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Supplier: Apple UK
One of the ancillary products launched by Apple along side the iPhone 4 was the 'iPhone Bumper' a protective sleeve that the iPhone fits into. With the decision being made to retain my iPhone 4 I thought it wise to invest in some protection and that going with the official system might prove the best way to go.
The iPhone 4 bumper in the UK retails at £25 in the Apple store and as usual comes in an Apple style package which makes it difficult to see any details.
Once removed from the packaging it becomes clear that the bumper is manufactured from a harder plastic body surrounded by a softer rubber edging. This rubber is then gently flexed open to allow the iPhone to be pushed in to position.
The base of the bumper in pierced to allow access to the sync port and speakers, with similar holes on the side and top to allow access to the 'silent mode' switch and the jack plug / noise cancellation mic.
The on / off switch and volume controls are activated via controls in the bumper which press through on to the controls on the iPhone 4.
The bumper fits relatively closely to the body of the iPhone, but on my machine felt slightly loose until I'd grasped the phone on all sides and clenched my fist, thereby pushing the case tightly against the phones body which seemed to cause the bumper to take up some slack in the fitting. Once that had been done the bumper does fit closely and well.
If the iPhone is allowed to 'stand' for an hour or two on the desk the bumper returns to it's natural state and that slight looseness returns. A second or two of being gripped in the hand again though removes the loose feeling once more. Annoying but you'll have to live with it.
Points worth considering with the bumper housing:
It will certainly add some level of protection to the iPhone 4 if it is dropped and lands on an edge. The rubber edge sits proud of the front and back of the iPhone serves to raise the glass back (or front) off the surface it is placed on - which may reduce the risk of micro-scratches in the glass.
If you have bought an iPhone desk dock (as I have) you may as well forget using it with the bumper in position as the bumper will not fit into the dock, the slot in the dock is too small to accommodate it.Concluding Thoughts
I had expected that the bumper would be a simple rubber sleeve which would be stretched to fit around the iPhone and this is not the case, it has been well constructed of both rubber and plastic and engineered nicely to fit on the iPhone.
It does add additional levels of protection to the phone and actually looks good in place (which surprised me) plus the rubber edge makes the iPhone slightly less slippery in the hand which does tend to increase your level of confidence in handling the iPhone.
The bumpers evidently come in six colours; Black, White, Blue, Green, Orange and Pink, however the Manchester store only had black on the shelves. Mind you in my opinion it looks good on my Black iPhone.
If you therefore need a little extra protection for your iPhone 4 the bumper case is to be considered, however at £25 for a single bumper it has to be classed as expensive. However it is an official Apple product so a high price is to be expected.
Added Benefits
Alas I am one of those who suffers from the dreaded 'Grip of Death' issue at my home whereby if my fingers or palm 'short' the left antenna (WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth) with the right / bottom antenna (GSM and UMTS) the signal reduces from 2-3 bars:
To 0-1 bar.
However once the bumper had been fitted to the iPhone 4 the signal seems to be rock steady at 3 bars. Good news indeed!
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