yet used my 4S extensively outdoors, but I think it'll be alright. Indoors, holding the screen towards my face as I'd normally do, there's really no glare. The screen is not entirely flush, either. I think I'd prefer it if they separated the bumpy parts and put them external to the screen protector, but it's no big deal. The touch screen is very easy to use despite the slight air pocket. I did not have to spend any time at all getting used to it. Apple makes a really good touch screen, and it works just fine with the slight gap. The thing is, you
can use a little more pressure to really press the screen, but you don't have to. It does make a tiny plasticky slapping noise when you tap it hard enough, which is really the only way to tell there's a gap.
My one real complaint is that this thing is too popular. I really want to get their belt clip, but they are sold out, or perhaps they just haven't started selling them yet. They do have a handy sign-up thing so when more go on sale you'll get an email. In the meantime, they advertise that the materials used don't stick to the inside of pockets, and I have to agree that seems to be true. As a bonus, I don't have to worry about my pockets having dirt or dust inside them, since I can just go to a sink and wash my phone off later.
So, I highly recommend this case, unless you really have a problem with glare where you use your phone. Don't worry about air pockets under the screen, they don't affect usability. In terms of protecting your phone from just about anything you could do to it accidentally, this is a really great case. In terms of letting you do things with your phone you can't do at all with most other cases, LifeProof will really give you so many more options.
If I remember tomorrow, I'll try Siri in the shower, just to see how she does with the noise, then report back. Even if Siri can't hear you well over the shower, at least you can surf the web and write an email while listening to your music. And, I suppose, get yourself clean
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