I have a love/hate relationship with my iPhone. See, in my opinion, the iPhone 4 is the coolest looking phone ever made. I hope they stick with this design forever (seriously - just upgrade the inside, but keep everything else the same... and yes, I know - that aint gonna happen lol). I love the sleekness of it. It's just amazingly elegant. Again, in my opinion, it's perfect.
That said, I think making the back glass is one of the stupidest things the human race has ever done. There is no reason for it - and it makes the phone impractically fragile. On a side note - I am fairly convinced - say about 95% that the white iPhone 4s has a plastic back, but I can't get confirmation on that, so anyway... But back to the glass back. Because of this insanely stupid design decision, unless you have a desk job - if your job is even slightly physical - then you run a risk of damaging the phone, even if (like me) you keep the phone in your pocket with the screen pointing towards your leg. So a case is needed.
Which almost ALWAYS ruins the sleekness of the phone. I have yet to find one that offers any actual protection of any meaningful kind (in, lets say, a warehouse environment) while maintaining the sleek lines the iPhone is "born" with. As far as I know, there isn't one - and FWIW, I have been searching for over a year, several times a week, sometimes for hours at a time (on the web AND in person).
The skins/wrap idea was my biggest hope - and now my biggest disappointment. They are stickers. All of em. They look FANTASTIC - don't get me wrong. But they offer exactly as much protection to your phone as an average bumper sticker. They are cosmetic only, and any protection they offer is incidental and possibly unintended... but I don't believe they offer any protection - period. Again, they look amazing though - if that's what you're after, then the skins/wrap route is PERFECT for you!
Please remember, all of this is my opinion - I'm sure others will differ. But in my opinion - you simply have to pick: sleek, elegant appearance but fragile and delicate - or - slightly less elegant "rubberized" bumper style (or similar) case that offers slightly more protection than a naked iPhone.... or encase your iPhone in the equivalent of a large plastic brick and give it (very near) invulnerability - at the cost of literally every ounce of sleekness the iPhone offers.
I myself am currently resigned to the rubberized case world... but I am always watchful for a better solution. I will check out the recommendations on this thread.
Take care,
Rob
