Otterbox is a company specialising in rugged outdoor cases for your electronic lifestyle. Their new range, the Defender, is not waterproof, but is a solid rugged case with a hard (very hard!) plastics shell and soft silicone skin. This make’s it drop proof, crush proof and pretty much resitant to everything Mother Nature and co. can possibly throw at it. The Otterbox is a very unique design featuring hard plastic and soft, nicely textured silicone, making it extremely hardy, but also very visually pleasing and nice to hold. It has three windows, one for the screen, one for the camera, and intrestingly another for the chrome Apple logo, a feature we haven’t seen in any other cases, but a very nice one. The main case is made of 3 parts; the hard plastic front and back, and the silicone skin around it. This means it is a bit fiddly to get in and out, but 100% worth it for the protection you get. The speakers are covered but it doesn’t affect to much on the sound quality (I think it sounds a bit better) but the volume is affected slightly, which may be a bit of a pain for thos already struggling to hear the iPhone.
The Good:
VERY Rugged
Very nice look and feel
All-round-protection
Still have access to all buttons (except the ring silent button)
Scrren is covered
Ports are covered
Silicone is gorgeous to hold
The Bad:
Screen can be a bit less sensitive with cover on
Sound (very) slightly muffled
Can’t use silent/ring switch (though an understandable shortcoming)
The Verdict:
Without doubt one of the best cases I have yet had the pleasure of reviewing. It does have it’s shortcomings however, so it doesn’t get the full 5 star, but easily the closest yet. If you’re looking for a rugged case, this is most likely it!
