Review: Speck 3G iPhone Cases

When ever you purchase quality portable electronics you usually want to purchase a protective cover for it so you can keep  it in better physical condition and looking great. This is how I think anyway, if I purchase an electronic gadget I try and keep it in best physical condition as long as I own it and most recently this goes for my Apple 3G iPhone.

Speck Products (founded 2001, California) has a few stylish ways of protecting your Apple 3G iPhone which also might help you stand out from the crowd a bit as well.

Speck SeeThru

The Speck SeeThru 3G iPhone line offers some protection from scratches to your iPhone case but also can act as a stand for when you are watching movies.

The SeeThru case comes in 6 colours and is easily attached to your iPhone. They also have rubberized grips to ensure you have a harder time letting go of your Apple 3G iPhone.

All of the external controls and ports are not covered up so it allows you to easily use your headphones, or turn up the ringer and even plug it into your USB cable for syncing without having to be removed. I find that to be a great bonus when it comes to electronic gadgets.

I have been using the SeeThru case on my 3G iPhone now for some time and it has also protected my iPhone from a fall while rollerblading. Without knowing where to look on the case you cannot tell that my iPhone dropped to the cement while rollerblading around Vancouver. Pretty cool protection and I was quite impressed.

There are a few issues I have found with the SeeThru case which has shown up throughout my use of the case and they are:

• Side rubber grips can come off if in a warm area such as a pocket. Perhaps a better contact cement could be used to keep the grips in place? I have found them on the inside of my pockets or stuck to the front of my iPhone’s screen at times.
• No screen protector. Perhaps offer a screen protector you can apply to  help reduce scratches to it. Though I have been told that the screen on the 3G iPhones is made of some sort of scratch resistant glass.
• I have found that with sliding the cover on and off to use it as the stand, that it has worn down the tabs that hold the 2 piece cover together and sometimes the iPhone can come out of its cover.

Overall I still use the SeeThru hard shell case to protect the case of my Apple 3G iPhone and have not quite found anything that offers a minimalist cover without taking away from look and feel of my iPhone. For a basic case protector that offers a unique look I would (and have) recommended the SeeThru case to people.

Speck PixelSkin

The Speck Pixelskin cover is a lightweight, form-fit protective case for the Apple 3G iPhone that is really easy to use and comes in 7 fun colours.

Just slip the silicon case over your iPhone and that’s it. It has openings for all the ports and easy to use covers for the controls such as the mute, speaker volume and power buttons without taking away from the ‘chicklet’ looking design.

Due to the simplistic nature of silicon skin type cases there is not much more to mention about the PixelSkin. It fits nice, easy to put on and take off and feels alright in the hand. Just not something I would personally use.

Speck ToughSkin

Looking for a bit more protection from accidental bumps or even a small drop without adding bulk to your Apple 3G iPhone? The ToughSkin might be the case you need to look at.

The ToughSkin is a bit more involved when putting your iPhone into it and it does have a more industrial feel and look once it is together.

Worried about being able to fit you iPhone in the dock? You don’t need to worry, just swing the bottom part open and there you go, easy access to dock you iPhone. You can even have it stand up while using the bottom portion of the ToughSkin has a support!

The ToughSkin also comes with a holster which you can attach to you pocket, pants, belt with the belt clip. The belt clip also acts as a stand (similar to the SeeThru) for those times when you want to watch a movie without holding your iPhone.

I have dropped my iPhone while it was in the ToughSkin but not from an impressive height. The iPhone and it’s case survived without a scratch or something being loosened on the inside. Though what inside the iPhone might break loose? Either way the case was unscathed from scratches or a small dent and that tells me that the ToughSkin has done it’s job!

The only drawback to the case is in regards to the holster it comes with. I find that while wearing the iPhone with the holster on my pants that I could pull the holster out along with the iPhone when I used one hand. Though on the plus side I was able to put the iPhone back into the holster while wearing it, with only one hand. It also would have been nice to include some sort of screen protector with the unti as well.

Overall Thoughts for the 3 Speck 3G iPhone Cases

Overall the three cases I have been able to play with have done what they were designed to do which is to give a bit of protection without hampering the look and feel of the Apple 3G iPhone.

Out of the three units looked at I do like the SeeThru case and use it to this day. Again the only big issue to me is that the rubber grips peel off when the glue is warm.

The PixelSkin is an easy to use silicon case without really anything special about it other than its look.

The ToughSkin is a bit too ‘industrial’ for me but I do like how it stands up while in the holster and can help prevent some damage from a bump or fall.

With each of the cases I would have liked to see some sort of screen protector included but with the iPhone better scratch resistant screen I could see why this was not included. I could never apply the screen protectors anyway.