The CandyShell
The idea behind the CandyShell line is that you have a hard outer shell combined with a softer inner lining. This combination is meant to protect the iPhone against those incidental drops we all occasionally have. In the picture, you can see the difference between the two surfaces by their color. The black — known as Batwing Black on Speck’s website — is the hard outer shell while the inner gray material provides your shock absorption.
As you can also see, and would expect, the CandyShell provides cutouts for the charging port, headphone jack, volume hard switch, and camera lens. Instead of doing cutouts for the power button and the volume control, Speck went with rubbery covers. While that does offer your phone more protection, and may even look better to you, it really does take away the sense of feedback those buttons normally provide. It takes some getting used to because without feedback, you have to look at the screen or just assume that your button press ‘worked.’ The volume buttons are tougher to press than the power button, but neither requires an unusual amount of pressure. I may use my volume and power buttons more than most folks, so this may or may not be an issue for you.
The CandyShell also comes with a removable clear screen protector that is meant to prevent light scratches or other dings. It’s easy enough to install, utilizing two pull tabs that keep you from touching the protector’s surface directly. Just watch out for air bubbles and you’ll have a transparent screen cover with a cutout for the Home button in place in no time. If you decide you don’t like it, it’s really easy to remove with just your finger and leaves no residue behind at all too.
The same can’t quite be said for the shell itself though. Removing the shell once it has been put on takes a little bit of force. Of course, after you seat the phone in the shell, you probably won’t be removing it very often if at all anyway, so this may be a moot point. Naturally, you want the phone to be as snug as possible in its shell, so in that regard, the CandyShell does very well. It just doesn’t take too kindly to removal, which in the grand scheme of things is good.
The CandyShell’s smooth texture and snag free design make it easy to remove from your pocket, too. I was also pleased to discover that fingerprints aren’t a big problem with the Batwing Black case. I’m used to fingerprints on my devices, including my iPhone and PSP, but the Speck case is impressively resistant to prints. It helps keep the glossy finish looking sharp.
The glossy, sharp finish makes this a good looking case. I wasn’t crazy about the big Speck logo on the backside, but I do like that the image from their logo is more apparent than their name. It’s not that I don’t like their name, but I would have preferred just a solid black case instead of one with a logo on it. Overall, the CandyShell is a good product with my only major complaint being the volume and power button covers.
The SeeThru Shells
The second shell I spent a few days with is the blue SeeThru Satin case. It’s SeeThru in the sense that you can make out the silver Apple logo on the back of the case, but its more so translucent than transparent. It’s very similar to the CandyShell, although it is molded from the same material throughout, so you don’t get that softer shock absorbing material inside. Still, it’s a good sturdy shell with the same cutouts and button covers as the CandyShell. It’s even less prone to fingerprints with its Satin finish as opposed to the glossy slick finish of the CandyShell. The logo on the back of the case is much smaller and repositioned as well.
SeeThru Clear:
The other SeeThru Case we received is completely transparent. Only the top edge of the shell is translucent while the rest of it is clear. This would be my favorite shell of the four we received because it keeps the iPhone’s naturally good looks while still offering it some protection.
Fitted Shell
The Fitted shell takes care of my issue with the power and volume button covers, while managing to provide a much ‘louder’ design from a style perspective. The Houndstooth Yellow may not look great in my opinion, but it does offer a standout design that most people will notice. If that’s your goal, then the Fitted line is for you as it offers a variety of unique prints for the back of the shell.
I do like that the printed design on the back of the case is a soft fabric. This means fingerprints are never a problem and you have an improved grip, too. And while the fabric may be soft, the Fitted shell still provides a hard rubber lining to make it tough on drops. The color of the rubber varies depending on the individual shell.
Conclusion
Each shell or case comes packaged in a cardboard box with a nice two button enclosure. The button design is unusual but works really well. You don’t have to tear open or cut open the box, and while you may not keep the box anyway, it’s a neat, subtle design choice that I liked. Within the box is another box that contains the case. This plastic enclosure pops open easily (no blister packaging here) to reveal your case, instructions, and removable screen protector. I think it was the CandyShell that also came with an orange microfiber cleaning cloth, although it could have been from one of the other shells. My packaging materials got all mixed up after I opened up these shells at the same time.
Prices on the Speck cases range from $29.95 up to $34.95 for the CandyShell, which isn’t bad when you take into account the cost of your phone and Speck’s merger of function and style. Bottomline, you know your iPhone deserves some protection, and Speck’s line of protective shells offer a wide variety of quality options for you to choose from. Check them all out in a convenient PDF file located on their site.
To the summary…