OtterBox Impact – Review
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Over the last year or so Dan reviewed a number of cases from OtterBox. A month ago, I reviewed their Defender series case and even tough it’s a little bulky, it offers great protection for your iphone!
Recently, OtterBox offered us a chance to take a look at their Impact Series Case ($20) and we were happy to do so.
At first look, the design characteristics of the Impact case seem straight forward enough, but its not until we take a closer look that we discover…
How much we have a love/hate relationship with this case.
Let’s first take a look at what we don’t like.
The OtterBox Impact Series case is a completely different direction for a company which historically produces cases that are built to shield your iPhone from the harshest of treatment.
If it wasn’t for the fact that OtterBox put their logo across the back of the case, you would think this was designed by a completely different company since it leaves the iPhone exposed in very un-OtterBox ways.
–It offers no screen protection (although, many of these types of cases do not, I sort of expected some sort of protection from OtterBox).
–It doesn’t do a great job of protecting the top or bottom ports which include the speakers, microphone, and camera, as all of these are left completely open.
Again, not uncommon things to find on a case like this but boy were we surprised!
Fortunately, there ARE things we love about this case too
We really like the look of the case. Also, the back X shaped bulge and textured side grips help this case feel very comfortable in your hand. OtterBox did a nice job of protecting the home button without sacrificing ease of using it.
We also noticed that all of the corners on the inside of the case have been ‘cored’, which adds better protection to the corners of your phone. The docking port is also very accessible as is the headphone jack on top of the phone.
Finally. we also love the way the silicone feels in your hand, especially around the outside of the case (where OtterBox has created a texture that is very easy to hang on to).
In short, this would be a great first attempt for a new case manufacturer. I would, however, think that a company like OtterBox (who is as experienced in creating cases that truly protect your devices as they are), would have come up with a case that does a better job of protecting the screen and other exposed areas of the iPhone.
If you like silicone cases, this $20 case is definitely worth your look. Let us know what you think if you pick one up.
