Otterbox Defender Case for iPhone 4 - Review

When I got my iPhone 4 I thought it was a wonderful piece of engineering and great looking too. It also looked like it would break if you stared at it too hard. Based on my experience with prior electronic devices I knew that it would be contacting the ground in the near future.

After some research I ordered a Defender case from Otterbox. (www.otterbox.com) After about a year of daily use and abuse I have not been disappointed. The case has paid for itself several times.

The good:

• Lives up to its name. My phone has been dropped several times. Once from about head height right on to concrete. My Defender case has marks from contacting hard surfaces on three of the four corners (and the corner with no marks is covered in silicone) but the phone looks and works as good as new.
• The belt clip holds the phone in place well yet makes it so that the phone is easy to take off and put on the clip.
• Otterbox's customer service is top notch. See below.

The bad:

• The case adds to the weight and size of the phone. 
• The belt clip is made of a type of plastic that will break if too much pressure is put on it and mine did break. Otterbox replaced the belt clip with no hassle.
• The outside silicone covering makes for a great grip on say your dashboard or in your hand but it makes it difficult to slide the phone into or out of a pocket.
• The screen covering is as good as a screen cover can be but I took it off nonetheless. My eyes hurt from nearly constant computer use so I didn't need one more thing between them and the screen. This is no fault of the case as I don't see how a screen cover could be any better than the one in this case.
• The silicon covering developed a small tear. This time Otterbox replaced the entire case including the belt clip.  
• This is a personal thing but I would prefer that the Apple logo not show through the case. 

Summary:

The Defender case is a top quality case that provides a high level of protection against drops at the relatively small price of a bulkier and heaver phone and is backed up by a company that is willing to stand behind their products.