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Otterbox iPhone 3GS review!
- Thread starter nezff
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Is lint a problem with this case? Also, for those with the white case, does it get dirty easily? And if so, is it easy to clean? Thanks!
Have had two white ones one on my 3g and a fresh one for my 3gs... the old one was still clean despite season through the desert and various moto tracks... where everything gets dirty... other than having to clean the speaker ports with a cue tip occasionally they've held up great..cleaned once when selling with 3g with simple green after 6 months use and looked just as good as the fresh one...have always kept in my pocket just cause im not a belt clip kinda guy and screen holds up pretty well too.
- Yes lint is a problem when it gets on the inside.
- Yes i have the pure white one and it gets dirty easy but at least you can see them instead of blindly hide them in black.
- Yes it's kinda easy to clean. The rubber layer can be cleaned with just water and gentle woman soap like DOVE.
i assume like so?
Mine doesn't have the audio paper protection... just the donut foam but not the paper that cover the speakers. How could this be ?
ya man, thats it. one of my foamies was on a little crooked. yours are better placed than mine were.
what is your opinion on the sound quality? do you think the volume has decreased since you installed the case. sometimes i think my ringer is harder to hear than it was. but then i also think my head is playing games with me.
i experimented by playing audio and slipping it in and out of the case with negligible change. but i still think it quieter sometimes.....
i'd consider punching out the papers if i had a different job. my job is super dirty and it just would cause trouble for me.
overall i gotta say this case is better than i expected. i do have a need for such a case and i feel this case really fits the bill.
i haven't noticed a decrease in the ringer, but i have a pretty loud ring for a ringtone. when music comes from it though, it seems like i've had to turn it up a lil bit than i used to. the ports are also easily blocked by my hands if playing a game, which dramatically reduces the sound (naturally). these minor things don't bother me though, as it's the best protection out there so far
maybe the lack of paper covers is allowing lint to enter? but the foam should stop that i guess now that i think of it.... anyway i work with alot of coal dust and i dont seem to get any dust inside. not yet anyway.. but maybe my papers will get plugged with dust down the road.
I went through this thread, and see there are two main problems people are discussing:
a. Echo coming from the speakers
b. Watermark between the built-in protective layer and the screen
Here are my questions:
1. Is OtterBox now shipping Defender cases that fix the echo? If so, does that mean I should by them straight from OtterBox to get the fix or will somewhere like Buy.com have these updated cases (where you can get them for 35% cheaper)?
2. Are you guaranteed to see a watermark out of the box? And I wasn't clear in reading this thread....do you see the watermark if you DO use another protective skin underneath (e.g. Power Support)? Or do you see the watermark if there is no protective skin on your iPhone and you are just using the built-in screen protection that Defender provides?
3. Do you see the watermark on both the iPhone 3G and 3GS? I have a 3GS.
How are some of you able to get the Black over white? Is it a special order or did most of you buy 2 and and just switch them around?
Wow to each his own I guess.
I never understood cases. You put a bulky case on something to protect it and keep it from getting scratched, however you never get to see it outside its case so....
I dunno. Maybe its just me.
I never understood cases. You put a bulky case on something to protect it and keep it from getting scratched, however you never get to see it outside its case so....
I dunno. Maybe its just me.
1. yes they are shipping a fixed echo version of the case. Probably safest to get direct from otterbox... buy.com may have their own stock.
2.Probably i had 3g and 3gs and had problem with both although I used to use the powder fix and that worked for a few days although the palm grease/sweat one does work for weeks before spots start showing up again...never tried the anti glare screen protector fix...
3? yeah he has two cases that he's mixing...
resell value and accidental drops are the reasons I keep my iphone in an otterbox.... I can throw it on the table, set it down anywhere without fear of scratching my iphone or breaking it.
Why do you assume our reason for buying a case is so it doesn't get scratched? The main reason many buy something like the Otterbox is to protect against breakage due to drops or other, more "care free" use. I let my kids and their friends pass my phone around to choose music, take or share photos & videos, and play games. It's the social nature of this phone over others that led me to put a rugged case on it and know that it's protected against the most common accidents.
1. Last week I ordered a Defender for a friend from Amazon (I have Amazon Prime and he wanted it here fast, for cheap). It showed up with the foam protectors and the white coverings as well. It was $32 from them.
2 & 3. Yes you will see a watermark regardless of 3G, 3GS, with or without a screen protector. Some use the baby powder trick, some use the skin oil trick, but I wasn't happy with either so I cut away the screen protector from the Defender case.
it's you.
some of us don't care to "show off" our phone, and actually care about protecting an investment. if you want to see your phone, then go get a nice clear case so you and everyone else can admire it every time you use it. have fun though when you it accidentally drop it on the concrete.
piece of mind is worth it to me.
...or maybe it's just us
That black over white looks pretty slick. They should offer that as a standard model.
Mine doesn't have the audio paper protection... just the donut foam but not the paper that cover the speakers. How could this be ?
Same. My foam is blue, case is pink. Could be an 'old version'? Whichever is old...
Ok I got the new clip today. Same as the old clip still not confidence inspiring. I sent them another email and am awaiting their response. I haven't had my phone fall out of the clip yet, but I am OCD about checking for it. I like the case more each day though
Ok another update. I just got an email back from them stating they are looking into the issue but have no fix. They suggest heating the clip with a hair dryer and bending the clip in a bit. I will try that after work tonite and report back. After all I have a spare clip now to experiment with.
that would be a nice combination, but not sure how many people would buy it. I know it looks better than that darn yellow and black
The anti glare works from what ive heard. I have two of them from power support that I am going to try today or tomorrow. I have 4 power support crystal films as backup.
I am the only one that i have seen on here with the black on white case. I originally ordered the white one and otterbox sent me a replacement for another black one I had, so I just switched the silicon around.
I know that accessory depot shipped me a pink one with the updated speaker holes. Basically they just cut the paper out of the speaker holes.
From what ive seen: I have two white ones, one with foam and paper, the other with the donuts and paper.
I have two black ones, one with donuts and paper and the other with foam and paper.
The pink one has foam and no paper.
it looks like the paper is over the speaker holes.Mine doesn't have the audio paper protection... just the donut foam but not the paper that cover the speakers. How could this be ?
the white is very easy to clean. I had this one on my phone for about a week. I swapped the white silicon out for the black and like it better due to it not getting dirty as easy.
the new version is the pink cases without the paper over the speakers which I dont like.
Thanks
I just wanted to say thanks for this thread. Especially the picture of the foam donuts that (I assume) indicate the new no-echo version and the comments that one ordered recently from Amazon had those donuts. I had watched several YouTube reviews but this thread pushed me over the edge.
I got mine today (black from Amazon) and it has both the foam donuts and the paper over the holes. Coming from a ruggedized flip phone, the Otterbox makes me much more comfortable with my iPhone. It is much easier to hold (these things are really slippery without a case, already dropped it once earlier in the week when trying to put it back in my pocket) and I'm not worried about destroying it anymore.
I'm a photojournalist so I'm running around everyday and never know where I'll end up: could be anything from a simple portrait in the studio to a petro-chemical plant fire. My stress level about the iPhone dropped significantly after I strapped it into the Otterbox.
At the moment it is on with only the built-in screen protector and the "oil slick" issue is starting to bug me. I'll be anxious to hear if the Power Support anti-glare (or Crystal) fix the issue. I'm really hoping I won't have to resort to the "cut out the built-in protector" method mentioned earlier in this thread.
EDIT: I forgot to mention I also have a small problem with the headphone jack cover not sealing properly. It sticks up on the side toward the center of the phone no matter what I do. I plan to email them and see what they think.
Again that black over white looks really nice. Gives it just a splash of contrast and personality without being super bright like the all white or pink. I'm a little worried that if I ever drop my black one I'll have trouble finding it, especially at night. That alone would have made me seriously consider the yellow model if it would have been in stock at Amazon. Personally if I were Otterbox I'd consider offering mix-n-match colors on their website.
.
I just wanted to say thanks for this thread. Especially the picture of the foam donuts that (I assume) indicate the new no-echo version and the comments that one ordered recently from Amazon had those donuts. I had watched several YouTube reviews but this thread pushed me over the edge.
I got mine today (black from Amazon) and it has both the foam donuts and the paper over the holes. Coming from a ruggedized flip phone, the Otterbox makes me much more comfortable with my iPhone. It is much easier to hold (these things are really slippery without a case, already dropped it once earlier in the week when trying to put it back in my pocket) and I'm not worried about destroying it anymore.
I'm a photojournalist so I'm running around everyday and never know where I'll end up: could be anything from a simple portrait in the studio to a petro-chemical plant fire. My stress level about the iPhone dropped significantly after I strapped it into the Otterbox.
At the moment it is on with only the built-in screen protector and the "oil slick" issue is starting to bug me. I'll be anxious to hear if the Power Support anti-glare (or Crystal) fix the issue. I'm really hoping I won't have to resort to the "cut out the built-in protector" method mentioned earlier in this thread.
EDIT: I forgot to mention I also have a small problem with the headphone jack cover not sealing properly. It sticks up on the side toward the center of the phone no matter what I do. I plan to email them and see what they think.
Again that black over white looks really nice. Gives it just a splash of contrast and personality without being super bright like the all white or pink. I'm a little worried that if I ever drop my black one I'll have trouble finding it, especially at night. That alone would have made me seriously consider the yellow model if it would have been in stock at Amazon. Personally if I were Otterbox I'd consider offering mix-n-match colors on their website.
.
Just bought the Power Support anti-glare film and it fixed the water mark issue! No more powdering my case!
Just bought the Power Support anti-glare film and it fixed the water mark issue! No more powdering my case!
I will try and get around to putting the anti glare on today to confirm this. I have heard it works.