I hate shoving my iPhone in a case. The case takes up valuable pocket room and covers up the cool looks of the iPhone. So I went case free for the fist six months of of my iPhone enabled life. What happened next was, if you’re a clumsy as me, inevitable. On a rainy, gray day the iPhone slipped from my hand, rotated through the air in seeming slow motion and smacked the ground perfectly flat on the screen side. The screen was cracked badly (though the iPhone still worked) and so it was time to a trip to the Apple Store. They replaced the phone for free (I was so embarrassed I cajoled my wife into talking to them).

One accidental drop was enough so I ponied up for a case. The first case taught me that I hated cases with belt clips because a) I don’t wear belts and b) because people who walk around with a phone clipped to their belt should given a valium and sent back to 1996. So when the old case didn’t work with the iPhone 3G (it blocked the sensor that would turn the screen on while making a phone call if you held the phone away from you face) I bought a new case: The Belkin Hard Leather Case.

I opted for the Belkin because it seemed to offer the most protection with the least amount of added bulk and because it happened to be hanging on the wall at the Apple Store. The case feels nice, looks reasonably well constructed and offers, one would think, a serious amount of protection. The first few weeks went well. The Belkin case left more room to access the screen so I was never annoyed that my finger movements were being impeded (I’ve got fingers like malformed bratwursts). The real test happens when you drop the assembly and so I did. Not on purpose but more than once.

The first few drops led to the predictable reaction. If you’re unlucky you’re familiar with the scenario. The iPhone slips unexpectedly from your grasp and you are suddenly caught in a cold wave of fear. The alert among us try to stick a foot out to hacky sack the thing back into the air but that is a one in a thousand shot. After several drops with the iPhone ensconced in the Belkin case you start you feel a little more comfortable. The iPod is never damaged and even the case doesn’t show any sign of wear. Perfection in a case?

Well maybe not. As I became more blase about dropping iPhone when it was protected by the Leather Hard Case I stopped worrying at all when the iPhone spiraled downward at 9.8 meters per second per second and start thinking “I win again gravity!” My smugness was repaid in full when the rotations of the case resulted an impact wherein the top of the iPhone impacted the ground squarely. The method of ensconcing the iPhone in the Leather Hard case is sliding it in the top and since there are no annoying snaps the top remains open. This design is great for putting the phone in the case but, if the impact angle is just right, can result in phone damage as the iphone slides after impact and meets hard, unforgiving pavement.

The damage was purely cosmetic (though the fall did pop out the sim card as well) so the case performed adequately but the Leather Hard case isn’t for people who desire total protection.
Belkin Leather Hard Case, $29.95 from Apple’s online store