The kickstand case and holster for the iPhone 4S from PureGear
As can easily be seen from the “see also” category on this post, GeekDad has reviewed a plethora of iPhone cases. This is the first review for me simply because until two weeks ago, I didn’t possess a smartphone of any kind. I was using a perfectly adequate burner phone.
But as GeekDad and GeekMom take up more of my professional time, it was clear I needed to have a smart phone for when I’m away from my home. It wasn’t the cost of the phone itself that worried me. $200 seemed a reasonable price for a phone with all the bells and whistles.
It was the cost of the data plan. I finally went with Sprint’s unlimited data plan after much searching because it was approximately the same price as Verizon’s highest priced limited data plan.
And I decided on an iPhone 4S. The deciding factor is that my MacBook Pro has been consistently reliable and I knew if I brought home the iPhone and plugged it in, they’d talk to each other and do whatever had to be done to set up my email, browsers, calendar, photos, music, etc. painlessly. And, indeed, that’s what happened in about five minutes.
The DualTek case
The next step was a case. The store where I purchased them tried to sell me several but instead I took PureGear up on the offer to provide several different cases for review.
The three different cases each had their strengths and drawbacks.
The first I tried was the DualTek Extreme Shock Case for $39.99. This had the advantage of a screen shield to protect the front of the phone from scratches and other disasters. It is a very sturdy case with reinforced corners and sides for those prone to dropping phones, like me.
The only drawback was removing the case. It hugs the phone tightly, so tightly that removing it without damaging the phone was more than a bit tricky.
Next I tried the Kickstand Case and Holster for $29.99, pictured at the beginning of the article. Pluses were a plastic cover for the front of the phone, the ability to clip it onto a belt or pants and the kickstand which allowed the phone to stand freely. The main drawback was difficulty in sliding the removable part of the case free from the holster. Obviously, the phone shouldn’t fall out of the holster but it shouldn’t take wrestling to get it out either. I got better with practice. There’s also the Case and Holster without the kickstand for $24.99.
I also tried out two other accessories. One was the PureBoom Advanced Performance In-Ear Headset at $49.99. I have a pair of Apple’s own headset with microphone ($79) and they’ve been great. I wondered if the PureGear item would match up. The sound quality is about the same but I liked two additional things about the PureGear headset. One, it came in a little case. Two, the wires don’t tangle nearly as easily as the Apple product.
The second was a dual USB car charger for $19.99 which I considered a necessity, especially for long family trips. It worked fine, though I can’t tell yet how it will stand up to repeated use.
