When it comes to iPhone cases, there are so many out there it can be hard to know which one to get. Do you want one that’s waterproof? One that has an included screen protector? One that’s just a band around the edges, or one that provides all-round protection? One with a flap, or one without? While choosing the right case might send some into a flap and cause some to lose their religion over which brand they once preferred and prefer now, we’ve never seen a case that so explicitly promises to dissipate the impact of falls through a scientifically proven process. After all, you normally just expect a case is going to do that, but when you design material specifically for this purpose, you really are thinking ahead – while potentially making you think why the actual cases of smartphones don’t have this type of capability themselves.
That’s partly because many phones are encased in metal, but there are plenty out there made with plastic, too, although an additional protective case adds extra protection a phone’s own shell can never provide. So, when Tech21 sent us one of its Impactology iPhone 6 cases to look at, we were intrigued. It has to be said that we haven’t had the gumption to test the case out as designed yet by actually purposefully dropping an iPhone 6 encased in an Impactology case onto a hard surface like a road or even just carpet, but if we can believe the manufacturer’s claims, when this does happen by accident, we should be more than well protected. The Company says that D3O technology is impact protection technology that allows its internal molecules to flow freely, but upon shock or impact, those molecules lock together, absorbing the impact force and spreading the shock evenly across the surface of the case’s material. It has pedigree, too, having been “adopted worldwide by the military for its power in impact protection on the battlefield, and is also used in other high-impact areas such as sportswear”. D3O technology sounds so advanced it might have been made by R2-D2 and C-3PO, but that’s just a bit of clever tomfoolery on our part. The company that has taken D3O’s technology and turned it into a range of cases for iPhones is Tech21. Its new iPhone 6 cases have arrived in Australia with iPhone 6 Plus cases on the way. It has several cases available, all of which have D3O tech within, from the classic shell type case, through to a classic shell case with “flap” cover, through to a “frame” case which goes around the edges, in various colours and styles. We’re currently testing the Classic Shell with Cover featuring a “smokey” look in its plastic, although it is available with in a clear plastic look as well. Not everyone wants a case flap to cover the screen, even though it adds a little extra protection, but given the popularity of cases with covers in the marketplace, it’s good to see Tech21 offering the option.
After trying the case with the flap, I’ve decided that I’m personally not a case flap person as you have to open the flap up and bend it around the back of the phone when using it, which adds a bit of extra thickness to what you’re holding in your hand, but other people I know swear by these types of cases and wouldn’t have them any other way. However Tech21 has plenty of non-flap cases to cater to customer desires, so these cases are certainly worth looking at it you want something that offers added protection without looking like your phone is encased in a tank. We’ll be contacting the PR people to get our case with flap swapped over to a case without a flap, and we’re yet to see how it holds up when the inevitable drop occurs, but with the D3O technology within, any impact should have no impact on our iPhone 6 when that happens. Tech21 cases are available for the iPhone 6, 5s, 4s and 5, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and S4, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Sony Xperia Z2 and HTC One M8. Below is a video showing how an Impactology case protects a Samsung smartphone. |
