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Survivor
Score: 90%
Developer: Griffin Technology
Device Type: Accessory


Function:

I must admit, I take very good care of my iPhone 4. I don't ever do anything stupid with it, and I don't ever intend to. However, I know a good number of people who do. I've recently come into possession of an iPhone 4 case that seems to have been engineered with people like them in mind. I'm talking about Griffin's Survivor case. Its purpose? Protection from the elements. Protection from you and other destructive human beings. Protection from the ever-lingering threat of random mayhem. And is it effective? Boy, is it.

Performance:

If you want to see Griffin's Survivor case perform, click the link at the bottom. I'll wager that every ounce of punishment that poor phone is going through is legitimate. Me, I'm not the kind of person who chucks his phone off the roof of his house. If I'm going to spend two hundred dollars on something, you'd better believe I'll take care of it, case or not. So no, I did not "test" the Survivor case. However, I can definitely attest to the fact that it is a freaking tough case.

For starters, the internal frame alone is pretty much a turtle shell for the iPhone 4. It fits snugly and features a display shield that barely obscures the screen and never causes touchscreen problems. Even if you drop it, special pressure points on the outside of the frame keep the potential damage localized away from the iPhone. When you put on the silicon sleeve, it becomes borderline indestructible.


Features:
  • Rigid Internal Frame -- Minimizes Shock/Drop Damage
  • Integral Display Shield -- Helps Deflect Wind-Blown Rain
  • Silicon Cladding -- Absorbs Vibration
  • Sealed Ports -- Help Block Blown Sand/Dust

Drawbacks & Problems::

Griffin's Survivor case has the protection thing down pat, but how does it handle everything else? When it comes to smartphone accessories, I look for two key quality traits: portability and accessibility. I take my phone everywhere I go, and I don't like it when the simple act of pulling it out of my pocket becomes troublesome. The case I owned before the Survivor was almost purely decorative (black and gold with a fleur-de-lis), but I liked it for two main reasons; it was light enough to easily access from my pocket, and it did just enough to shield the screen from immediate threats.

Unsurprisingly, accessibility is where the Survivor comes up short. For starters, if you like to use your iPhone 4 as an audio device, make sure you've got the right-sized auxiliary cable, as the Survivor does not feature much negotiating room for your port. Otherwise, you might have to take the case completely off when you want to use those features. If you like to put your iPhone 4 in your pocket, the Survivor's silicon sleeve will cling stubbornly as you try to extract it. Of course, you can wear it on your belt, provided you wear one all the time. It also doesn't give you as much screen access as I hoped for; I'm not used to turning my finger sideways to reach keys on the edge. More troubling is the way in which it handles the camera. The flap that covers the lens is almost airtight when it's closed, but if you ever want to take pictures or video, you'll have to open the flap and keep it open yourself. If you let it go, it will flap back, getting in the way of the picture. Perhaps elegant solutions for these problems were simply unattainable for a case with this core function, and I understand that completely. Sometimes sacrifices must be made.

Griffin's Survivor case is really a remarkable piece of work; an iPhone 4 encased within one of these babies can probably withstand everything short of a direct hit from a tactical nuclear bomb. If you take really great care of your iPhone 4 and like to take pictures, this one might not fulfill all your needs. However, if you consider yourself a high-risk smartphone owner, this is the case for you.


-FenixDown, GameVortex Communications
AKA Jon Carlos

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Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated