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Bit the bullet, picked up the Defender

AuroraProject

AuroraProject

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 19, 2008
1,113
11
Right there
So my iPhone 4 is about 4 months old and today while cleaning it I discovered many hairline scratches on both sides. They are very hard to see, but I'm kinda ocd about stuff, my old 3G had a 1/4" scratch on the screen that you could feel with a fingernail and it drove me nuts! Anyway, I decided it was time for the Otterbox Defender. My hands get very dirty at work, and I rarely take the time to clean them before using the phone, so I wanted something that will keep all of the glass protected.
First impression is good, I have large hands, so the added bulk feels fine to me. I like the extra grip. The screen membrane is good, no watermarking, but it has a slight grain that can be seen, oh well. I got black on black, and it's a lint/dust magnet. The holster is not so great, I'll try it for a week, but I have a feeling the phone will just end up in my pocket.
While I was in the at&t store the sales guy also showed me one I have never seen before. It was blue plastic with black silicone. I've seen plenty of the black plastic with blue silicone, but never the other way around.
I wont post any pics, as you've all seen it before. I think I'm done with cases for awhile (finally!), but the blue plastic one has me thinking. ;)
 
I tried a defender but it was way overkill for me and I returned it a couple days later.
 
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The Defender is a nice case. It was the first case I purchased and I was impressed with the quality. I ended up returning as I found it to be bulky for my needs.
 
my commuter bit the dust after two months of use, i got the early model so it could be changed up now. me and a friend both dropped our cases and the plastic back piece cracked and eventually broke, not the quality from otterbox i have had on my other devices. but they are actually sending me two cases now because mine was such a factory mishap they said.
 
weisjt said:
my commuter bit the dust after two months of use, i got the early model so it could be changed up now. me and a friend both dropped our cases and the plastic back piece cracked and eventually broke, not the quality from otterbox i have had on my other devices. but they are actually sending me two cases now because mine was such a factory mishap they said.
Click to expand...

At least it was the case and not the phone. :)
 
I've grown to love my Defender for my iPhone 4 and you will as well. Haha. I constantly find reasons to get myself to take the case off but I end up putting it back on after a few hours of using it bare. I admit, the case is bulky and I DO miss the slimness of the phone but I have grown use to the thickness of the Defender and feels comfortable in my hands. The only downside I can say is it sticks in the pockets but you get use to that as well.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I have a Defender and had it for about 6 months. I don't use it all the time, but when I need something with more protection, it's ready and waiting. It has not failed me yet! It's just not an everyday 24/7 type of case but it serves a purpose.
 
So after a couple days here's some thoughts. I don't mind the bulk at all, and the holster/clip thing has grown on me. I don't like the amount of dust that collects in the front camera and proximity sensor cutouts, have to clean that with a qtip pretty much every day. Also it seems like the plastic has a loose fit to the phone, the whole thing creaks a lot in the hand, wondering if a back film would tighten it up a bit. The screen cover gets a rainbow effect randomly, no biggie. It does stick in the pocket, and turns the pocket out every time i remove it. Overall a solid choice for top notch protection of the phone. I would recommend this case for extreme protection.
 
Since you don't seem to mind the bulk all that much. You might wanna try out the Seidio Rugged. Personally I think it puts the Defender to shame plus it has port covers just about everywhere to keep out the dust.
 
AuroraProject said:
So after a couple days here's some thoughts. I don't mind the bulk at all, and the holster/clip thing has grown on me. I don't like the amount of dust that collects in the front camera and proximity sensor cutouts, have to clean that with a qtip pretty much every day. Also it seems like the plastic has a loose fit to the phone, the whole thing creaks a lot in the hand, wondering if a back film would tighten it up a bit. The screen cover gets a rainbow effect randomly, no biggie. It does stick in the pocket, and turns the pocket out every time i remove it. Overall a solid choice for top notch protection of the phone. I would recommend this case for extreme protection.
Click to expand...

Shoot customerservice@otterbox.com an email with a pic of your OB and your name & date on a piece of paper and let them know that it creaks. They will send you a brand new one very quickly.
 
I checked out both the Defender and Commuter. Truth be told, the Defender is one heck of a case. But I went with the Commuter... just better for my needs.
 
AuroraProject said:
So after a couple days here's some thoughts. I don't mind the bulk at all, and the holster/clip thing has grown on me. I don't like the amount of dust that collects in the front camera and proximity sensor cutouts, have to clean that with a qtip pretty much every day. Also it seems like the plastic has a loose fit to the phone, the whole thing creaks a lot in the hand, wondering if a back film would tighten it up a bit. The screen cover gets a rainbow effect randomly, no biggie. It does stick in the pocket, and turns the pocket out every time i remove it. Overall a solid choice for top notch protection of the phone. I would recommend this case for extreme protection.
Click to expand...

My Defender used to creak, but I put a faux carbon fiber back on it, and now when I do use it, no creak. So yes, a back film will or should remove the creak.
 
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