Now my bf and I have tried the following these 3 cases and would love to provide a comparison. Hope it can help some of you out there looking for a case. 
The Incase and Belkin were from the free case program. We both LOVE the Incase Snap smoke for its style and material and resent the Belkin Shield Micra clear for its material. Bf picked the Belkin and couldn't stand it. I heard good things here about the Incipio Matte from Walmart and bought it for bf since it looks similar to the Incase we love and costs a lot less. Took some pictures (bottom of the post). Here's what we think now:
On a scale from 1-5
Incase Snap (Smoke)
Style: 5 star
Protection: 3 star
Fit: 4 star
Material quality: 5 star
Camera cutout: standard oval cut with black paint to reduce flash reflection
Retail price: $34.95 (including a transparent plastic stand)
It's a minimal case. SO thin and transparent, though its in smoke color - preserves the i4 style superbly. The sides don't wrap around the front screen, only snaps onto the metal band. Slight raised above the screen so that the front screen wouldn't touch the surface when faced down.
Some ppl say it provides zero protection. It is simply exaggerated. The back and sides are very well protected. Only top is open. (bottom open for every case anyway) It is a very precise cut. wouldn't fit with protective shields on. However, it's a perfect fit without the shields. The power and volume buttons are cut out and harder to press than without the case, but not too bad.
We can't praise enough about the high quality of the material used. It's a special texture between hard and soft, matte but of a smooth touch. It doesn't grip much to the hand, but is pretty much dust, oil, minor scratch resistant. It's "expensive" looking. Doesn't grab lint, easy to take out the pocket. The stand was OK. doesn't do much but is good to have.
The retail price is crazy, esp. with about $9 shipping via Incase homepage, that's making it $45 in total, 1/4 of a 16g i4 for something so minimal (though good-looking).
Incipio NGP Matte (Smoke):
Style: 3 star
Protection: 5 star
Fit: 5 star
Material quality: 4 star
Retail price: $19.88 (in Wal-mart, including a front screen shield)
Camera cut-out: larger oval cutout. Gives ample space not to interrupt with the flash)
The price-quality ratio is unbeatable here. It's somewhat similar to Incase with its between soft&hard material and smoke/grey color. However, it actually has a significantly different look. While the Incase looks more elegant and sleek, this one looks cuter and rounder. It somehow reminds me of soft candy cubes. =) It's way thicker than Incase, but way more protective. It wraps around the edges of the front screen and covers the top. Fits easily. The power and volume buttons are all covered and very well designed - easy to press. The material looks matte and feels sandy, thicker and softer than the Incase. It doesn't grab lint either. Though we only tried it on for a short while, we could tell that it's a durable case. Dust and oil resistant. Probably not easy to scratch either. Something extra worth mentioning - the front screen protector included is of very good quality. We both have the SGP Oleo. From the look, the included shield looks the same as the SGP oleo, though we didn't put it on. Overall, it's a good case, but it distorts the i4's original style by adding significant bulk and rounding off all the edges.
Belkin Shield Micra (Clear):
Style: 5 star for front, 1 star for back
Protetction:3 star
Fit: 2 star
Material quality: 1 star
Price: $24.99
Camera cut-out: standard oval
Don't have many good things to say about it. It's a joke for the price. The front and side actually looks great. The same cutout as the Incase, but different material used. It's also a precise cut. Maybe even a bit too tight. Since it's clear and thin, it preserves the i4 style well. The sides snap onto the metal band and don't rise above the front screen, so the front screen would be touching the surface facing down. The inside edge that snaps onto the iphone band is very rough and could easily scratch the phone. The worst is the back of the case. It's made of such cheap plastic that it's not even flat. Because of the unevenness, some places press against the phone so tightly that they leave marks (like traces of water beneath). No matter how many times we try, the marks won't go away. We didn't use back protector and the phone def. wasn't wet or damp. You can also see rainbows all over the back plastic from certain angles. It's made of the cheapest plastics Belkin could ever find... The case's also terribly scratched up in 2 weeks. However, without looking at the back, and without taking it on and off (to more easily scratch the i4), the case is great.
End of the story is, bf wants the i4 to look as close to naked as possible with some protection. Though Incipio NGP is a great case, it does look a lot bulkier and toy-like. So we are going to return the Incipio NGP smoke and just bought another Incase Snap Smoke from Ebay - about $25 including shipping. Now that is a reasonable price.
Some photos:
Incipio NGP VS Incase Snap
Incipio NGP VS Incase Snap
Incipio NGP VS Incase Snap
Incipio NGP VS Incase Snap
The Incase and Belkin were from the free case program. We both LOVE the Incase Snap smoke for its style and material and resent the Belkin Shield Micra clear for its material. Bf picked the Belkin and couldn't stand it. I heard good things here about the Incipio Matte from Walmart and bought it for bf since it looks similar to the Incase we love and costs a lot less. Took some pictures (bottom of the post). Here's what we think now:
On a scale from 1-5
Incase Snap (Smoke)
Style: 5 star
Protection: 3 star
Fit: 4 star
Material quality: 5 star
Camera cutout: standard oval cut with black paint to reduce flash reflection
Retail price: $34.95 (including a transparent plastic stand)
It's a minimal case. SO thin and transparent, though its in smoke color - preserves the i4 style superbly. The sides don't wrap around the front screen, only snaps onto the metal band. Slight raised above the screen so that the front screen wouldn't touch the surface when faced down.
Some ppl say it provides zero protection. It is simply exaggerated. The back and sides are very well protected. Only top is open. (bottom open for every case anyway) It is a very precise cut. wouldn't fit with protective shields on. However, it's a perfect fit without the shields. The power and volume buttons are cut out and harder to press than without the case, but not too bad.
We can't praise enough about the high quality of the material used. It's a special texture between hard and soft, matte but of a smooth touch. It doesn't grip much to the hand, but is pretty much dust, oil, minor scratch resistant. It's "expensive" looking. Doesn't grab lint, easy to take out the pocket. The stand was OK. doesn't do much but is good to have.
The retail price is crazy, esp. with about $9 shipping via Incase homepage, that's making it $45 in total, 1/4 of a 16g i4 for something so minimal (though good-looking).
Incipio NGP Matte (Smoke):
Style: 3 star
Protection: 5 star
Fit: 5 star
Material quality: 4 star
Retail price: $19.88 (in Wal-mart, including a front screen shield)
Camera cut-out: larger oval cutout. Gives ample space not to interrupt with the flash)
The price-quality ratio is unbeatable here. It's somewhat similar to Incase with its between soft&hard material and smoke/grey color. However, it actually has a significantly different look. While the Incase looks more elegant and sleek, this one looks cuter and rounder. It somehow reminds me of soft candy cubes. =) It's way thicker than Incase, but way more protective. It wraps around the edges of the front screen and covers the top. Fits easily. The power and volume buttons are all covered and very well designed - easy to press. The material looks matte and feels sandy, thicker and softer than the Incase. It doesn't grab lint either. Though we only tried it on for a short while, we could tell that it's a durable case. Dust and oil resistant. Probably not easy to scratch either. Something extra worth mentioning - the front screen protector included is of very good quality. We both have the SGP Oleo. From the look, the included shield looks the same as the SGP oleo, though we didn't put it on. Overall, it's a good case, but it distorts the i4's original style by adding significant bulk and rounding off all the edges.
Belkin Shield Micra (Clear):
Style: 5 star for front, 1 star for back
Protetction:3 star
Fit: 2 star
Material quality: 1 star
Price: $24.99
Camera cut-out: standard oval
Don't have many good things to say about it. It's a joke for the price. The front and side actually looks great. The same cutout as the Incase, but different material used. It's also a precise cut. Maybe even a bit too tight. Since it's clear and thin, it preserves the i4 style well. The sides snap onto the metal band and don't rise above the front screen, so the front screen would be touching the surface facing down. The inside edge that snaps onto the iphone band is very rough and could easily scratch the phone. The worst is the back of the case. It's made of such cheap plastic that it's not even flat. Because of the unevenness, some places press against the phone so tightly that they leave marks (like traces of water beneath). No matter how many times we try, the marks won't go away. We didn't use back protector and the phone def. wasn't wet or damp. You can also see rainbows all over the back plastic from certain angles. It's made of the cheapest plastics Belkin could ever find... The case's also terribly scratched up in 2 weeks. However, without looking at the back, and without taking it on and off (to more easily scratch the i4), the case is great.
End of the story is, bf wants the i4 to look as close to naked as possible with some protection. Though Incipio NGP is a great case, it does look a lot bulkier and toy-like. So we are going to return the Incipio NGP smoke and just bought another Incase Snap Smoke from Ebay - about $25 including shipping. Now that is a reasonable price.
Some photos:
Incipio NGP VS Incase Snap
Incipio NGP VS Incase Snap
Incipio NGP VS Incase Snap
Incipio NGP VS Incase Snap
