Apple iPhone 4 Bumper - Black

• Nice concept, has issues, not ideal

  3.0 out of 5 stars

  I got the iPhone 4 bumper on the day of launch and used it since launch until last week (so for few months). Here are my thoughts:
  
  PROS -
  * Cool concept - Works well for people who want a light weight cover/safety yet not carry the bulk. Truly Apple style design.
  * Build - The body is firm, not flimsy. The rubber edge is like magnet, they will keep your phone still in any place, works great, I left it on the treadmill or car dash and it never moved. The rubber is soft, which gives it some protection in case the phone falls on a hard surface. By design the back is exposed but that is not an issue, it is a choice. The fit is perfect, you can slip it on or off easily, though I rarely did it (wish I did it sooner, keep reading). The rest of build has many issues covered under CONS.
  * Buttons - The buttons feels great, you won't miss using the iPhone buttons. Getting to ringer button can be bit tough, not an issue though.
  * Reception - Bumper or any cover is supposed to insulate the antenna shorting and avoid the iPhone 4 issue. It did as claimed but once I stopped using it, I noticed a different behavior, covered under CONS.
  
  CONS -
  * Reception - So you would think that bumper will help with iPhone 4 antenna issue. Well, it did. My bars did not drop as it would otherwise. However, once I stopped using it (replaced it with ghost sticky skin), I noticed a significant improvement in my WiFi signal strength. This makes me wonder if it interfered with my WiFi antenna. Anyways, just an observation that I wanted to share here.
  * Build - After a few months of use, I took off the bumper and found that the Inner lining had badly scratched the metal edges/antenna of the phone. Phone's power button and the metal body is scratched from all sides. This is a quality failure. The lining is supposed to protect the phone body, not harm it. It has cheap plastic (or something similar) inside that does more harm than good ! Unfortunately, its too late for me, my phone is scratched in only the areas that was protected by the bumper (irony ?).
  * Holes for ports - If you live in Apple world then this bumper is for you. But if you plan to use non-Apply headphones or USB connector (in car or otherwise), you are out of luck. The bumper holes are precisely built to fit the small apple connectors or similar (rare to find), nothing else would fit. Yet another reason why I dumped the bumper.
  
  CONCLUSION - Cool concept, good fit, nice from outside, cheap harmful material inside, limits use of 3rd party headphones/adapters. Cons weigh more than Pros for me and I no longer am using it. … More (Read full review)

  • Written by Vikram C from Wilmington
  • Oct 7, 2010

  2524 of 2814 people found this useful

  Was this useful? Nice concept, has issues, not ideal

  Yes No

• Good case but ironic

  3.0 out of 5 stars

  When I got this case I was really excited to protect it and show it off. After 3 months of use I hsve noticed it has been scratchi ng my phone's stainless steel bumper. There are nor scratches all over my phone from an apple product that was supposed to protect it. … More (Read full review)

  • Written by Shady O from Houston
  • Oct 8, 2010

  1180 of 1413 people found this useful

  Was this useful? Good case but ironic

  Yes No

• Good, but requires modification

  2.0 out of 5 stars

  The bumper is a good case for what it's meant for. It offers no screen or back glass protection at all. The problem is the conne ctors. The dock connector port is a perfect fit for the apple dock connectors. However, if you have any accessory or 3rd party cables, this is where it becomes an issue. The ipod adapter in my car wouldn't work. Even an older apple branded ipod cable doesn't fit with the bumper on.
  
  Solution: I used a Dremmel to make the dock connector much more accommodating to other cables.
  
  Longer term solution: bought another case. … More (Read full review)

  • Written by MICHAEL A B from SOMERVILLE
  • Oct 7, 2010

  840 of 1069 people found this useful

  Was this useful? Good, but requires modification

  Yes No

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• Clumsy Bumper

  1.0 out of 5 stars

  I bought the bumper because I thought it was essential.
  
  The clerk at the Apple store didn't put it on perfectly, and perfect i s what the iPhone is all about. There was a crimp in the upper right hand corner which I noticed the next day. No big deal, I straightened it out. Other that that, everything was fine.
  
  But I started to notice a few problems.
  
  1. The inner edges of the bumper were dust collectors. You clean off the surface, and the dust and other fine particles get trapped under the edges of the bumper. The only way to resolve this is to remove the bumper, clean off the iPhone and the inner sides of the bumper, the put it back on. Dust begins to re-accumulate immediately.
  
  2. The sticky rubber edges of the bumper make it hard to slip into and out of your pocket. I found this to be a very inelegant feature.
  
  3. The swipe functions didn't work very well with the raised rubber borders.
  
  4. The 'rubber band' feel of the bumper made a lot of functions more difficult to use (I only realized this when I took the bumper off).
  
  5. Texting was so difficult that I had to buy a stencil. I no longer needed it when the bumper was removed.
  
  I wouldn't recommend it, except for protection against dropping on hard surfaces. Steve Jobs had a vision for this thing, and I'm sure it didn't include a clumsy, sticky, dust-collecting rubber border. It's best left just the way it is. … More (Read full review)

  • Written by Jim S from Vancouver
  • Jun 16, 2013

  Was this useful? Clumsy Bumper

  Yes No

• Newest Bumper Case Is Too Small For 4S

  1.0 out of 5 stars

  Same experience as everyone else. I wish I had read these reviews before I bought my newest Apple bumper case. The bumper case has always been overpriced but, at least in the past, the case worked well and the rubber edging kept the phone from sliding on shiny surfaces like glass, etc. Now the case's rubber edges are more like plastic so the case is more slippery on shiny surfaces. Also, and this is the worst "feature," the case is so tight at the top that it actuates the sleep/wake button whenever you touch any part of the top of the case. This case now appears to be so cheaply made that its actual value is probably less than $1 but it still costs $30. I think this is the first time I've ever felt cheated by purchasing an Apple product. … More (Read full review)

  • Written by Kennneth G from Louisville
  • Jun 1, 2013

  1 of 1 people found this useful

  Was this useful? Newest Bumper Case Is Too Small For 4S

  Yes No

• Doesn't Fit the Phone

  1.0 out of 5 stars

  I bought the bumper case for the iPhone 4 way back when those products were new. Case worked great. I reused the old case on the 4S I got a year ago. The rubber eventually started to separate from the plastic part of the case so I thought, hey time for another bumper case. I bought a new one from the Apple Store, it said it was compatible with the 4S. I put it on and, man, is the fit tight. It's so tight that it presses the volume and the sleep/wake buttons. This has been a big problem. I have the screen randomly turn off while I'm using the phone because of the pressure the case exerts on the sleep/wake button, I've had phone calls end for the same reason. For this much money and this little case, it should fit better. It should fit like it used to. QC is slipping, or most likely Apple's vendor's are trying to cheat a little material out of each product by making it smaller, tighter, trying to save a penny here or there. I say make the product like you used to and charge $29.02. I fixed my case by spending time to stretch out the plastic. It works okay now, still not as good as the old case. I'll probably buy a more substantial case from a different vendor in the future. … More (Read full review)

  • Written by Chrlistopher M from Bronxville
  • May 9, 2013

  4 of 4 people found this useful

  Was this useful? Doesn't Fit the Phone

  Yes No

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