Since I purchased my original iPhone in July of 2007, and even before my iPhones, I’ve always had a case on my phone. Not just because I want to protect it, but because it does add some grip to the device, which has tended towards becoming more prone to slipping out of one’s hand as time has progressed.
When I purchased my iPhone 4, I also bought one of Apple’s Bumper cases. I bought it because it was one of the only cases around at the time, but ever since I’ve been on the look-out for a new one. It’s not that Apple’s Bumper case is bad; it just doesn’t offer the protection that I would expect. It is for this reason that I was intrigued when our own Josh Schnell alerted me to Default Case.
Default Case has only two different cases at this time, although they do plan on adding more in the fiture. They have a range for the iPhone 4 and another for the iPhone 3G/3Gs. Each range comes in 9 different colors: Wistful White, Bold Black, Roaring Red, Sleek Silver, Cobalt Blue, Outrageously Orange, Boss Blue, Pretty Pink, and Glorious Green.
Unlike the Apple Bumper case, the Default Case itself is a sturdy plastic that surrounds the sides and back of your iPhone. Each of the iPhone 4 models contains 999 holes along the back and sides. They could have made it 1000 even by placing a slight piece of plastic between the camera and flash or even the volume buttons. The holes provide two functions: the first is to differentiate the case from other designs and the second is to provide some airflow and dissipate any heat from the phone. This generally works well, as long as you’re in a dust-free environment. If you are not, and most of us are not, once you remove the case you will see a nice pattern of dust that mimics the back design.
The case snaps into place over the iPhone 4 and it fits quite snuggly. The edges are well protected and the reportedly more fragile back of the phone is also very well protected.
There are a couple of negative aspects to the case. The first is that if you get a gouge on the case, lightly rubbing it will only cause it to become worse.
The second issue, which may just be nitpicking, is that the middle section of the case is a couple of millimeters too far down. No, this does not affect the case nor its durability, but it is a small missed item, even though most will never know nor care about it.
The third negative is the retail price — $34.99 is a bit too steep for the case. The only reason I even purchased the case was because it is currently on sale for $0.01. Yes, it only costs $0.01 (plus $3.99 shipping and handling), for a limited time. If there was not a sale on, I would not have even looked at the cases due to the exorbitant price. I tend to not look at cases priced higher than $20 for my mobile gadgets, unless there are no other alternatives.
Default Case is trying to get its feet wet by offering cases for just $0.01. As their website states, they’d rather pour a bunch of money into advertising, and they would rather allow early adopters to get their cases at a discount and extoll their virtues.
The cases will only be on sale for a limited time, so go and pick up a couple today before they go back to their retail price.
Photo Credit: Default Case
