Tech on the Trail: Meet the OtterBox Defender for iPhone 3G

Value

The OtterBox Defender for iPhone 3G will cost you about $50 if you buy it directly from OtterBox. This seems like a pretty steep price at first but when you consider that I paid $40 for a leather belt case that fell apart after 4 months [and getting wet once] then an extra $20 for a pack of three screen protectors you actually save $10 by getting the Defender and you end up with a much more sturdy case for your expensive toy, I mean smart phone "intended for serious business".

Warranty

OtterBox provides a one-year warranty on all of their products. This warranty covers defects in manufacturing. If you find a defect you can contact OtterBox for a replacement case. OtterBox will not cover any contents inside the case under this warranty.

Conclusion

If you are into camping, biking, hiking, or are just plain hard on your phone the OtterBox Defender for iPhone 3G is a great choice. It is not the all protective case like the armor was but it does a great job at keeping your iPhone from harm. I found that although OtterBox does not say it is water proof, resistant or designed to protect from water intrusion in any way you could be fairly confident that rain, splashes and most moisture short a prolonged dousing or submersion are not going to destroy your iPhone.

There are some draw backs to the Defender though; OtterBox needs to work on the belt clip and the screen protector. For the screen protector they have to figure out how to remove the bubbles so that they display is easier to read. For belt clip something has to be done about the sharp edges and the placement to allow for easier horizontal carrying.

Even with those issues the price is excellent considering what you actually get and comparing it to your average case plus screen protector.  The Defender for iPhone 3G  will be coming with me on all of my future camping trips for certain.