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There's only one thing worse than the death grip that iPhone 4 owners face: a lack of good cases. I've been looking for decent case options since I bought my iPhone 4, and I've got to say, I think I could find a wild goose with less trouble.
I thought I had basic requirements: thin hardshell case to cover and protect the backside glass along with raised edge coverage along the front to protect the face if I happen to place it face-down.
The Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 4 Bumper has the right idea for side and corner coverage, but there's no real back protection, and I'm a big fan of full rear coverage. Sure, I'm a bit hard on my iPhone, but that's why I used to have a hard case. It's handy for placing the iPhone in bags, the hard case back faces outside to handle the elements, while the screen faces the softer interior of the bag. For hiding my iPhone out of sight in the console of my pickup, the same principle applies -- hard side protective case handles the poky, scratchy elements while the face gets the most protected placement. With a bumper case, nobody's got my back!
Sure, You Can Buy It, But It Ships in 6-8 Weeks
Of course, looking online, you can find some cases. There seems to be plenty of silicone-type soft cases, but I'm a hard-case guy. I hate floppy, mushy soft cases that attract lint. There are some hard cases, but most I've seen -- without naming any names -- come up short on the front portion of coverage. The iPhone 4 snaps in, but I'd like to see a little rollover grab around the edges. The model I found that I liked? Apparently it had a problem obscuring the iPhone 4's LED flash. So it was out.
Others have barely any reviews, if any at all, so that makes it even harder to make a sight-unseen purchase. Go straight to a company's website, and while you might find some small pictures, most aren't available to order yet, even if you can discern anything useful from the photos and description.
The Perfect Storm
I think we can blame Gizmodo. Seriously, if these guys hadn't posted pictures of the iPhone 4 prototype, maybe Apple would have done a better job working with case manufacturers to get cases ready for launch. As it was, maybe Apple locked up after the prototype problem. So the case I mentioned that obscures the LED flash? Could be a manufacturer who jumped the gun trying to get to market with limited information. In fact, at the Apple's PR media event on Friday, where Apple CEO Steve Jobs addressed media representatives, he said that Apple didn't show the iPhone 4 to anyone beforehand. So case manufacturers have been scrambling.
Plus, the case hunt has definitely been exacerbated by the intense demand for iPhone 4. If any cases hit the market, they've likely been snapped up quickly.
My local AT&T (NYSE: T) store doesn't have any in stock, so I can't even look at some options. Radio Shack didn't have any in either, and an Apple Retail Store in the Seattle area didn't so much as have an empty spot on a display hook for an iPhone 4 case. I asked a pair of Apple Store employees if they had any cases for the iPhone 4 or knew of when they might get some in? They looked at each other and laughed. (They stifled their laughter quickly and tried to get serious with the answer, which was "No, sorry.")
Then there's this whole "Death Grip" thing, where iPhone 4 users drop calls if they touch the external antenna wrong. Cases fix this problem, so customers who spend time in areas with weaker signals have most certainly been some early adopters of cases they might not otherwise have purchased.
Sure, I can death grip my iPhone and see the bars go down, but I've been lucky -- no dropped calls that I would attribute to grip.
Meanwhile, at the Friday press conference, Jobs mentioned that he believes the death grip problem is actually worse than it might have been when the 3GS shipped because there were cases available for the 3GS immediately at launch. Of course, the 3GS shared the same footprint as the iPhone 3G, so there were many workable options right away. And as for Apple's own Bumper case, only 20 percent of iPhone 4 buyers walk out the door with a Bumper.
And what of that case-less 80 percent? I bet they were thinking they could find a much better case somewhere else; after all, I've seen iPhone 3G/S cases in truck stops in the middle of nowhere.
We've Been Spoiled
Long-time iPhone owners have been spoiled. Not only did we get two years of essentially the same design, making it easy for case manufacturers, but there's also the fact that the iPhone has achieved such a high level of sales success that case manufacturers see it as an excellent market opportunity -- hence, lots of product, lots of choices.
Just not yet.
On the day after the AT&T launch, I was able to pick up up an Invisible Shield by Zagg. It's basically a two-sided screen protector. It's not bad. Upon application, I managed to create three bubbles on the front. Sure, I swore. But the instructions said not to worry; they would disappear within a few days. And they did!
Sometime this week, Apple will announce its death grip case freebie program, where iPhone 4 customers will get a free Bumper case (and if we're really lucky, some other case option). Apple said they couldn't manufacture enough Bumpers ...
My neighbors, by the way, have a pair of iFrogz cases, which are apparently available at Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and AT&T stores, just not online at your regular online retail outlets. And if you're a fan of purple or blue, you might find one available that hasn't been snapped up.
In the meantime, I'm still being gentle with my iPhone 4. Really, really gentle.
MacNewsWorld columnist Chris Maxcer has been writing about the tech industry since the birth of the email newsletter, and he still remembers the clacking Mac keyboards from high school -- Apple's seed-planting strategy at work. While he enjoys elegant gear and sublime tech, there's something to be said for turning it all off -- or most of it -- to go outside. To catch him, take a "firstnamelastname" guess at Gmail.com.
