After a month of owning the
Power Support Crystal Jacket set, I think it's time for a review.
I've owned an iPod since they first debuted and have had every single model ever since. My fear was always that i'd scratch my precious, shiny white and chrome gadget. In the past, I've tried everything from rubber suit cases, cloth or material cases but none did better than the Agent18 plastic case. The Agent18 case was made of some kind of poly-clear plastic that was molded around the iPods curves. It fit snugly and snapped together and gave it durable protection from all sorts of things. I could safely put the iPod in my pocket without worry. If anything the Agent18 case would get scratched. Not my iPod.
When the iPhone arrived, I looked around for a similar plastic shell casing and saw that Contour had one as well as Belkin. After waiting a bit and seeing how others liked the case, I was a little wary of purchasing any of them... including the Crystal Jacket Set. I read a few reports that said the early versions of the crystal jacket interfered with one of the proximity sensors and that part of the design was being retooled. I'm glad I waited for the newer version! The older version of the Crystal Jacket had a frosted front face. The newer one has a completely clear front, back and sides.
The Crystal Jacket worked just the way I thought it would. The Jacket
itself comes in two halves that snap together around the iPhone. It
also comes with a Crystal Film set to protect the front of the large
screen. The film isn't a sticky sticker like some others i've seen.
Instead the film is a nice semi-mylar feel that applies itself advanced
static-cling. It's also incredibly easy to apply and I'm sure if you
made a mistake, you could somehow get it clean with some water and push
out the moisture with a finger.
The Jacket also comes with a holster with a swivel clip. The holster is
made of plastic and allows the Crystal Jacket to snap in and out
easily. For those of you who like to see the face of the iPhone, the
clip doesn't face that way. Instead, the iPhone has it's entire face
protected when in the clip, allowing only the back of the phone to be
shown. This could be good or bad, depending on how you use it. I dumped
the clip as soon as we got the iPhone into the Crystal Jacket since I
rarely would use it.
The Crystal Film was the biggest plus since none of the other clear
cases I've seen comes with any sort of screen protection. The shell of
the Crystal Jacket is also very thin and fits perfectly with the
iPhone. Controls access is cut out for all the normal spots: headset,
earpiece, volume, power and dock connector. You will have to remove the
case in order to use the iPhone dock though.
My Crystal Jacket wasn't perfect though. Out of the box, the plasted
edge ended up rubbing against the plastic box... probably during
shipping and display. This left a white mark on the plastic as you an
see near the camera on the picture above. It did nothing to affect how
well the Crystal Jacket performed, but to be safe, you may want to
examine it closely before purchasing.
So how did it stand up after a month? Pretty good. If you're expecting
the Crystal Jacket to stay nice and shiny, for the most part it does. I
stuck it in my pocket all the time. I was careful not to stick it next
to my keys or lose change. It does show some scratches but what did you
expect? It's far better than getting your iPhone scratched up.
The Crystal Film is the best of the clear screen protector products
I've ever used. It's so smooth and transparent, people who have used my
iPhone didn't even know it was on! It did a great job of protecting
that huge screen. The only problem I encountered: Dust. Dust and lint
from my pockets gets lodged between the screen and the casing and that
can create small pits in the Crystal Film and Jacket if not taken care
of. Not a problem since you can always purchase a whole new set of
Crystal Film.
While I haven't dropped my iPhone, I doubt any case will save it from
breaking or cracking. I don't want to find out if the Crystal Jacket
will protect my iPhone well, but I can guess that it will at least
lessen the impact of a drop.
I'll give the
Crystal Jacket set a high recommendation, now that
it's been redesigned and for the fact that it comes with full screen
protection, is made with high quality materials and precision. Until a
better case comes out, my iPhone will be in this one.
Get more info about the Crystal Jacket at
PowerSupport USA.
hey i just bought this case yesterday and i feel kind of ridiculous asking this but how do i remove it? any advice would be great. thanks