Incipio NGP Matte Soft Shell iPhone 4 Case

[Jaw3000]

I just purchased an Incipio NGP Matte case for my iPhone 4 (also sold by AT&T as the Incipio Soft Shell case), and wanted to post some first impressions. It's interesting to note that AT&T sells the same case for $5 more ($29.99) than Incipio's website ($24.99), and does not include the front screen protector film and polishing cloth Incipio includes.

On first glance, the case is great! I love the material and the matte texture, which provides just enough grip not to slide across a smooth surface. The TPU material also will not stretch, and does not pick up fuzz like silicon cases do. It fits the iPhone 4 like a glove. The button covers over the volume and lock switches press easily, with no force required. There is enough room to manipulate the silent switch, and my old right-angle Shure e3c headphones fit without a problem. Likewise, my large dock connectors don't have a problem connecting as they do with Apple's Bumper cases. As a previous forum post mentioned, there are some slight blemishes in the molding, but they are purely cosmetic and do not affect the performance of the case in any way.

My only concern so far is the front lip that goes over the glass screen. It's a little hard and rough, so I'm concerned about the possibility of scratching the screen. If anyone else has this case (or the 3GS or iPad model), I'd be really curious to hear your thoughts on this? Has anyone noticed any scratching?

 

[mev1205]

Could you post pictures (with flash - case and no case)? Does it seem to add a lot of bulk to the phone? Also what are you docking it in, I have an iHome and I'm hoping the case will allow me to still be able to dock it in that.

 

[Jaw3000]

I forgot to mention Incipio offers free shipping from the website via USPS. The case doesn't really add much bulk to the iPhone at all. This is really nice, and one of the things I like most about it. I've been able to successfully dock the iPhone with case in an old Kensington speaker. I've also used some fairly large and thick dock accessories without any problems, like a Monoprice external battery and Scosche Passport charging adapter.*

Unfortunately, there does seem to be a flash haze issue with this case. I have not been able to verify this on mine, as I'm temporarily using an old screen protector on the back which covers the flash and causes haze by itself. There is more discussion about the flash problem and some sample images towards the end of this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/951301/

Even though I like the material and fit, I'm thinking about returning this Incipio case because of the rough edges. I don't know if it will scratch the screen or the steel on the bottom of the iPhone around the dock connector or not, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did - especially if it got some specks of dirt under it. It actually seems rougher than an old Agent 18 hard plastic case I have for my iPhone 2G, which did end up scratching the silver bezel pretty badly from dirt particles that got trapped between the case and the phone. I'd love to hear the thoughts of anyone else with a NGP Matte regarding scratching.