Otterbox for iPhone 3G Defender

Cool Yule Rating: 4 stars

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Cool Yule Rating: 4 stars

Price: $49.95

Product Web site

Description: If you're an iPhone user who is super-overly cautious about protecting it from dings, scratches, drops and even weather, the Otterbox Defender for the iPhone 3G is probably the case you're going to want to get for it. It seems like a bit of overkill, but to each his own I suppose.

The Defender comes with a hard plastic case that protects the phone from drops and scratches, and then you wrap around that a Silicone "skin", which provides extra protection and offers a good gripping surface. The third level of protection is a thin, clear membrane that covers the touch screen to prevent scratches (you can still use the touch screen with the membrane over it). I haven't seen this much protection since the mom in 'A Christmas Story' wrapped up Randy in the "deep sea diving" snowsuit ("I can't move my arms!").

On the downside, having all of this protection made it impossible to recharge my iPhone through a few of my recharging docks – it's possible to use the charging cable, but I prefer a free-standing dock for recharging. The protection on the case also makes it hard to open and close the case, but I suppose that most users would want the case closed at all times, and would just live with the charging option.

Still, I've yet to see an iPhone case with this much protection – if you're really concerned about protecting the iPhone this much, you can't go wrong with the Defender.

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