Kite Lab: iPhone 3G Defender Series Case
Overview
If you are planning on kiting with your iPhone, you will want to protect your investment from the bangs and bumps this sport can dish out, but you will have to sacrifice looks and some functionality to do so. [Updated 1/5/2009] After some more time with the case, the protective qualities of the thickness of the case were more apparent. I have updated the review evaluation of the function, appearance overall rating and provided a link to a slimmer case from Otter Box.
Details
The Defender Series of cases from Otter Box are designed to protect your valuable and sensitive portable electronics from the abuse action sports can dish out. The Defender Series Case for the iPhone 3G (the most current version as of this article) wraps the iPhone in three layers of protection while maintaining most of the usability of the device. Unfortunately all that protection adds some significant thickness to the otherwise svelte iPhone making it look like a supermodel with a fat suit. Getting your supermodel iPhone into the fat suit to keep it safe while kiting is kind of a process (much like I imagine getting a real supermodel into a fat suit would be).
The first layer of protection is a squishy, silicone skin that offers protection from serious bangs, bumps and drops. Available in either black or white, the silicone gives the iPhone the primary protection it needs while adding a comfortable grippy feel to the otherwise slippery iPhone. The silicone protection covers most of the iPhone with the exception of the screen which has its own protection and has openings for all the essential ports and interfaces.
To give the soft silicone some structure, the second layer of protection is from an internal skeleton. The iPhone fits snugly in this skeleton and the silicon skin pulls over the rigid, plastic skeleton. The plastic provides much more significant protection for the iPhone and will help prevent the phone from being twisted and crushed (although I hate to think what is happening to the owner if the iPhone is at risk of crushing and twisting).
The final layer of protection covers the screen in a clear skin that allows the user to operate the iPhone, albeit with less-than-perfect control. Because of the touch screen design of the iPhone, this screen protection is critical, but it is also the weakest part of both the iPhone and the Defender Series Case. The clear skin provides a nice splash-proof and amazingly tough skin to protect the glass front of the iPhone, but it isn’t BOMB-PROOF and a typical install leaves a strange ghost-like or watermark appearance on the screen when you use it (solution for this available via YouTube).
Finally, the Defender Series Case comes with a large, plastic holster to hold the case and your iPhone on a belt. The holster’s clip allows the case to rotate and also be positioned in a variety of different angles allowing for lots of flexibility. The case and the iPhone can be inserted into the holster either with the face of the case out or in offering more protection for the screen.
Installation
Getting your iPhone into the Defender Series Case takes a little work and makes the case something you are not going to want to pull your phone in and out of frequently. First you have to pull the silicone layer off of the plastic skeleton. This is done by peeling back the bottom (the side offered the best place to peel back the silicone layer) of the case exposing the internal skeleton and then pulling the skeleton out of the screen opening of the silicon part. Because there are lots of little ports and opening silicone layer and their associated openings and ridges in the plastic skeleton layer, getting the two pieces apart takes a little work, but is easier the second time.
Once you have the silicone layer and the skeleton layers separated, you need to open the plastic skeleton shell so you can insert your iPhone. This is done by popping three little clips located on either side and the top of the case. Pop the little clip with your fingernail or a dime to free them and the skeleton case will split into a front and back. You can then install your phone by sliding it into the front of the skeleton case making sure the screen lines up properly and then seating the iPhone and front half into the back half, bottom first. Insert the iPhone and skeleton case into the top of the silicone case and stretch the bottom of the silicone over the skeleton case making sure all the ports and tabs align. It takes a little fiddling to get it all back into shape and aligned, but it will be obvious when everything is seated properly.
Use
Once your iPhone is in the case, you have access to the power button, the home button and the volume buttons, but it will take a little practice to be able to find the volume buttons and turn the volume up or down. The screen will function almost as if it wasn’t in a case except that the clear protective screen cover leaves a tracer or as some refer to it as a watermark on the screen. It looks as if there is water or a bubble between the screen and the protective cover and I found this distracting although it doesn’t affect the performance of the touch screen. It appears that the watermark is caused by the adhesion of the cover to the screen and can be prevented with a solution described on YouTube.
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
The case is big and bulky and I found it to be such a departure from the slim lines of the naked iPhone, I was not very excited about using the case. It did, however, perform very effectively at protecting the iPhone. I felt comfortable dropping my iPhone from 5′ onto a variety of hard surfaces without any nervousness or damage inflicted on the phone. The Defender Series case for the iPhone is very effective at protecting the phone, but the screen is still vulnerable to cracking if it encounters a hard protrusion like a rock, kite bar or a ski tip. Like a supermodel with a fat suit, it can fall down stairs without issue, but poke it in the eye and it won’t be happy.
The Otter Box Defender Series Case for the iPhone 3G is a capable and durable case to protect your iPhone during snowkiting session, ONLY if you use it. After putting it on my phone, doing lots of drop tests and trying to figure out which pocket it would fit into, I couldn’t actually bring my self to using it while snowkiting.
Specs
Manufacturer: Otter Box
Model: iPhone 3G Defender Series Case (they make one for the first iPhone)
Size: one size
Dimensions: 4.87″ x 2.77″ x .8″
Weight: 1.9 oz.
Color Options: Black, White, or Black and Yellow
Online Info: http://www.otterbox.com/iphone-cases/iphone-3g-defender-case/
Buy Now: Apple 3G iPhone Defender Series Case
Ratings
Durability Rating: 
This thing is a tank and can take almost anything you dish out at it unless it is a direct blow to the screen. Although it isn’t waterproof, it will certainly emerge from any splashes or a quick dunking unharmed. It is so large and durable that I am afraid a fall on top of it would hurt you more than it would hurt it so plan accordingly while wearing it.
Function Rating: 
If you are in need of some bomber protection for your iPhone while you kite, this is the way to go. You will lose a lot of style when you don this chunky monkey, but your iPhone will emerge unscathed from the experience even if you don’t. [Update] Upon further review of the case, and a day of kiting with it, I am more comfortable with the size of the case and feel that the cushion provided by the case will be soft to land on and very protective of your valuable iPhone.
Quality Rating:
Well built out of durable materials, the Defender Series Case is of high quality, but unlike the iPhone it is meant to protect, is neither refined nor subtle. The screen watermark issue is annoying, but resolvable.
Appearance Rating:
If you are into linebackers, monster trucks or overstuffed furniture this might be the case for you. If you are looking for more of a form fitting suit of armor for your iPhone, then you may find the Defender Series Case from Otter Box missing the mark. [Update] After comparing the dimensions of the iPhone in versus the iPhone in the case I realized that the case is 8% taller, 13% wider and 40% thicker. Visually it seems bigger than that although the nearly doubled thickness is the characteristic that has the most visual impact.
Packaging/Environmental Responsibility Rating:
The case is constructed of durable materials that I expect to last a long time. This is an important factor in a products environmental impact even if the materials themselves aren’t the greenest. Like the iPod Nano case, the iPhone 3G Defender Series Case comes in a simple box, but the larger size of the Defender Case makes the packaging seem more appropriate.
Overall Overall Rating: [Updated 1/5/2009]
Conclusion
While the iPhone 3G Defender Series Case from Otter Box is a durable and well built case, it only works if you use it. Since it is not an especially quick process to put on and take off the case and once it is in it makes your otherwise beautiful iPhone look chunky and ugly, all the protection the case offered was lost on me. This was in contrast to the excellent and very easy to use OtterBox for the Nano we previously tested which I highly recommend and use. I couldn’t bring myself to using it. If I break my iPhone kiting for lack of a robust case like the Defender Series Case, I may wish it had been my ego rather than my phone that took the beating. Maybe you will be smarter than me and buy your supermodel a fat suit
[Update] If you are looking for a slimmer case from Otter Box for your iPhone 3G, they offer the iPhone 3G Impact Case that is basically just the silicon layer and has a much slimmer profile.
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