OtterBox for iPhone Defender Series

Reviews: Electronics

Digital Cameras | PDAs | Communications

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Anthony Fiti
Beth
Otterbox
Jan. 18, 2008

Specifications

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Testing

Assembly was easy. OtterBox includes a pamphlet on how to put it all together, but the only part I had to reference the instructions for was where to pull the plastic shell apart to insert the phone. Otherwise, it was a piece of cake. If you do happen to have a problem, OtterBox has an instructional video on how to put the case together.

The best feature of the case is that it uses a thin film of protective plastic to cover the screen and camera, which has no negative effect on the touch-sensitive screen. I was able to do all the same actions I did before, including typing and zooming with multi-touch, without problems.

There is only one downside to the case, and that is that it blocks access to the ring/vibrate switch. I tend to leave my phone on vibrate all the time so it's not usually an issue for me. However, if you use the ring/vibrate switch frequently, you might find it inconvenient to have to remove the phone from the case in order to change the position of the switch. And, at the present time, there is no way to switch between the two modes in software. The only solution is to turn the ringer on and put the volume all the way down to 1, which is a very quiet ring, though you won't be able to type on the keyboard silently anymore either.

The case comes with two flaps: one that covers the headphone jack at the top of the iPhone, and another at the bottom that covers up the 20-pin port you use to communicate with your PC and to recharge the phone. The volume up and down buttons are easily identifiable on the left side of the case, as well as the power/lock button on the top right. There are also two holes located at the bottom, covered by a filter. These are for the speaker and the microphone, so audio waves can penetrate the case.

The holster functions well, keeping a tight grip on the phone. What I like about this holster compared to others is that the bottom of the holster tray is actually closed, and you don't have to worry about the phone falling out or becoming dislodged since the only way you can extract the phone is by pulling it out of the top. It is big, though, so if fashion is a concern and you don't want a huge holster on your belt, you can skip the holster altogether and just put the phone with the case in your pocket or purse.

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Page 1: Introduction & First Looks
Page 2: Testing
Page 3: Conclusion

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