Apple Bumper for iPhone 4
Monday, July 26, 2010 at 11:15PM
Apple has started to get into the case business, with their official case for the iPad and the Bumper for the iPhone 4. The Bumper provides a simple and somewhat elegant solution to protecting your new investment - the iPhone 4.
The Bumper is merely a band of hard plastic and rubber that goes around the stainless steel band on the iPhone 4. This is great to prevent the antenna issues since it happens only when you cover up the black band, but leaves a lot more to be desired on protecting the phone. Though the Bumper does seem to add a bit of lift between the case and the front screen glass and back panel, so it would be saved from damage to the glass if dropped. I did drop my iPhone 4 on cement with the bumper on, and it escaped unscathed, only with a couple of scuffs on the bumper's plastic.
The Bumper protects all of the buttons, including the power button and volume buttons. While the power button is protected by the rubber, the volume buttons get covered in rounded, metallic plastic that are reminiscent of the real buttons on the device, complete with the + and - buttons. The covering on the volume buttons is my favorite part of the Bumper case, simply because it just adds that touch of elegance on the case overall.
The headphone port is easily accessible with the Bumper, although the same can't be said for the bottom connecting port. The opening at the bottom of the Bumper is small, and will only fit the newer 30-pin connector USB cables that are included with the iPhone 4 and iPad so far. The lip of the Bumper is narrower than the older cables, therefore rendering any older accessory or cable useless. The only way to make them work with the iPhone 4 is if you take the Bumper off each time. Because of this, it makes it harder to recommend Apple's Bumper.
If you want to show off the slick glass of your iPhone 4 but want some grip and minimal protection, the Bumper is what you want. Just keep in mind the inconvenience of full protection and compatibility with older cables.
You can obtain the Bumper for free through Apple's iPhone 4 Case Program, along with other third-party offerings from Speck, Belkin, Griffin, and Incase.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Originally published on Beatweek.com


It seems that Speck sure know their way when it comes to designing some pretty unique and great iPhone cases. The GeoMetric case sample I received from them is no different.