Case-mate Vroom for iPhone 3G Review

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A while back the good folks over at Case-mate were kind enough to send me one of their Vroom cases for the iPhone 3G. To be honest, I wasn’t all that impressed upon opening. Its description explains why.

“Kick it into high gear with this new tire-tread pattern iPhone 3G case”

“Hooray,” I thought to myself “an iPhone case that looks like a car tire. What could be more exciting.” Fact is, I ask you find myself using it quite often now. Here’s why…

 


Ease of use and protection!!!!

The case itself is open face and the iPhone snaps in and out of it with ease. At the same time iPhone tightly enough that I’ve never had a concern about my iPhone coming out of it by accident.

In addition, the case itself is thicker than most of the other cases I have used. This means that everything but the exposed face of the iPhone is exceptionally well protected. Cutouts for accessing the ringer silencer, headphone jack, and connector port on the bottom are available so that no functionality is lost when using the device I should, however, note that the thickness of the case means that you will run into the same problem with a fake headphone jack that you did if you owned a first-generation iPhone. Thick plugs simply won’t work without an adapter.

The case comes not only with the rubber “tire” but also with a full face screen protector.  (I love when manufacturers include a screen protector with open-face cases!)

My iPhone has an invisible shield on it so it well protected all the time. There are, however, times when I don’t merely want to protect it from scratching but from dropping as well. This case provides a good degree of protection for everything but the screen and is so easy to get the iPhone in and out of, that it’s quite useful. Useful enough, in fact, that I can overlook the fact that the tire tread design of the case is something I just don’t get.

The case is available directly from Case-mate for just $14.99.

What I like:

Provides an excellent degree of protection for everything but the face
Incredibly easy to get an iPhone in and out of while unlikely it will fallout accidentally.
Includes a screen protector

What needs improvement:
The case’s design is going to be a matter of taste.
Does not work with most holders.
Does not protect the phone’s face

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.