Last month we wrote about Case-Mate’s carbon fiber leather case for the new Apple iPhone 3G. In the post I mentioned that Case-Mate was sending one over to use so we can get a hands-on look. It came in, and I wanted to mainly post some real pictures of it and give you my true thoughts.
I unfortunately didn’t have access to a 3G iPhone, but the difference in size between the 3G and original is very minimal. The original iPhone seemed to fit perfect:
Here’s a closeup shot of the carbon fiber leather:
Here’s a shot of the inside material, it’s pretty nice, and has Case-Mate logos embedded into it:
Here’s a final shot of everything that comes with the case, including the screen protector and a protective wipe:
Overall the material looks really great in person. It feels nice as well, more like leather than carbon fiber. The only problem with the case is that the iPhone users I’ve shown it to feel that makes their phone too bulky. I think every case that is actually going to be a protectant against this like messing up the edges from a fall are going to be slightly bulky like this, but to each his own!
Update: We now sell this in our store, and can be purchased here.
I really liked the look of this case and am interested in purchasing it. However, can you tell me whether this suffers from the same problem (the top, front-side of the case prone to bending) as experienced on case-mate’s signature line case? To get a better idea of what I’m taking about, the problem is mentioned at about the 2:45 mark in this video review @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxEfOM79oSg
Thanks.
I have this case for my 3G. I must admit I am quite disappointed. Leather is awesome. But it is somewhat loose (I used some double-sided tape to keep it in place better). Also, the case is too close to the vibrate switch, making it hard to switch back to right. Finally, the design seems off, the hole on top is too high and rises too much in front, and not enough on the top rear.
Thanks for feedback Rick. The iPhone (original) I put into it seemed to fit pretty snug, although I believe the 3G is slightly smaller. I can see how over time it could become looser though.
Any other 3G users having similar issues as Rick?
I have this case o my iPhone 3G, and my experience differs from Rick slightly.
I feel that this is a great case for my phone, and it has a high-quality feel to it, with the carbon fibre detailing very intricately done.
My phone fits more snugly into this case (versus a nice softer leather case, also from CaseMate) and the fitting to show the vibrate switch, phone jack and sleep/wake button is perfect.