Five Best iPhone Cases

Nobody could argue anything other than the Apple iPhone was the best new cell phone released in 2007. Incredible design, off-the-wall looks, marketing and usability. The iPhone re-wrote the book on mobile phones and many of the newer phones coming on the market are attempting to copy or better Apple’s design.

Top of my list is the Apple iPhone Aircraft Aluminum Metal case. This one comes complete with a padded neoprene interior and encloses the iPhone in a high-grade aluminum shell. The case has openings for the display screen, keyboard and other features, and is available in five colors – puke green, revolting magenta, sickly sky blue, sensible silver and the ever practical plain old black. The list price on these is $39.95, but the last time I checked, Amazon had several for around eight bucks. Much cheaper than a new screen, and since the release of the 3G iPhone V2.0 - Amazon ae just about giving the things away - Four dollars last time I looked.

Next up is the Speck TechStyle Classic Leather iPhone Case. Good quality leather, well stiched together with a plaid interior, although, let’s face it - who cares what the inside of the case looks like? This is a good quality case though. Included is a custom holster swivel belt clip to allow purse snatchers easier access. One of the good things about the case is it allows full access to all the controls. A nice looking case that will do a good job of protecting the iPhone. Suggested price for this is around thirty dollars and it tends not to be as heavily discounted as some of the other cases, so expect to pay around $20 for this one. Available in brown or black and pink now - thank goodness.

Number three on my list is the Scosche Clear case with rubber corners. If you, like me are prone to dropping your gadgets, this one is a good bet. For some reason, when a phone is dropped, it invariably lands on a corner. There is a physical law that describes this phenomenon, but don’t ask me to explain it. This is a nice, simple, practical case that pretty much keeps the iPhone’s looks intact. Amazon coyly hide the price because its’ “Too low to be shown,” but they sell for just over $11, which is, I guess, much lower than the manufacturer would like. Once again, far cheaper than a new screen or casing.

If you are going for a lurid color, this one is my preference. This is a soft, grippable silicon case that gives total access to all the features of the iPhone. You can charge the phone while it’s still in the case and I am a big fan of persuading people to listen to music on their phone through a set of headphone srather than inflicting their musical choices on any one within earshot – and this case has a built-in cable management system – which is a fancy way of saying you can keep your headphones in it as well. List price $25, but usually available for less than $17.

What I like about this one is that fact that they sensibly give you the option of removing the belt clip. Having a large, expensive piece of portable technology clipped to your belt allowing any would be thief to help themselves may be OK in some areas, but in certain parts of the country, it’s probably not such a great idea. `It looks a little clunky, but provides very good protection and, as with all these cases, you can face the screen inward for more protection, although that rather defeats the object of buying a case like this in the first place. Amazon sell them for less than $17 also.

There are dozens of other cases on the market at the moment. Most of them do a perfectly adequate job of protecting the iPhone. But some are clearly better than others. All the top five cases here are available for considerably less than the recommended prices and you can’t really go wrong with any of them.