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chris975d

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 21, 2008
1,795
55
Georgia, USA
I just thought I'd post a quick review (with pictures) of the Griffin Reveal for iPhone 4 that I picked up this morning.

As you can see from the pictures, I picked up the white model of this case, even though I currently have the black iPhone 4 (I plan on picking up the white iPhone 4 when it's released).

The case is composed of 2 materials, a silicone band around the edges (very much like the Apple Bumper case), with a hard polycarbonate clear back piece to protect the back of the phone. On the phone, it's a very slim fitting case that doesn't add very much thickness to the phone at all (even with the Reveal installed on the iPhone 4, it's still thinner than my 3GS WITHOUT a case).

The silicone making up the soft edge part of the case is not an overly tacky material, unlike most full silicone cases, which I normally can't stand due to the amount of lint they pick up. It's slightly "grippy", without picking up lint or grabbing your pants pocket when pulling the phone out. The only thing I'm worried about with the white silicone model is that it might show dirt over a period of time, but I've found in my experience in cases that a quick wipe down with Clorox Clean-Up brings matte white cases right back to their original whiteness. The silicone wraps around the front edge of the phone just a bit to form a slightly raised lip around the screen to keep it from touching a surface when laying screen side down. It also forms a similar raised lip on the back surface, around the edge of the clear plastic back, to keep it off of a surface as well. I'd assume this is to help keep the polycarbonate back from scratching as much, since in my experience, the material is very prone to scratching when used for cases. The silicone on the sides does cover the volume controls and top power button, but is very easy to press and doesn't hinder the function of those buttons at all. All the appropriate cut out holes for the dock connector, speakers, and headphone jack all line up perfectly, as well as the camera and flash holes in the back material.

One negative regarding it is that it does seem to exhibit some slight watermarking on the back of the case, since the plastic is a very clear, very smooth material pressing up against a similar finish glass material. I'm sure a touch of baby powder could fix that, but it's not that bad (the picture below looks worse than it actually is...from straight on, it's barely noticeable).

All in all, I like this case, and I'm usually a case-whore (have about 30 for my 3GS!). It's a good alternative to the Apple Bumper with added back protection, and is $5 dollars cheaper to boot! In my opinion, it's MUCH better than the same model (Griffin Reveal) for the previous gen 3GS. And the white on black contrast is actually growing on me as well.

If anyone has any questions regarding it, please feel free to ask.










Edit: Found a potentially critical flaw in this case. When taking photos using the flash, the light from the flash bounces back and shows up as a haze in the photos, and makes the photos look more washed out. I've included images below so that you can see what it looks like. The first photo is without the case, and the second photo is with the case installed. You can see how the "haze" seems to be more concentrated in the lower left corner, as this is where the flash is located in landscape picture taking orientation. I'm taking this case back due to this.



 

filmation

macrumors newbie
Jun 23, 2010
7
0
I have the same case (the white one) and this only seems to happen sometimes. I went around taking pictures and sometimes there was haze, sometimes there was not. Very odd. I think I am just going to keep this one until cooler cases come out down the road.
 

wishman35

macrumors regular
Jan 9, 2009
213
0
I like the look of the Griffin Reveal considering it is the Apple Bumper with the necessary back protection and it is cheaper.

The ONLY problem I see with the case is that plastic back protection is VERY prone to scratches and whatnot. The cases I looked at already didn't look too great.
 

01jamcon

macrumors 6502a
Jul 24, 2006
511
0
London
I have the same case (the white one) and this only seems to happen sometimes. I went around taking pictures and sometimes there was haze, sometimes there was not. Very odd. I think I am just going to keep this one until cooler cases come out down the road.

Maybe it only used the flash some of the time?
 

BiomaxDDS

macrumors regular
Oct 11, 2009
124
0
Shapie covers up the plastic part that reflects the light. Do a search on the subject here, there was a thread talking about this
 

Struzor

macrumors newbie
Jun 28, 2010
1
0
The case is available at Best Buy, i've seen both the black and white models at two Best Buys here in Florida.
 

KidFresh

macrumors regular
May 11, 2009
102
0
NYC
Thoughts on sticking a skin to the back of the case? I know it sounds like overkill but it can save your case from scratches.
 

maximus96

macrumors 6502a
Sep 25, 2007
751
153
Thoughts on sticking a skin to the back of the case? I know it sounds like overkill but it can save your case from scratches.

then you'd need another skin to save that skin from scratches, then another one on top to save that skin, etc
 

falcon26

macrumors member
Jun 27, 2010
36
0
Where did you get it if I might ask? I've looked high and low on the internet and in store and can't find any reveal cases in white...
 

USMCSSGT

macrumors member
Feb 17, 2008
56
0
Beaufort, SC
I have the same case on a black iP4 and I love it.

I bought mine from BestBuy for $24.99. They also have black, which of course changes the white rubber to black with the same clear back.

I've heard of the flash issues, but haven't really noticed it, but I haven't taken a lot of pics with flash yet either. Overall, I'm very happy with the case.
 

Superhero

macrumors newbie
Jun 16, 2010
16
0
Has anyone tried this to see if it works?

Sharpied mine immediately after purchase. Tipped the Best Buy mobile manager off as well, he wasn't very happy with the cases.

The sharpy did improve the quality of the photo. Just take a sharpie and go around the edges inside the lens cut out of the case.

GL.

EDIT: My Zagg custom skin for the back will be in within a couple days, I'll let you guys know if it fits with the reveal...the 3gs had trouble with this. Let's hope they fixed it.
 

gapperonduty

macrumors 6502
Jun 30, 2010
350
0
using one now

looks nice

but the edges of the rubber edges are too flimsy...especially the bottom near the speaker...very annoying and distracting actually...

anyone knows something like the reveal but maybe better-made?
 

tokiidokii

macrumors regular
Feb 23, 2008
122
0
i had this case for 4 days. while it was a decent case, some negatives reared their ugly head in such a short amount of time. for one, i started to really like the white color. however, the white silicon started turning yellowish already; it also started to pick up some blue color from my jeans pocket (this is from normal use).

also, like someone said, the silicon is very floppy/loose at the bottom (it's the strip of silicon that's above the pin connector) and feels like it will easily snap if it accidentally gets caught in something. the silicon is also somewhat tacky so it gets caught in your pocket all the time but surprisingly, it doesn't pick up any lint.

the biggest flaw of all has to be the back plate and flash. i refuse to do the permanent marker trick out of principle (seriously you're going to pay 25 dollars for a case, only to deface it so your camera's flash can work as intended?)

anyway, when i found out the bumper was in stock, i returned this case and got a black bumper. while the bumper doesn't cover the back and is regarded as being too expensive, imo the bumper is still the better product (build quality definitely), especially for people who want to keep the aesthetic of the phone.

i'm not clumsy and i take very good care of my things so to me, a bumper is probably enough. although i might get a film thing for the back in a week or two, just in case.
 

NetBaffle

macrumors newbie
Jul 1, 2009
17
0
FYI: I noticed for the few days that my iPhone 4 was in the Griffin Reveal, I noticed teeny tiny little scratches begin to appear, but they are very light. You can only see them when viewing the back at the right angle in bright light. My guess is that dust and other particles are getting between the back of the case and the glass back of the phone. So I'm returning my Reveal. Next, I'll try the Apple Bumper/Screen protector combo.
 

FrankySavvy

macrumors 68000
Mar 4, 2010
1,583
760
Long Island, NY
I have the reveal in black and it's great!...I tried the black bumper and loved it but it wouldn't work with my car stereo adaptor and car charger...sucks!
 

LordOBoogie

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2009
911
1
The Reveal will definitely collect dust and eventually scratch up your phone. That why I took mine back to Best Buy. The plastic back gets all scratched up, too. Looks gross pretty fast.
 

BiomaxDDS

macrumors regular
Oct 11, 2009
124
0
The Reveal will definitely collect dust and eventually scratch up your phone. That why I took mine back to Best Buy. The plastic back gets all scratched up, too. Looks gross pretty fast.

had it for 5 days. the white silicone part is now turning yellow and blue :rolleyes: back plastic cover is beginning to get all scratched up :rolleyes:
anyone know if bestbuy will still take it back though?
 

tokiidokii

macrumors regular
Feb 23, 2008
122
0
had it for 5 days. the white silicone part is now turning yellow and blue :rolleyes: back plastic cover is beginning to get all scratched up :rolleyes:
anyone know if bestbuy will still take it back though?

lol if you look up i posted the same thing!

i had the white one and after 4 days of normal use it started to turn yellow and it also picked up the blue from my jean pocket. anyway you have 30 days to return it to bestbuy.

i'm always careful when i open stuff so i pretty much just put the case back in the box and returned it. they didn't even open it. got the black apple bumper afterwards and i'm very happy with it.
 

MotleyGrrl

macrumors 6502
Jun 15, 2010
386
20
Chicago, IL
I thought it totally sucked. picked up a black one until my bumper comes but couldn't even stand it for a few hours. the sides are way too loose and it just looked awful. I exchanged it for an ifrogz luxe which turned out to be $4 cheaper and I love it.
 

kthnxshwn

macrumors regular
Jun 17, 2010
232
16
I got black one about a week ago and honestly, I didn't like it at all. From looking at it, you may think it's nice and the perfect case for what you need, but it makes your phone feel like a little brick and the rubber sits and collects dust while you don't use it.

That being said, I also had a bumper coming in the mail and din't expect to love it the way I do. I know it only covers the sides, but I'm going to buy an SGP Steinheil EX Crystal Film for the back sooner or later and then my iPhone will be set.
 

modifiedbear

macrumors newbie
Jul 2, 2010
13
0
Just got my black reveal with the Zagg IS yesterday. It will do for now, until something better comes out.

I did notice that on the back of my case where the cut out for the camera is, there is already a ring of black around the edges (like what people were doing with the sharpie) but this came out of the box like this. Anyone else have this? Maybe Griffin is already aware of the flash problem?

I did a test with the case off and the case on and found no difference.
 
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