A Tale of Two Cases

iPhone 3G/3GS Defender Case

Pros: Virtually unbeatable proctection
Cons: Pop goes the weasel iPhone

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
  - Charles Dickens

When he wrote those lines, it is as if Charles Dickens had his iPhone ensconced in the iPhone 3G/3GS Defender Case from OtterBox.

It is the best of times when your iPhone 3G/3GS is safely cocooned in this seemingly indestructible case. And it's a good thing it is seemingly indestructible, because as soon as you holster it in the included ClipStand, your iPhone is well on its way to a trip to the ground.

Thus the worst of times.

The Defender contains three layers of protection: First, a clear layer that protects the touch screen; second, a high-impact polycarbonate skeleton, and third, a silicone skin to absorb bumps and shocks.

It also includes the aforementioned problematic ClipStand holster.

The screen protector is, as is the case with every such product, challenging and tedious to apply. Be prepared to accept a few air bubbles. You then insert the iPhone into the polycarbonate skeleton, a sturdily constructed case, amd then you follow it up by pulling on the thick silicone skin.

If you're smart, that's where you'll stop.

The Defender gives you a good feeling that your iPhone is protected. In fact, this case is about the best protective case you can buy and still have all ports, buttons, and functions accessible. However, the first time I clipped the phone into the holster, things went south quickly.

The phone fell out of the holster while I was driving to a restaurant. In the restaurant, it fell out again while I was eating. This time, its escape went unnoticed until a nice couple at the next table pointed it out to me. The final straw occurred when I got to work and the iPhone fell out while I was walking around the office, this time chipping the polycarbonate skeleton slightly.

After less than 5 hours of use, I put the holster away and have not taken it out since.

To be sure, when you first clip the iPhone into the holster, it doesn't feel secure, so it's not like it will be a surprise to you when the phone jumps out. Also, the OtterBox website treats the holster like an afterthought, something that is "also included" with the case. The focus of OtterBox's marketing efforts are clearly on the case itself, as they should be, because this is one sturdy, secure protective case.

I have continued to use my Defender case. Fortunately, I carry my iPhone in a pocket the vast majority of the time, so the misbehaving holster was not a deal-breaker for me. For many people, it might be. However, if you can live without the holster, the Defender is the first and best choice to get the maximum protection for your iPhone.

Available in black, pink, white, and yellow. $49.95

iPod classic Defender Case

Pros: Virtually unbeatable proctection
Cons: Some construction required

When my music and Car Talk podcast collection finally outgrew the 15 GB iPod that I bought from the Apple Store in Indianapolis as a previous-gen product in 2004, the easy choice was a 160 GB iPod classic. My decision to retire the 15 GB iPod (officially known by Apple as "iPod with dock connector") could have also been hastened by the fact that someone passing by my office noticed it resting in my speaker dock and couldn't stop her fascination with what she kept referring to as an "antique" - and I'm pretty sure she was referring to the iPod, not me. At any rate, this is indisputably a low-end iPod. But in true low-end fashion, it continued to meet most of my needs.

The "antique" iPod has, from day one, been protected by a Marware case that I bought at the same time. For all of the nearly six years that I have owned the iPod, I have been extremely satisfied with the Marware case. However, this time, I looked to OtterBox for my case. This was partially due to how satisfied I had been with the iPhone case (despite the holster fiasco) and partially because Marware no longer manufactures this particular model.

My eye immediately fell on the iPod classic Defender Case. It bears more than a passing resemblance to the iPhone Defender. It features the same three layers of protection. A foam spacer is provided to ensure proper fit for the slightly thinner 80 GB iPod classic. This time, OtterBox wisely decided to forego the holster.

Installing the Classic Defender is relatively straightforward. The clear, thin polycarbonate sheet is integrated into the polycarbonate skeleton, so when you place the iPod in the skeleton and click it closed, both are installed. As with the iPhone Defender, you then stretch the amply thick silicone skin around the skeleton to arrive at the finished product: a well-protected iPod with all ports and functions accessible.

Were this the end of it, the Classic Defender would merit a perfect score, for it does everything it claims to do and, in fact, everything a protective iPod case should do, and it does it well.

Except for one small thing....

When you try to plug into the dock connector, the plug won't fit. It almost fits, but not quite. It fits height-wise, but the opening is a bit narrower than the connector that goes in. When I discovered this, I quickly scoured several forums on the Internet and saw numerous identical complaints. It seems the manufacturing process was off by just a titch.

The solution was 90 seconds with a rattail file. Problem solved. Everything fits properly now.

Despite the easy, quick fix, this is not a problem easily overlooked. In all likelihood, the polycarbonate case is manufactured using injection molding. Tolerances in this process are measured on a near-microscopic level. To have an error of such magnitude that a dock connector won't fit is virtually unthinkable. And it's not a trivial miscalculation: The amount of polycarbonate that must be filed off each end of the opening is easily 1/16". To put it in perspective, that is roughly equivalent to cutting 2x4s into 8-foot long studs and misjudging the cut by 4 inches.

I am completely satisfied with the case, now that everything fits. It's just a shame the quality control was so lousy. Available in clear and black. $49.95

For the ultimate in protection, OtterBox makes it Armor Series cases for both the iPhone and iPod classic. The Armor is fully ruggedized, completely sealed, and is waterproof, dustproof, dirtproof, sandproof, and drop-proof. However, with the Armor, not all ports, buttons, and functions are accessible.

Purchase Links

• OtterBox cases for the iPhone
• OtterBox cases for the iPod classic