Despite the fact I have many iPhone cases, I'm always in pursuit of finding a better option. I recently broke my Incase Snap Case and have to resort to using my Retro Cassette iPhone case. It's cool looking but is loose on my phone and has no hole for the power cable.

Even though the iPhone 5 is on the horizon --

1) What cases or cases are your favorite?

2) Is there a company or brand that you always go to?

3) What do you look for in a case?

Feel free to answer one or all of the above! Let the conversation begin.

No case, as any of them breaks the design...

1. Usually use an Otterbox defender on my 4S.

2. Not really dedicated to a certain company.

3. Protection, weight, usability.

I would love to try the mophie battery case, speck card case, maybe even the yellow jacket stun gun case lol.

I agree about the case spoiling the design, I just have a MagSkin on at the moment. Looks good and is practical too.

Oh yes, I do have a Mophie Case for when I'm traveling.

My mom owns an old iSkin for her phone so I decided to check out their website. Their fuze case is pretty nifty. What are your thoughts? iskin.com

I've been using this case for some time:
phonesale.com

I think it's pretty decent, provides good enough protection for me, and has a decent design.
It also has nice kickstand, which eventually did end up breaking on me (played with it too much), and it comes with a holster (which I never used).
I only really need a case for protection. Having a bulky case is not something I like, and if it's extremely thin then you might as well not have a case. So I think this one finds a nice balance in the middle. Just wish the kickstand was slightly more durable.

Forgo to mention. I also like how there aren't any logos interrupting the design, or any inconsistency for example a random stroke going through. It's real clean, sleek and comfortable. I had one of those cassette cases, never used it. It may have been thrown out, haha.

Haha yeah I know what you mean. Some companies do a pretty good job of displaying their logo but in a non-obnoxious way. Like I said, the cassette is pretty cool except for the fact it isn't sturdy. But I'm definitely going to be on the lookout since I'll be upgrading when the new iPhone comes out.

I've got a juice pack pro, from Mophie. Even though it makes your phone look more like a radio (lol) than anything else, it has already saved my iDevice from trashing while skating, biking and even on the beach. As I live in Brazil (where an 4S 64gb costs the equivalent to 1500U$D), I had to find a way to protect my (sigh) investment. Batery draining reduced, also, manage to charge every 3 days with intensive (almost uninterrupted) use.

I don't know about you guys but I refuse to believe any of the new iPhone size stuff. The last thing I want is to be holding a TV remote in my hand. Especially if the lock button remains on top. None of the aspects make sense to me of this new iPhone (based ok rumors) and I hope they are false. It would be hilarious if apple "leaked" these on purpose as a joke.

Then finding a case for a phone like that? Will be crazy... I don't think it'll be very comfortable at all

Never seen the "original puregear" before. Very nice. Just ordered one on amazon :)

@David I've heard good things about the Mophie Case. I think my friend owns one also.

Is it pretty durable also?

@Joshua I have been using mine for 1 month and already had a car crash and a skating accident. On both cases, the phone was thrown away to a decent length and no scratches on the case so far, so I'm assuming it's indeed durable. What's worrying me actually is the upcoming iPhone new form factor :/

@David That's impressive! Quite a story there.

Well it will most likely mean that the manufacturers will have to tweak their cases a bit.

@Joshua and I will have to try to sell mine on eBay if I put my hands on a "new" iPhone on October :/ Hope someone buys it...

@David Are you planning on selling your old phone or keeping it?

Selling.. I'll need the cash to buy the new one

@David and @Josh I really like the Morphie Juice pack pro! Looks super rugged. As a person who works in contruction field i may look into getting this! However the new iphone is an issue lol. But i recently switched to the Verizon Share Everything plan so my work phone is also a smartphone, maybe when new iPhone comes out ill just move the 4S to my "work" device :)

@Jordan I like how you think! :)

haha im serious, right now im using HTC Incredible... wanna throw it through the wall!

I've never owned an Android device and I'm not planning on it. At least you have an iOS device to keep you "sane." :)

At least it may actually survive the throw... A caseless iPhone would shatter just before hitting the wall.
:P

HAHA this is true. But as a long time android AND iOS user i can hands down say that i prefer iOS any day! Love how apple does the UI and stability of everything!

@josh I've never particularly owned an android, but my printer has a tablet which runs android, and it's quite the disaster. In addition I have used a google nexus for about 2 hours. I just like its screen shape :P

@PK Yeah I've used Android devices before. I definitely can tell you I'm not biased towards iOS since I've had my experience with all mobile platforms. Android seemed rather confusing to me even for an experienced user.

It's has some interesting aspects. I just cant pick android over iOS though. However I do notice most people seem to not need cases for android devices, and I've also seen the "my phone has a plastic back, and yet I managed to drop it flat on its face and crack the screen, and I'm still using it" scenario ...
That next iPhone better have some better durability. I don't need my heart stopping every time it slips.

Yeah I know what you mean.

I agree at least every 6 of 10 iphones i see daily have a cracked screen or back glass. Maybe 3 out of 15 androids. More people use the iphone is why I see this I guess. Or maybe we are more clumbsy lol

Haha I'm very careful with my iPhone but it's can get slippery at times.

This case may not be the best for protection...but if you are looking for a sleek case to use while wearing a suit, then check out the SGP Linear Blitz
cdn-store.imore.com
I have gotten a lot of compliments about it. The apple part being cut out is pretty neat also.

The other case I use is the UNU battery case.
myunu.com
It has an extra battery just in case you need it.

The Linear Blitz looks really slick. Does it come in a variety of colors?

Yeah there is a red and a charcoal color I think

Awesome. I like the black back but not fond of the outside lining.

They don't always offer the most utility, but Hardgraft uses this beautiful combination of wool felt and vegetable-tanned leather with their iPhone cases. I only use mine when I'm travelling for protection.

hardgraft.com

I like softness of the Hard Graft case, just from looking at the picture. Does it have some sort of sturdiness to it or is like wrapping up your phone in a shirt or something?

And does it fit well in your pocket or do you primarily keep it in a back?

Bag* excuse me. Looking forward to when the edit button arrives :).

It'll fit snug in a pair of jeans, which I only find uncomfortable when sitting down. In those cases I either leave the case behind or stick it in my bag.

It's certainly not built to win any sturdiness awards, but I was comfortable tossing it lightly from a beach chair down on to a rock beach... so there's that.

ditto on that edit button.

That is a neat case...I like the idea of combining a wallet and my phone.
Sometimes I see people (mostly girls) put it in their back pocket, but feel like that is a good way to crack the screen. Does anyone do that? Is it safe?

I would never do that. Nor would I combine the 2 most valuable things I carry into one, lol.

I agree with PK on that as well. Losing your wallet and your phone in one shot wouldn't be good.

There's case for who love a little Nostalgia and nerding:

amazon.com

@Alen That's an awesome case! I wonder what other nerdy cases can be found -- I'm going to check!

Alright let's divulge on more cases!

For all the Zelda fans, whatcha think? (amazon.com)

This other Zelda case nice too. (amazon.com)

They lack real protection though. Can't tell if they have a big enough lip on them.

This is the yellow jacket case I mentioned in my earlier post.

indiegogo.com

Not only a stun gun but a backup battery also.

Whats your opinion?

It's super bulky. I could probably barely fit it in my pocket.

Like most guys(?), I carry my iPhone in one of my front pants pockets, so the case has got to be slim and easy to get in and out. The first case I had was relatively thin, but was made of rubber, so was impossible to get in and out of my pocket.

After that, for both my 3G & 4, I've used the Incipio Feather:
incipio.com

It's super thin and lightweight, and while it doesn't provide any front screen protection, that has never been an issue for me.

After all of that, however, I now carry my iPhone around sans-case, and just cross my fingers that I won't drop it with unfortunate results.

I have some friends that use Incipio cases and from what I've seen, they look nice. I know that it doesn't have front screen protection (which I don't like having myself) but does it have a decent lip on the edges when, in the event it were to drop face first, it would hit the case first?

Actually there isn't a lip like that, so the front is totally exposed. I have a few nicks on the edges of the front screen, and a couple of scratches along the front. The resale value of my iPhone isn't something I ever concern myself with though, so that's all ok to me.

What are the kinds of drops that cause an iPhone screen to shatter? Onto concrete from 5+ feet? I've dropped/pushed mine off a table onto hardwood without any screen cracking.

Yeah I dropped my phone recently with my old case (Incase) from about three feet off the ground and it nicked the top of the phone a bit. It has a small also. Broke the case though so I had to get rid of it.

My mom has broken the glass on 2 iPhone 4's just by it slipping out of her hand onto the floor maybe 4 feet off the ground. I'm not completely sure of the surface it was dropped on though. She didn't have a case on either time.

Every case I had so far badly broke the design, so actually I'm having it naked, but if I had to choose one, I'd take the black icarbons.com

Nice Finn. I have heard good things about iCarbons. I'm just not fond of skins :).

Yea, I wasn't as well, but then I saw the precision and the grip they offered and had to try it out. :D

My cousin owns one and loves it. He has one for his Mac also. I may need to look into it. I'll check out their booth at JailbreakCon maybe.

I'm a fan of Sled iphone backs (sledmade.com) - not a case per se, but I've found that it reduces the number of times I drop it because leather is less slippery than the standard glass back. Enhances the design, too (IMO).

THIS GUY: amazon.com

My keys even fit in the card slot. And I drop my phone ALL the time, on various surfaces, and so far no trauma.

That's pretty nifty Kara! Do you have any issues with cards falling out or anything?

I use a Karvt wooden skin that I got from JackThreads on sale, though now that I have it, I totally would have paid full price for it.

It's a lot more protective than I would have thought and feels really sturdy and thick. I've dropped it on tile floor and... nothing happened. The only thing is that, since it's wood, it does start showing signs of wear. I kind of think that's cool, but that's obviously preference. I get a lot of compliments on it though!

Hopefully I don't peel the thing off when I get a new iPhone and find it's cracked under there. Heh.

I have the "pine chocolate" one here: karvt.com

Nope, even if there's only a metro card in there it's secure. Some sort of design mechanism I can't determine.

I've personally never been much of a case person, so I look for something more sleek. I've had the casemate barely there since last October and love it. It's super minimal, slips in and out of my pocket really nicely (not a big fan of the gel cases) and has provided enough protection for me. I've only dropped my phone once (knock on wood) but it was a decent fall and my case protected perfectly. It may have been a luck bounce, but either way it didn't make anything shatter. The biggest thing I try to look for is seeing if lint and things get stuck in the case because it scratches the bevel pretty well sometimes, but my phone is still in excellent condition. I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for more minimal.

Sounds nice Spencer. Link the case so we can see !

This is the one I have, the white compliments the white iphone perfectly!

I have a similar case, the Slight, it's extremely thin and comes in different colors. The best thing: Its so thin that you can charge your iPhone in most docks together with the case.

Dang, I haven't ever seen that one. It looks sick!

I had a Snap Case for my iPhone 4 and it lasted, although I had to superglue some of the corners that were cracking.

When I got the new black iPhone 5 I also purchased the new Snap Case. This one is a bit thicker (hopefully doesn't crack). Happy with it. It feels like I have *some* protection, at least on the corners / edges.