Quawkle

Incase Slider for iPhone 4 Black

After leaving my iPhone 4 “naked” for 9 days, my Incase Slider (black) for the iPhone 4 arrived via UPS yesterday. I have never used an Incase Slider before although I did buy a metallic red one for my wife’s iPhone 3GS. I like the utility of a case that allows the bottom portion to easily pull off so accessories like the iPhone dock and many speaker systems can be used with the iPhone docked in them. I had purchased a Bumper case from the Apple Store the same day I bought my iPhone 4 and I used it for about a week or so. I liked the feel of it and its appearance but pulling it off every time I wanted to dock my iPhone and then putting it back on again afterwards was more than a little inconvenient. The sleep button often would not line up properly and then I would have to adjust the Bumper all the way around the iPhone for a good fit. I returned the Bumper to the Apple Store and picked up a iFrogz Luxe Lean from Best Buy. The Luxe Lean was a very nice case with minimal bulk and I was able to easily pull the case off and put it back on with little effort. I did not really care for the look and feel though. What I really wanted was a case like the Griffin Technology Elan Form that I had purchased for the iPhone 3GS. It had a removeable bottom piece to allow you to dock your iPhone with docks, speakers, etc. Unfortunately Griffin has not made the Elan Form with the removeable bottom for the iPhone 4. Incase was the other case manufacturer that offered the same style of a removeable bottom case with their Slider model. Finally after over a month’s wait, Incase made the black color version of the Incase Slider for iPhone 4 available through their online store.

The Slider for iPhone 4 is a combination of soft yet smooth enough to easily slide in and out of your pants pocket. It adds a little bit of bulk to the iPhone but also provides protection for almost everything but the front screen. The “naked” iPhone is very slippery to me with glass on both the front and back and a metal band all around the sides of the phone. While I am very careful in handling my iPhone, I was always aware that one simple slip out of my hand onto a tile floor could result in significant damage. I had already dropped my iPhone 3GS earlier this summer across a friends driveway but thanks to the case that I had on it, there was no damage to the iPhone (can’t say that for the case though which took on all of the impact). Unlike the Bumper, the Slider allows you to use any dock cable as well as any headphone plug. It also has a nice minimalistic appearance. Incase will release more colors for the Slider the middle of this month. Also included is a nice two-position stand that you can use when reading something from your iPhone at a table or desk. Its not a necessity but a very nice extra!

I recommend the Incase Slider to any iPhone 4 user, especially if you are looking for a case that allows you to dock your iPhone. I only wish that the Slider would have been one of Incase’s offerings in the Apple Free iPhone Case program. I ordered the Speck Pixel HD case from Apple and it should arrive in September. I am not sure what I will do with the Speck iPhone case – perhaps keep it as a spare.