Seidio Innocase Rugged Quick Review

[dmcl]

how about the buttons?

great info in this thread! thanks to everyone who has contributed. curious about the buttons on the rugged add-on. i have a silicone case on my touch, and dislike how it makes it impossible to feel the "action" of the buttons--it's hard to tell if i'm pushing hard enough or too hard, and i get concerned that it will put constant pressure on one of the buttons. how do the buttons feel on the rugged exterior shell? can you feel the buttons click in when you press them?

thanks again!

 

[White/Rhino]

It's funny you mentioned that. I felt like I left a little something out of my comments. All three buttons work great. they give very solid feedback so you know you pushed them. They depress very easily and click when you push them. I pushed the buttons multiple time to check feedback and they fired every time. It's a very good design.

Hope that helps

 

[dmcl]

excellent! thanks again.

 

[BDoggPrelude]

It's funny you mentioned that. I felt like I left a little something out of my comments. All three buttons work great. they give very solid feedback so you know you pushed them. They depress very easily and click when you push them. I pushed the buttons multiple time to check feedback and they fired every time. It's a very good design...

100% agreed. The button feel is spot on.

 

[chris975d]

I'll second (or I guess I'm actually third-ing) it. The buttons feel great. Same responsiveness as a bare iPhone, but are also VERY protected under all that rubber.

 

[Sulaco]

Please let us know what it does contain when it arrives, as I shall be off to order myself one if it is everything apart from the second holster (which I have already ordered anyway (from a US eBay seller) as I gather it works quite nicely with the Incipio NGP case that I have).

Well I think I have everything. Described as 'Seidio iPhone 4 Rugged Holster Combo'. There is a screen guard, a holster, the hard plastic 6 fingered back, a rubber cover with the camera cover and a 2 peice harder case which is Lind with felt. I belive that is everything White/Rhino has, except the extra holster.

'Unfortunately' my Vapour case arrived today too. I now have to choose which one to use. Oh decisions decisions

 

[Sulaco]

Just noticed the line between the camera and flash, on the inner case, is raised on the inside. It does not have felt on it. When I took the case off I saw a line on the glass. This wiled off but I am concerned over time it may leave a permanent line. Do others have this line / problem?

 

[Typical Janner]

Well I think I have everything. Described as 'Seidio iPhone 4 Rugged Holster Combo'. There is a screen guard, a holster, the hard plastic 6 fingered back, a rubber cover with the camera cover and a 2 peice harder case which is Lind with felt. I belive that is everything White/Rhino has, except the extra holster.

Excellent! Just been and ordered one.

 

[Sulaco]

Just noticed the line between the camera and flash, on the inner case, is raised on the inside. It does not have felt on it. When I took the case off I saw a line on the glass. This wiled off but I am concerned over time it may leave a permanent line. Do others have this line / problem?

They checked their others and apparently they did not have this line. So it's gone back and a replacement is on it's way.

 

[chris975d]

Just noticed the line between the camera and flash, on the inner case, is raised on the inside. It does not have felt on it. When I took the case off I saw a line on the glass. This wiled off but I am concerned over time it may leave a permanent line. Do others have this line / problem?

Mine has that raised line as well. In a brand new case, it's covered in felt, but the felt comes off after a few uses. It's there to try and form a seal between the flash and camera lens, so that light bleed from the flash doesn't occur during a photo. I've never worried with it since my case fits loosely, and I have a matte screen protector on the back of my phone.

 

[Sulaco]

Mine has that raised line as well. In a brand new case, it's covered in felt, but the felt comes off after a few uses. It's there to try and form a seal between the flash and camera lens, so that light bleed from the flash doesn't occur during a photo. I've never worried with it since my case fits loosely, and I have a matte screen protector on the back of my phone.

I had a zagg cover on the back but it was too tight and wanted to peal off as I put the case on

 

[chris975d]

I had a zagg cover on the back but it was too tight and wanted to peal off as I put the case on

Really? Too tight? Maybe they are making them to a tighter fit now. I know many people have complained about the loose fit, but I've liked it because it allows me to use full front and back shields and still have a perfect fit. Some people were exchanging them (the Innocases) for tighter fitting ones, maybe they are all made tighter now. I've even tried mine with a Best Skins Ever on back, and it slides right on.

 

[Sulaco]

Really? Too tight? Maybe they are making them to a tighter fit now. I know many people have complained about the loose fit, but I've liked it because it allows me to use full front and back shields and still have a perfect fit. Some people were exchanging them (the Innocases) for tighter fitting ones, maybe they are all made tighter now. I've even tried mine with a Best Skins Ever on back, and it slides right on.

Maybe it is because the zagg is slightly 'sticky'? I will need to try a different back for it. You may be right and it's just my zagg.

 

[chris975d]

Maybe it is because the zagg is slightly 'sticky'? I will need to try a different back for it. You may be right and it's just my zagg.

In my experience with the Zagg product, it's almost identical to the Best Skins Ever product that I use (I use BSE because they are about half the price of the Zagg product). And my BSE will work fine with my Innocase. But then again, my Innocase is EXTREMELY loose on a bare iPhone, to the point that I wouldn't trust it to stay on the phone in a drop. But as I've said before, I actually like this, because it allows me to still use skins/shields on my phone (which I prefer) yet still use a slider case as well. That way I know there's no way the case, or any dirt/grit that gets under the case, will ever scratch my phone.

 

[Sulaco]

In my experience with the Zagg product, it's almost identical to the Best Skins Ever product that I use (I use BSE because they are about half the price of the Zagg product). And my BSE will work fine with my Innocase. But then again, my Innocase is EXTREMELY loose on a bare iPhone, to the point that I wouldn't trust it to stay on the phone in a drop. But as I've said before, I actually like this, because it allows me to still use skins/shields on my phone (which I prefer) yet still use a slider case as well. That way I know there's no way the case, or any dirt/grit that gets under the case, will ever scratch my phone.

Ahh right. No the case is far tighter than yours. Althought who knows what the replacement one will be. I'd have liked it to have allowed the phone in with the protector on it. I'm a 'belt and braces' kind of a guy. That's why I got this case I suppose

 

[White/Rhino]

I'm using mine with a SGP carbon skin on the back, Sgp ultra clear on the front and white Lucky Labs spectra on the sides. It was a bit of a tight fit but I didn't want anything to scratch my phone. A thinner skin would be better, say an SGP matte ultra kit. I've taken it off and on 4 times now and there are some depressions being left in the spectra wrap but it's not coming off. The Sgp ultra clear does lift a little around the top but that's not a big deal. If I was forced to choose my IPhone skin set or the Innocase I'm pretty sure I would pick the Innocase. It's really well made and feels great on your Iphone. that little strip of felt came off mine too. I don't care really. I don't believe there is anyway for the case interior to scratch my phone. I think when the newness of my IPhone 4 wears off and I tire of buying new cases the Innocase is going to go on my phone and stay there. I say this because after you use it and see and feel the protection it's hard to want to trust your IPhone in another case. After all, if you dropped your phone which case do you hope your IPhone 4 will be wearing at the time.

 

[White/Rhino]

Hey guys. I just made a small change to my case that made it much easier to use. Like I said I use an SGP carbon back skin. With the skin on it makes the fit pretty tight. I took out the thin felt lining on the inside of the slider. It just comes right out without leaving any mess and it took 2 seconds and now my Iphone 4 slides in and out with no problems with the SGP skin on. If you have a skin shield of some sort on your IPhone ( which you should ) you don't need this felt lining anyway. Tear it out and keep your preferred shield protecter on.
Also some of you may have noticed your front screen shield bubbling around the top and edges. I had my SGP ultra clear on and took it off thinking it must be to thick and I would have to use the one included with the Rugged kit. I changed it and had the same issue. I took a thin blade and shaved away the small strip that is raised between the camera and the flash and it got rid of the bubbles. Pretty easy fixes and it makes the case more useable.
Hope this helps

 

[BDoggPrelude]

....I took a thin blade and shaved away the small strip that is raised between the camera and the flash and it got rid of the bubbles...

Have you taken any pictures with the flash since doing this? That divider is there to prevent the washout effect from the flash.

 

[mpossoff]

Hi I've been wearing the defender for the past week and my only complaint is there isn't a gadget to cover back camera and flash and the case fits so perfect that it's hard to use full body screen protector.

This version for the 4 is much better than the 3GS version.

Marc

 

[Typical Janner]

I can finally stop checking this forum every few hours, as my search for the perfect case now seems to be over

I had wanted a case that would work with a screen protector, could easily fit in a pocket and had good protection for those times when the phone might be more at risk. Oh, and I also like to wear my phone on my belt.

Until now the Otterbox Defender seemed to be the closest match, but one of my other needs is the ability to use a speaker dock. By all accounts the Defender is not a case you want to be putting on and taking off frequently. I also don't particularly like its holster.

The Seidio Rugged appeared to tick all of my boxes, so I had been following this thread with interest since it first appeared. The one nagging worry was the rather mixed reviews of the InnoCase II Surface. However, I finally took the plunge earlier this week, and am now wishing I had done so much earlier.

The InnoCase II Surface is a perfect fit (with Martin Fields protectors on the front and back). This case will also work with my two speaker docks. The rugged 'skeleton' case is quick and easy to fit/remove. The holster is also very good (albeit a little different to those I have used in the past, which have always been more of a pouch style).

This won't be the perfect case for everybody, but I love the flexibility that it offers. And for what I paid (£26/$40) it is a really good buy.

 

[rapaleeman]

Hey guys. I just made a small change to my case that made it much easier to use. Like I said I use an SGP carbon back skin. With the skin on it makes the fit pretty tight. I took out the thin felt lining on the inside of the slider. It just comes right out without leaving any mess and it took 2 seconds and now my Iphone 4 slides in and out with no problems with the SGP skin on. If you have a skin shield of some sort on your IPhone ( which you should ) you don't need this felt lining anyway. Tear it out and keep your preferred shield protecter on.
Also some of you may have noticed your front screen shield bubbling around the top and edges. I had my SGP ultra clear on and took it off thinking it must be to thick and I would have to use the one included with the Rugged kit. I changed it and had the same issue. I took a thin blade and shaved away the small strip that is raised between the camera and the flash and it got rid of the bubbles. Pretty easy fixes and it makes the case more useable.
Hope this helps

This was a great tip. My anti-fingerprint kept bubbling and really irritating me. I even ripped out the felt too and wasted a screen shield thinking it was too thick.

Never thought about literally cutting out the "wall" between the flash and lens holes.

Anyway, I need to stop buying cases. I have spent way too much cash since I bought this phone.

 

[White/Rhino]

Have you taken any pictures with the flash since doing this? That divider is there to prevent the washout effect from the flash.

I haven't seen any change in pics. I took a few random shots in semi dark conditions and the images were clear like before. To be honest if it did screw up pics I still would have done it. I don't take a lot of shots that use the flash. I rather use the HDR with some lights on. One could always just pop the case off for a minute if they did have issues. The biggest improvement was removing the felt. now my phone goes in and out with no troubles. I like to change cases a lot so I see that as a plus as I don't want take off my SGP shields or Luck labs spectra every time I change cases. This divider was a big mistake. All the pics I've seen show the screen guard bubbling up because of that divider. I wasted a perfectly good SGP ultra clear thinking the thickness was the cause.

 

[chris975d]

Hey guys. I just made a small change to my case that made it much easier to use. Like I said I use an SGP carbon back skin. With the skin on it makes the fit pretty tight. I took out the thin felt lining on the inside of the slider. It just comes right out without leaving any mess and it took 2 seconds and now my Iphone 4 slides in and out with no problems with the SGP skin on. If you have a skin shield of some sort on your IPhone ( which you should ) you don't need this felt lining anyway. Tear it out and keep your preferred shield protecter on.
Also some of you may have noticed your front screen shield bubbling around the top and edges. I had my SGP ultra clear on and took it off thinking it must be to thick and I would have to use the one included with the Rugged kit. I changed it and had the same issue. I took a thin blade and shaved away the small strip that is raised between the camera and the flash and it got rid of the bubbles. Pretty easy fixes and it makes the case more useable.
Hope this helps

I tried the felt removal trick, just to see if it would stop the very slight bubble I get along the top edge of screen protector, and it made my case so loose that the darn thing would literally fall off, as it was too loose to stay snapped together. But it did fix the bubble problem! I had to put the felt back in though, as my case was unusable without it.

 

[White/Rhino]

I tried the felt removal trick, just to see if it would stop the very slight bubble I get along the top edge of screen protector, and it made my case so loose that the darn thing would literally fall off, as it was too loose to stay snapped together. But it did fix the bubble problem! I had to put the felt back in though, as my case was unusable without it.

It really does seem that some cases were made tighter than others. With the felt out and the SGP on my cases fits really, really well now. The felt helps with the fit but not the screen. I shaved down that small plastic piece and now I has one slight little bubble at the top as before I had the whole top bubbling and down the sides. I like my Rugged kit a lot but I'm not sure that the Innocase locking system is all that great as it relies on pressure from the phone to do it's job. Sorry that removing the felt hurt your fit. Did it re adhere ok? It is super thin and not really durable.

 

[chris975d]

It really does seem that some cases were made tighter than others. With the felt out and the SGP on my cases fits really, really well now. The felt helps with the fit but not the screen. I shaved down that small plastic piece and now I has one slight little bubble at the top as before I had the whole top bubbling and down the sides. I like my Rugged kit a lot but I'm not sure that the Innocase locking system is all that great as it relies on pressure from the phone to do it's job. Sorry that removing the felt hurt your fit. Did it re adhere ok? It is super thin and not really durable.

Yeah, it re-adhered fine. I think that if I put my SGP carbon back on my phone, it'd be enough thickness to keep the phone locked together. But with the thinner SGP Matte back skin on, it's not thick enough to press the lower cases locking tab up into the slot on the upper case (this is all talking about with the felt out). But it's cool. Like I've said before, I'm glad my case is a bit looser, as I like the idea of having the room to keep my skins/shields installed while still using the case. Had too many instances with my 3G/3GS where slider cases scratched my phone.