Element’s Liquid Case for iPhone

Posted by admin in Accessories, Case Reviews on February 22, 2009 | no responses yet

There are many many cases out there on the market that allow you to protect your iPhone. Few have the same x-factor that Element manage to craft into their cases. I saw these Liquid cases from Element while I was away on holiday over Christmas and I have to admit my first thought was “WTF” – there was no way I could see these being a practical case for the iPhone.

I hit up the team at Element Cases and asked if we could lay our fingers on one. They were really friendly, and said sure, even asked for our logo for a little surprise.

So it was with great excitement I ripped into the package that arrived on my desk almost a month ago now. Inside was a custom Liquid Case from the guys at Element Case!

Sitting on my desk

The black box with the cut away window allowed me to see our logo (sadly now our old logo) sitting proudly on the case. You couldn’t stop me from grinning, it was one of those wow moments.

Opening the top you see there are two sections to the packaging with the main case sitting on the left and the flip lids sitting on the right.

Sitting in the case

This is not your average case, this case has a real robustness to it. heck it’s held together by allen screws and has a industrial angular feel to it. The logo is engraved into an metal inlay in the back and it’s got a really sexy look to it.

The gear in the box

In the box there is a reasonable amount of stuff, you have the two flip lids, the case, instructions, and allen key and a spare screw.

The main case

The case is made from clear high impact polymer, with the inside of the case coated in a very luxurious looking paint. The entire internal shell is very smooth well made and bordering on a work of art. In the image above you can see some circles in the plastic, these are not so evident in reality, and are not big enough to cause any damage to your phone.

Putting the phone in the case is a complex process – okay it’s not really, but it’s not as simple as some leather case simply sliding on. First up loosen all four screws, taking the bottom two right out.

Slotting the iPhone into place

Once you have the bottom two screws out lift the clear frame and slot the phone into place by simply sliding it up and dropping it into the shell. Then replace the screws – NOTE: you are screwing into plastic so do NOT over tighten.

Exploded view of the Liquid case.

Once in you realise just how much attention to detail the Element Case design team have put into this. The clear frame seems to barely hold onto the phone, but hold it does. Not only does it hold there is NO way you are getting your phone out without undoing the case.

iPhone in the Element Case

It’s a really tight fit and the phone looks really good in the case. This case came to us with two flip lids – these are clear lids that have magnets in each corner, which of course lock onto the screws in the corners

Two Flip Lids

The lids are clear enough to enable you to easily see the the phone screen, you can see at a glance any text message or phone call that’s coming in.

iPhone in the case & lid on top

Using the case

I had my reservations about using this case, it’s a very big thing really. We put it beside a couple of other iPhones and the depth is about the same as 2 iPhones, so it’s a significant extra amount of plastic added to your phone.

However having said that it’s surprising that it doesn’t feel that much better than your phone. The angular shape actually feels really good in your hand (well esp for those of us with bigger hands), and the case doesn’t impact your ability to use the phone. There are cutouts for things like the mute switch, volume and dock plugs.

One of the biggest things you have to get used to is flipping the lid off to answer the phone (heck to even use the phone). I found this eliminated the ability to use the phone with one hand. You may get good enough with your thumb to flip it and slide it to the back, but I’m still not able to do it. The lid does sit nicely on the back, so you never need to stick it somewhere when it’s not on the phone.

I found the edges of the case didn’t get in the way with the letters on the outside of the keyboard which I know some rugged type cases can.

Summary

I’ve been using this case now for about 4 weeks, I’m used to some of the idiosyncrasies of using a case like this, the slightly bigger feel in the pocket and the flip lid. I have to say I all in all I like it. I’ve not dropped it as I don’t have a replacement phone in case it damages my phone, but if you are a skateboarder, a mountain biker etc, this case is going to protect your phone pretty well.

The magnets are strong enough to resist a simple knock and actually take a decent pull to dislodge. It won’t keep the dust and dirt out, however it’ll protect your phone from scratches etc.

At US$99 it’s not cheap, but really who cares. This case looks amazing, feels incredible and protects your iPhone – why put a price on that?

I love my Element Case!