Notwithstanding the antenna issue, i have found personally that a bumper is essential.
When holding the phone the combination of steel and glass although very elegant to look at and pleasing to hold is very slippery - especially on a hot summer's day. With the bumper, you have just the right amount of grip. The only downside is that you add perhaps 2mm to the outer edge depth and width. For me the added grip outweighs this factor, not to mention the added benefit of protection from a fall..albeit, if the fall occurs on a flat surface.
I found it hard to even contemplate paying £29 for what I had previously referred to as a 'bit of rubber' - I hadn't seen one in the flesh. However luckily for me due to the shoddy way my reserved 16gb unit was held/delayed by the Regent Street UK store, I twisted their arms until they gave me a black one for free. Now that I have had it for a few days and used it almost all the time, I would definitely pay the money without hesitation. It is much more than just a cheap piece of rubber.
It's surprisingly well constructed with a one-piece hard, glossy plastic chassis edged with softish rubber. All the holes are cut very precisely and the case fits very tightly yet isn't too difficult to take-off. Apple have achieved this by ensuring that the hard plastic doesn't completely surround the frame - where you plug in your headphones there is just the rubber which means the case stretches a little.
The contrast between the hard and soft materials is also quite pretty - at least with the black bumper (to my eyes, every other colour apart from the grey/white looks ugly
.
By far the best feature is the metal buttons that have been very nicely incorporated. When I first took the bumper out of the case I was wondering how on earth those would feel. Due to the rigid yet tight design, and precision fit of the bumper, they work like a dream with only a very slightly discernible reduction in the tactile, solid feel of the original buttons. This phone looks better without it but that's not to say it looks lots worse with it.
Overall, apart from the 'antenna issue relief' (lol) that the bumper is said to provide, there are other reasons to buy it. For me a dodgy antenna is reason for a recall - let's see how it all plays out. But the bumper - I will be using one anyway, regardless, due to my experience. Is it over-priced? Of course; this is Apple after all. Is it worth owning despite this? I would argue yes. I dropped my iPhone yesterday on a stone floor and afterwards noticed a very small dent in a corner. Had the bumper been on it that wouldn't have happened.
When holding the phone the combination of steel and glass although very elegant to look at and pleasing to hold is very slippery - especially on a hot summer's day. With the bumper, you have just the right amount of grip. The only downside is that you add perhaps 2mm to the outer edge depth and width. For me the added grip outweighs this factor, not to mention the added benefit of protection from a fall..albeit, if the fall occurs on a flat surface.
I found it hard to even contemplate paying £29 for what I had previously referred to as a 'bit of rubber' - I hadn't seen one in the flesh. However luckily for me due to the shoddy way my reserved 16gb unit was held/delayed by the Regent Street UK store, I twisted their arms until they gave me a black one for free. Now that I have had it for a few days and used it almost all the time, I would definitely pay the money without hesitation. It is much more than just a cheap piece of rubber.
It's surprisingly well constructed with a one-piece hard, glossy plastic chassis edged with softish rubber. All the holes are cut very precisely and the case fits very tightly yet isn't too difficult to take-off. Apple have achieved this by ensuring that the hard plastic doesn't completely surround the frame - where you plug in your headphones there is just the rubber which means the case stretches a little.
The contrast between the hard and soft materials is also quite pretty - at least with the black bumper (to my eyes, every other colour apart from the grey/white looks ugly
.By far the best feature is the metal buttons that have been very nicely incorporated. When I first took the bumper out of the case I was wondering how on earth those would feel. Due to the rigid yet tight design, and precision fit of the bumper, they work like a dream with only a very slightly discernible reduction in the tactile, solid feel of the original buttons. This phone looks better without it but that's not to say it looks lots worse with it.
Overall, apart from the 'antenna issue relief' (lol) that the bumper is said to provide, there are other reasons to buy it. For me a dodgy antenna is reason for a recall - let's see how it all plays out. But the bumper - I will be using one anyway, regardless, due to my experience. Is it over-priced? Of course; this is Apple after all. Is it worth owning despite this? I would argue yes. I dropped my iPhone yesterday on a stone floor and afterwards noticed a very small dent in a corner. Had the bumper been on it that wouldn't have happened.
