The cellhelmet is one of the Kickstarter projects I backed that was actually successful, produced and shipped. (You can read the initial Kickstert This! post here.) Yes, my cellhelmet arrived the other day and I was excited to get it on my phone. It stayed there for about an hour and then came off, was repackaged and prepped to give away in tomorrow’s newsletter.
Why am I not using it? Read on!
The reason I find the cellhelmet to be a mixed bag can be summed up in this image. You see, the bulk of the creators discussion of the case isn’t actually on the case. Instead it is on the accidental coverage that comes with each case. And yes, that is a big deal and an innovation that makes sense. It is actually a great idea to bundle a case with damage coverage. The result?
No monthly fees. Every cellhelmet includes one (1) full year of accidental damage coverage for iPhone 4/4S. Pay only $44.99 and get cellhelmet, plus all coverages. Stop paying monthly fees for iPhone insurance today. *Water damage excluded. Must register coverage within 30 days of purchase.
That’s a pretty good deal!
And the case itself looks okay. It is one piece and the iPhone clips inside. It is a fairly tight fit so it does take some time to get in but that is a good thing since it speaks to the case’s integrity. It completely covers the back, sides, and even the area around the Home Button. That’s the good news.
Each cell helmet also comes with a few back inserts. This lets you change the color of the back of the iPhone without having to stick anything on it. I opted for the bland combination you see in front of you.
The folks behind the projects made a big deal our of these. Personally I was a bit underwhelmed by them. They are kind of cheap-looking and I could do without the big “cellhelmet™” on each one.
The website for the cellhelmet DOES discuss the case itself but to read about it you have to scroll down the page… way down. As noted, that makes sense since the real innovation here is in the bundling with accident protection but it does raise some questions. Question like, “What is the case like?”
I expected perfection. After all, there were 30!!! updates along the way including one that noted,
The cellhelmet™ is now a perfect fit – we couldn’t be happier with its sizing. We also finalized our material/color selections – you will all be very pleased with the simple feel of its dense TPU rubber shell.
We do have one issue however, which will need to be addressed before we can ship. As you can see in a couple of the last images, where there used to be a window to the Apple logo, you can still see a “halo.” This should not be there. We do not want to send out an unfinished product, so we will have this addressed first.
In other words, they were proud to get rid of an area on the back that had a slight reminder of a “window” in the initial design. That’s great but to ship a “finished”
product with this…
…leave something to be desired. I don’t mean to be picky but if you are going to make a big deal out of getting rid of a halo effect there shouldn’t be something this obvious on the case.
That’s problem number one. Problem number two is more a matter of taste.
In order for the case to be as protective as it is there needs to be more to it than merely surrounding the iPhone with plastic. There is and it comes in the form of the small interior ribs you can see around the interior frame. These actually create small gaps between the iPhone and the case itself and, in the process, gives some “shock absorbency” to it. That’s all good and well but it results in a case that is larger than the form-fitting cases I love. Some may love the shape, feel and size of it. I don’t.
So is this a bad case? No, not at all. Is it a good case? I can’t say it is and I don’t think there would be much to talk about if there accident protection wasn’t there. But it is and it makes a compelling case for this case, especially if you are someone who is prone to dropping it. And, in fact, we will be getting this case, and the year of protection, into the hands of one of our readers.
GIVEAWAY!!!!
If you want it just leave a comment on this post. In fact, the winner will not only get the cellhelmet and protection but we will even include the gray, limited edition t-shirt that came as thanks to backers! Make sure you are signed up for our weekly newsletter (Click Here) since that is where we will be announcing the winners.
You can check out the case here on the product here.
MSRP: $44.99
What I Like: Protective; Customizable with included back plates; Comes with one year of accident protection
What Needs Improvement: Bigger than I want in order to provide protection; Doesn’t feel particularly great in the hand; Blemish from where this case was filled or attached