More Body Armor for the iPhone
By ERIC A. TAUB
There must be an awful lot of klutzes out there, or a large number of fearful people, judging by the number of super-shock resistant iPhone cases now on the market. In addition to the Ballistic HC case reported by my colleague, Roy Furchgott, in March, as well as the rugged iPad, iPhone and iPod TouchOtterbox cases, comes a new entry from Griffin, a well-known maker of accessories for PCs, MP3 players and smartphones.
Griffin's Survivor cases — made up of an inner shell that is then wrapped around a silicone cover complete with little flaps to protect the phone's various switches, buttons and inputs–are available in a variety of colors, including white, pink and combat-ready olive green. The attached body clip makes it easy for you to climb in and out of foxholes and dodge incoming missiles without worrying about where you have put your phone.
As with the other two entrants, the $50 iPhone Survivor case is said to be built to British and United States military specifications. Specifically, Griffin says its cases, available for the iPhone 4, plus the fourth generation iPod Touch, and soon for the iPad 2, will deflect wind and rain at up to 7.8 inches per hour for one hour, withstand a six-foot drop and protect against blown sand and dust at up to 60 feet per second for one hour.
To prove it, Griffin has posted an amusing video on its Web site, in which the Survivor-protected iPhone is thrown across a field, down an ice-encrusted road, across a concrete floor and into a wall so forcefully that it makes a large hole in the drywall.
In each instance, naturally, the iPhone comes out unscathed.
If you're a nature photographer wading across streams and through woods, this could be a great way to protect your phone. Or if you're a reporter embedded in Iraq, the Survivor could help prevent microscopic particles from destroying your gear during a sandstorm.
While the company's video shows the phone making it through several drops onto the ground as it falls from the tester's pocket, I have dropped my iPhone 3G scores of times onto the tarmac. Even without any case, it's survived each time, unscathed.
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