iPhone by Steve

Is that an iPhone in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

Honestly, that’s how I felt about a lot of the cases I looked at. Bulky, bulky, bulky! I had just bought this sleek, beautiful device, and after lugging the fat, chunky Treo around, I was really looking forward to having a thinner phone. I had never put a case on my Treo for just that reason, and it had cost me. I couldn’t get through my contract term without breaking one or two.

My day job is pretty physical, and the potential to break the phone is high. So, sadly, I resigned myself to needing to cover my pretty new Apple phone, and I began an all-out search for a case.

There are plenty of reviews out there. A good place to start is at MacLife, an excellent magazine and site related to all things Apple. If you google for iPhone cases, be prepared to spend half your day looking through a zillion ratings.

As you read the reviews, keep in mind your own particular criteria. In my case:

• I keep my iPhone in my pocket so first and foremost, I wanted a thin case that wouldn’t appreciably change the slim characteristics of the phone.
• I don’t like leather because I find it hard to slide it in and out of my pocket. For whatever reason, I like hard cases.
• I don’t like flip covers on my phone. When I pull the thing out of my pocket, I want to be able to access the screen without dealing with a cover.
• Even without a cover, though, I still want to protect my iPhone screen in some way.
• Appearance, of course, is an important factor, but that’s subject to your own sense of style.
• All buttons and functions should be accessible even with the case in place.

After reading reviews and looking at a dozen or so cases at local stores, I settled on the Seidio Innocase. It meets all of my criteria except that it doesn’t cover the screen, so I pared my new case with the Ultimate Screen Guard, also from Seidio.

I chose a black case, but Seidio offers the product in burgundy and blue as well.

I’ve been extremely happy with the case. It looks good (though not as good as the naked iPhone), and it’s slim and sturdy. The only downside is that you cannot put your phone in the dock with the case in place. The smaller bottom piece of the case can be removed to dock your phone, but personally, I don’t use the dock. I just plug in the USB cord and don’t worry about it. If you’re in love with the dock, then this probably isn’t the case for you, but if, like me, you’re okay with using your connection cord without the dock, then this case is an excellent choice for all-around style and protection.