Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get a Grip, September 16, 2007
*****
Get a Grip
Protection. Performance. Price. Marware's Sport Grip excels in all.
I was looking for a thin, protective, and inexpensive case for my iPhone knowing that most third party products are bulky, shabby, and overpriced. There are other cases that look better, but Marware's Sport Grip offers the best-looking protection and grip for the iPhone (which is a particularly dense, slick device; and therefore very easy to drop). While I am very impressed with the design and appearance of the Cozip case, I would still recommend the Marware Sport Grip because of its more industrial-strength grip and protection.
If protecting your iPhone from the hard knocks of life is your top priority, then this is the case for you. There are two caveats however that both relate to dust.
The first caveat is applying the clear screen protector without trapping air, lint, or dust below it. Eventually I got it perfectly, but you must be very careful and patient with this protector until it is properly applied. While the iPhone's screen is reputed to be extremely scratch resistant, I prefer the extra protection afforded by this clear protector.
Use the supplied microfiber cloth (and Dust-Off, if you have it) to clean your iPhone very thoroughly first. Apply the screen protector as instructed in a clean and well-lighted place. You will most likely have to make several attempts, but eventually it will work perfectly. I used a Swiss Army knife toothpick to lift the protector off the screen to reapply, but any sharp non-metal object should work as well.
If you do get lint below the screen protector (as I did), don't give up. Simply saturate a few cotton balls in pure rubbing alcohol (99%) and gently wipe the clinging side of the protector from edge to edge in one motion on a fresh sheet of office paper. Keep wiping until the entire protector surface is clean, then blot the alcohol off using another fresh sheet of office paper. Reapply the protector as instructed. It took me several attempts of cleaning and reapplying, but eventually it clung perfectly to the iPhone screen and disappeared almost entirely.
I know this sounds overly meticulous, but a little extra care while applying the screen protector will greatly enhance your experience with this product and your iPhone. Once the protector and skin are on, you will lose virtually none of the iPhone performance while gaining significantly enhanced grip and protection.
The second caveat is the amount of dust the high-friction silicone skin attracts. This sword cuts both ways. To me, this is a feature and not a bug as I prefer that my phone stay securely where I put it. Naturally, the silicone case clings to pockets while attracting lint, dust, etc. That's the point. Just about any other material slides around, which is exactly what I don't want.
For me, this is a small sacrifice when compared to the amount of sure grip and protection it affords. I also prefer that my iPhone not slide out of my coat pocket when I stoop down, but the tradeoff is that it doesn't slip into your pocket as easily and definitely attracts dust and lint. However, the skin itself is quite easy to remove from the iPhone to rinse off and blot-dry, so I don't see this as a huge disadvantage when compared to the enhanced grip and protection.
I would easily pay double the price for this product as it is the most protective, highest performance, and least obstructive iPhone case, but Marware's Sport Grip is a real bargain at around $10. At this price, I haven't found any other products that look as good while protecting so well.
I highly recommend this product to those who value protection and performance over appearance.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect after some slight adjustments, December 19, 2007
I bought several iPhone cases because I couldn't decide which to choose. Of the ones I bought this one was the best by far. It's not bulky at all, and the rubber protects it surprisingly well. The only suggestion I would make is that you mod it by taking an exacto knife and widening the hole for the switch and also trimming off some of the bottom edge of the screen hole so you can more easily hit the space bar. The key with widening the switch hole is to make the hole go around slightly to the bottom of the phone that way you can easily flip it without having to dig your nail in there -- even while it's in your pocket.
Pros
- Fits like a glove; it's the least cumbersome of the cases I tried.
- Isn't bulky.
- Rubbery texture means better grip not just in your hand, but helps prevent it from falling out of your pocket (a problem I had often prior to getting this case).
- Rubber seems sufficient to protect it from small falls, unlike the hard plastic alternatives I tried.
Cons
- To dock it you have to pull the cover up slightly, or remove it all together. For charging though you can just plug directly into it. This is a problem with all covers/cases though so if you're looking for one you should already be aware of that.
- Switch hole isn't quite big enough, but that's easily remedied with 2 minutes and an exacto knife.
- Bottom edge of the screen hole feels awkward when pressing the space bar, this is also fixed with an exacto knife.
- The design seems to be a slight Alienware ripoff. This isn't really a con, since it looks very good, but some techie people might be annoyed.
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~~~ UPDATE ~~~
I'm updating this review to say that I recently upgraded to an iPhone 3GS and this case doesn't work for it. They added an extra proximity sensor in the 3GS which is covered by the case causing the screen to arbitrarily turn on and off repeatedly while calling someone. This appears to be a problem for almost all first gen iPhone cases, and it makes sense as they couldn't possibly have anticipated Apple adding extra sensors.
They've released an updated version of the case for the 3GS which I'm going to purchase immediately. Hopefully they took some of my previous tweaks and implemented them in the new product.
Just to be clear: if you you own a first generation iPhone then I still highly recommend this product.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Silicone iPhone Case by far, September 5, 2007
I agree with everything iLounge wrote about it:
"the case comes with a clear film static cling screen protector that covers iPhone's entire face save for the Home button and ear speaker, and a gray cleaning cloth. There are seven grip ribs on each side; SportGrip covers the top and side buttons, leaving only the proximity sensor, headphone port, camera, side ringer switch, face and bottom speakers, mic, and Dock Connector port open. Since the film covers the whole face, you do better with Marware's combination of film and silicone than with most iPhone cases.
From a protectiveness standpoint, SportGrip is impressive. It covers the top Sleep/Wake switch and side Volume buttons while making them easy to depress, and has only one flaw: the iPhone's chrome bezel shows through the sides next to the screen. and a little bit near the proximity sensor. As its name hints, however, it has a considerable amount of rubber on its back, shaped to make the encased iPhone fit comfortably in your hand. There's no belt clip or other frills here."
If you are looking for a quality iPhone case for protection, at this price, you won't be disappointed. It is a bonus it includes a screen protector!
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by David Pogue
