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Final case decision

D

diane143

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 25, 2008
731
67
I've narrowed my case choices down to the following.....

Two big requirements are that I can fit my old Monster car adapter into the dock and the case extends a bit beyond the screen for protection. Some sort of drop protection would be nice. I will probably get front and back protectors.

Marware Sportgrip Edge: comes with films but not sure the Monster cable will fit. Really like the looks of it though and have an email into Marware.

Mareware Microshell: dock looks fine but I think the lip is too small

Otterbox Commuter: no idea on the dock connector but after reading reviews on here I think it's off the list???

Incase Protective Cover: more bulky that I wanted but I have one on my 1st Gen Touch. I had to trim the dock area. One of the corners ripped after 3 years so it's pretty durable.

Incipio NCP: this may be the one, not too thrilled about the colors (love the Otterbox blue, this is pretty bright). Price is good too.

If anyone can fill any of my missing info WRT bigger cables and a lip that would be great. Really need to get this ordered soon. Really wanted a bumper but don't seem to see anything that thrills me.

Thanks so much :)
Diane
 
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If you want an economical alternative, it seems many reviews say the Magpul executive field case can accommodate some larger cables (but not docks). It also has a slight lip (the regular field case has a more pronounced lip, but it is thicker and IMO not as good looking). http://store.magpul.com/product/MAG450/125

I ordered one yesterday, so if you can wait a few days , I will let you know if thicker cables work. :p
 
debating also between the ngp, magpul, and commuter. Im probably going to order the ngp or the switcheasy vulcan and get the commuter/defender from the att store as you can talk them down in price.
 
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Would love to hear your opinions on the Magpul! Really don't like the colors though, any idea what that other green looks like? I'm sure one is like an army green but can't figure out the other. I don't want something that will blend into the woods lol
 
diane143 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Would love to hear your opinions on the Magpul! Really don't like the colors though, any idea what that other green looks like? I'm sure one is like an army green but can't figure out the other. I don't want something that will blend into the woods lol
Click to expand...

Diane, I was in your exact position last night. I had a Magpul on my 3GS and absolutely loved it, so I wanted to grab one (or two) for my 4S. The problem is, I didn't know exactly which colors were which on their website (they don't make it plainly clear). Here's what I figured out...

Black (obviously it's black :D)
OD Green (this is the Army green color...dark green)
Pink and Orange are self-explanatory

The other two colors are the ones I couldn't quite figure out which was which. Here's how they go...

Foliage (this is the grayish one. If in doubt, it's the lightest of the bunch. They seem to indicate it's kinda green, but in user pictures I've seen, it looks more gray to me.)
Flat Dark Earth (this is the confusing one, because of the name. You see "dark" and think the color would be dark...but it's not. This color is the TAN one.)

I ended up picking up two (since shipping was the same for two as it was for one). I got the Foliage and OD Green. I like the Flat Dark Earth, but wasn't sure how much I'd like it on the phone.

BTW, I can't recommend these cases enough!
 
KentuckyHouse said:
Diane, I was in your exact position last night. I had a Magpul on my 3GS and absolutely loved it, so I wanted to grab one (or two) for my 4S. The problem is, I didn't know exactly which colors were which on their website (they don't make it plainly clear). Here's what I figured out...

Black (obviously it's black :D)
OD Green (this is the Army green color...dark green)
Pink and Orange are self-explanatory

The other two colors are the ones I couldn't quite figure out which was which. Here's how they go...

Foliage (this is the grayish one. If in doubt, it's the lightest of the bunch. They seem to indicate it's kinda green, but in user pictures I've seen, it looks more gray to me.)
Flat Dark Earth (this is the confusing one, because of the name. You see "dark" and think the color would be dark...but it's not. This color is the TAN one.)

I ended up picking up two (since shipping was the same for two as it was for one). I got the Foliage and OD Green. I like the Flat Dark Earth, but wasn't sure how much I'd like it on the phone.

BTW, I can't recommend these cases enough!
Click to expand...

Lol, same problem here. The foliage is indeed green, but looks more gray or more green depending on the context (what it is shown with) as well as the camera/light quality. You can really see this if you look up the colors as furniture on assault rifles made by magpul. I wish a store near me had these as I;d definitely like to see them in person.
 
Thanks for the explanation on the colors! You're right, a couple didn't make sense at all lol

I may just go with the Sportgrip Edge after all, really like the blue on that. I'll still keep my eyes open... wish the Commuter got better reviews! I may just get the bigger Otterbox for outdoors stuff in the future.

I'll ponder a couple more days and let you know. Feel free to chime in more :)
 
Diane, I can comment on the Commuter first-hand. Yes, the new ones are quite different silicone-wise than the previous version. I've got 2 of the new ones, and while I had the fitment issues with the plastic shell at first, I've found that as you use it, it breaks in and the fitment issues go away. If you look through the thread here titled something like "Otterbox Commuter is junk!", you'll see a lot of banter (lots from me defending it, then agreeing that it has problems after I got my new ones). I've been using them since the 3GS and while I hated the new, firmer silicone at first, I've now come to like it better than the previous, softer silicone.

AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint stores (if you have any near you) should carry them, so you could check them out in person. Just make sure the ones you're looking at have the large oval camera/flash opening (not the "keyhole" opening or the one that has a black plastic piece that separates the camera and flash...these have flash washout issues).
 
KH thanks for that review! I'm still torn LOL Back in the days of the early iPods there weren't so many choices!

I have a Radtech soft case on my 3G iPod that I love, so I looked at their site and saw this: http://www.radtech.us/Products/signal-iphone-protective-snap-case.aspx

Think it provides drop protection? I know they say it does. It will certainly work with my car cable.

The only thing holding me back from the Commuter is the dock port.... I wonder if an extension/adapter would be worth it?
 
diane143 said:
KH thanks for that review! I'm still torn LOL Back in the days of the early iPods there weren't so many choices!

I have a Radtech soft case on my 3G iPod that I love, so I looked at their site and saw this: http://www.radtech.us/Products/signal-iphone-protective-snap-case.aspx

Think it provides drop protection? I know they say it does. It will certainly work with my car cable.

The only thing holding me back from the Commuter is the dock port.... I wonder if an extension/adapter would be worth it?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't think that Radtech case you linked would have a lot of drop protection. From the looks of it, it's a snap case and usually those are plastic with a bit of a rubber coating on them. I've never been big on cases that leave the top and bottom of the phone open like that, though others love them.

The port on the bottom of the Commuter can be tight with some dock plugs, no doubt about that. It works just fine with my fm transmitter thing that I use in my work truck and that's quite a bulky plug. But I'm sure there are others that would be too large. In that case, an extension/adapter would be ideal to make it work and should do the trick.

One thing I will say about Otterbox. Their customer service is great. In dealing with the fitment issues I was having on one of their cases, they've now sent out another case to see if that fixes the issue (free of charge). You can't beat that.
 
I did see your most recent post in the Commuter thread. I love companies that are so willing to work with their customers!

The main reason I am leaning towards something like the Radtech is due to the damn dock port size.

This one is also high on my list and maybe would offer a bit more protection than the Radtech but I know it's not as much protection as an Otterbox. http://www.marware.com/sportgrip-edge-iphone-4-cover?sc=44&category=22859

Maybe I will just get either the Marware or Radtech for daily use (with shields) and eventually an Otterbox for outdoors (hike/run/bike). I can't see strapping the phone to my handlebars for mountain biking no matter what my case is, but I would for the road. But I would like to put it in my Camelbak and it would still be possible (though rare) for me to fall on it that way. I want the iPhone to prevent me from upgrading my old eMap GPS!

Have you been able to take a good look at the Defender? I wonder if the Commuter is a good alternative for outdoor activities without the huge bulk.

I just need to get something soon as I'm currently naked! lol
 
why is it OtterBox only shows black on their website for the commuter series? i see colored commuters all the time?
 
Wanted to update my thread..... I found a Commuter yesterday locally in the color combo I wanted.

I went to Target, Verizon, Radio Shack and Staples. They are ALL essentially out of 4S cases. Radio Shack had a ton of Commuters and some Defenders, and 2 other cases (as in quantity 2). It was pretty pathetic. But since I've been using the phone for a week now naked I'm really getting worried about damaging it.

I will say the Commuter does not add a lot of bulk. I didn't have a difficult time getting the case on, though I also didn't put the screen protector on as I may still return it. Fitment is actually very good, no gaps. Thanks to KentuckyHorse I was able to see that the Commuters at Verizon were the OLD ones with the 2 holes for the camera and flash, Radio Shack had the updated cases.

My complaints are this:
- It IS extremely difficult to press the top power button
- The dock cover makes it difficult to put the regular charging cable in it.
- To add insult to injury, the dock cover then won't close fully. A dock cover wasn't in my list of requirements but if it's there I would like it to close.

So I will keep this for now and see where I go from here. I still have to get protectors and I am kicking myself for not buying the PS ones at the Apple store 2 weeks ago as I am sure they are gone now!
 
Diane, I'm glad to see you got to pick up one of the Commuters. Just a couple of comments on your concerns...

I've found that the lock button cover loosens up with use and becomes easier to push. I had the same concern when I got my first one, but it has definitely gotten better.

I've got the same problem with the dock cover on mine not wanting to close fully. One side will "snap" in, but the other side wants to hang out just a bit. I'm hoping that this will also fix itself as I use the case more and the silicone loosens up.

While I stated in my review thread that I actually like the newer silicone now (whereas I hated it at first), I believe the dock cover is the one area where Otterbox kinda messed it up. The old style silicone doesn't have the notch where the cover connects to the back of the silicone and because it was much more flimsy, it didn't need it. But with the newer, stiffer silicone, it's almost like that notch is pulling the cover out of the shell, causing it to not seat properly. Again, though, I'm hoping this works itself out over time.
 
At first it was sticking out on just one side but now it won't seat at all. I'll try and get a pic of it later. It's not too bad but it is slightly annoying. For someone who actually would need their dock port covered, this would be a bad thing.

I haven't tried to put headphones in yet. The volume buttons seem to work ok. Mute button is a HAIR off center but works just fine.

BTW I didn't hve to do the silicome massaging you mentioned, everything really went on very well - but I don't have front or back protectors!
 
Pix as promised

What's funny is the pic from of the top shows a small gap... which can only be seen from that angle. I never noticed it till I took the pic. All in all I'm pleased with the fit after reading past comments, with the exception of the dock port cover.
 

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Nice! I've got that combo too, though I put the black shell on the blue silicone (I love to mix it up). You'll enjoy it, for sure! It's a great case and, like I said before, I think the little issues will work themselves out with use.

Congrats!
 
It doesn't fit my car cable at ALL. I also have a Dream Machine with dock but I can use the Touch on that. I may try the car without the outer cover and see if that helps. In the meantime I'm looking at new cables since it will only play in the car, not charge.
 
Yep, if I remove the outer shell of the Commuter, it will fit my cable with no problem.

I'm still researching new cable solutions but at least I can play it in the car again, even if I can't charge it.

<mostly happy> lol
 
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