$29.95
When will the case madness stop? I'm not quite sure what's wrong with me, but I can't help but be intrigued by new cases for any of my gadgets. This Tunewear case is the 5th case I've purchased for my iPhone. Somebody stop me. Thank God for eBay and Craigslist so I can recover some of the money I spend this way.
I had seen a preview of this case somewhere online (maybe iLounge.com?) and was looking forward to its release. When I did see that it was available, I placed my order through their web site, quickly receiving order confirmations and a shipping notification. Tunewear says they ship orders within 1 to 5 business days of order placement, with delivery in 2 to 10 days. I received the case within the 10 days promised.
I also have an Incase Protective Cover for my iPhone - this is a very minimalist case that I like for the most part, but am disappointed in overall given its high price and the lack of corresponding quality. The Tunewear case covers more of the iPhone than the Incase Protective Cover and the silicone is much thicker all around. The Tunewear site boasts that this case offers exceptional protection for the iPhone, stating that the case is made of the same high-density silicone used for diving masks. But does this level of protection interfere with the aesthetics and usability of the iPhone? Let's see...
Materials
The TuneWear case is fairly substantial - it is a dense, transparent silicone made to cover most of the iPhone with the exception of the screen, home button, silent/ring toggle, camera lens, and dock connector. I was drawn to this case since it is advertised as being transparent - if a case is going to cover this much of the iPhone, I'd rather that it did not completely hide the clean aesthetics of it. The pictures of this case on Tunewear's site showed that it was transparent enough to show the silver Apple logo on the back of the iPhone through the case itself, as well as showing the overall outline of the phone as if suspended in ice. Unfortunately, the case is not quite as physically pleasing as shown on their site.
First, the cut-outs and edges of the case are not done well - they are rough, off-center, and the seam of the mold used is quite obvious. It does not project quality at all, which is particularly disappointing given the price of this case: $29.95.
Second, while the silicone is dense and does seem as if it will offer a great deal of protection to the iPhone, it fits poorly and has an annoying habit of looking as if it's "sticking" to the front of the iPhone. The best analogy I can think of is a piece of glass being pressed over a drop of water. I did not anticipate this particular effect - the pictures of this case on an iPhone on Tunewear's site did not show this at all.
The case is ribbed on the sides (insert Beavis-like snickers here) to improve grip. The only other texture imprinted on the case is the logo "Tunewear" stamped on the back of the case.
Access
As previously mentioned, the Icewear case covers most of the iPhone, leaving only the screen, home button, silent/ring toggle, camera lens, and dock connector free. It covers the sleep/wake button on top and the volume buttons on the side, showing only raised impressions of these buttons that can be found and pressed by feel alone.
There are no problems inserting the charging plug into the dock connector, although the case is too thick to allow the iPhone to be docked, unless you're using the Universal Dock without a dock adapter.
Since the silicone is so thick, there is a significant raised ridge at the edges of the screen and surrounding the home button. This makes it hard to hit the space key when typing on the virtual keyboard on the iPhone's screen - this became infuriating enough for me in the first 15 minutes of using the case that I took it off in disgust. While I try to use products that I'm reviewing for a sufficient amount of time to reveal as many of its pros and cons, I admit here that I wasn't able to do this with this case because of how un-usable it renders the keyboard.
The home key is also difficult to press - I can only access it by consciously inserting the tip of a finger into the hole created by the thick silicone surrounding it, rather than carelessly using the pad of my thumb as I usually do. And I already have small fingers - I can't see anyone with large fingers not becoming frustrated with this case over time.
This case does not come with a belt clip. It does, however, come with a screen protector. I did not test this since I already have a Brando screen protector installed on my iPhone and I did not want to remove it (you can see my review of the Brando protector here). If this is a good screen protector (on par with my Brando protector that cost $12), I would say this mitigates my disappointment in the value of this case compared to its price.
Using the Case
I've already mentioned the problems caused by the thickness of the silicone in being able to accurately use the space key on the virtual keyboard as well as in accessing the home button. Beyond this, the case is quite thick and does inspire confidence that the iPhone will sustain little, if any, damage in a fall. But, it does add significantly more bulk to the iPhone than I'd like. It is significantly thicker and more obtrusive than the Incase Protective Cover that I also use.
Summary
So, should you buy this case? If you have pencil-thin fingers that aren't deterred by this case in getting to the home button or space key on the keyboard, then go ahead, by all means. Also, if you're a bit clumsy and expect to drop your iPhone a lot, this case would be great for you, as long as you don't mind how much bulk it adds. If the two previous conditions don't apply to you, I don't recommend this case. If they do, stay tuned - I'm putting this puppy up on eBay with bidding starting at $1.00 with no reserve and you could be in for a deal. ;)
Related reviews:
Incase Protective Cover for first-generation iPhone
Paul Frank case for first-generation iPhone