OtterBox Defender Series Case and Holster for iPhone 4/4S - Retail Packaging - Black

OtterBox Defender Series Case and Holster for iPhone 4/4S - Retail Packaging - Black..

Special Price OtterBox Defender Series Case and Holster for iPhone 4/4S - Retail Packaging - Black By OtterBox

Most helpful customer reviews

2436 of 2504 people found the following review helpful.
Dont listen to the poor reviews!!
By Eugenia Bone
So I have wanted one of these for a while now and went on and read a LOT of the reviews here on Amazon. To be honest some of the poor reviews had me a little worried! But I am leaving this review to ASSURE you that nearly ALL of the negative reviews were definitely coming from operator errors (if you get my drift) and people who didnt have ANY idea what they were buying...

Clearly the Defender series is going to be a little beefy. Which I would HOPE is why your looking at this sort of case! For a big-bad iphone defending case! and that is JUST what you get! So the reviews on size I feel are unfair, based on the fact that you should have known its a sturdier case. (I find this NO problem for the protection it provides. Being a girl, I couldnt fit an iphone in my pants pocket to begin with, so its not an issue...And I would like to stress its not THAT big.

Some people (a good number) have complained about a hole on the top being for the headphones being on the wrong side...This is NOT the case people! You must open the flap to use your headphones...The hole is for the MICROPHONE! So do not fret. There is NO issue there...just people simply misunderstanding the product.

I read multiple reviews where people complained about being able to charge or undo the bottom flap, etc. Ok. It is silicone people. soft, flexible silicone...So NO you DONT need to completely take apart the cover to charge your phone. You simply lift that flap and plug in your phone. There is NO issue with it closing, because its not supposed to be closed OR completely open while charging...Again, silicone does not hinge... In fact, I am charging my right now with zero issue. All the flaps are really easy to open and close and I see no issue with them being flimsy, or too firm either.

I saw one or two people say they thought it decreased the sensitivity of the screen. I have not had that problem. As long as you get the right model and it fits well there is no reason for it to have any effect, it is just a regular old screen guard just like any other you'd buy on the market and shouldnt (and wont) effect the use of your screen. The people who complained that it messed up the lightness of the screen may have had it set to auto, and I know mine sometimes in certain light decides to stick with a darker back light setting than I would prefer. So once again, I am sure this is something that one could adjust in the settings of your phone, and not be a problem with the case.

So in conclusion, this is an AWESOME product. If you are looking for a really tough case, that looks great and you UNDERSTAND that a thin, one sided, snap on case will not be very tough...then this is for you! Please note that a LOT of the negative reviews come from people's misuse or misunderstanding of the product. NOT the product itself. I cant say how happy I am with this product and I am SO glad I went ahead regardless of those negative reviews.

486 of 514 people found the following review helpful.
Works great with a verizon iphone 4! UPDATED, AND NOW 4S!
By J.F.
Seems that some AT&T stores have stocked these on their shelves a little earlier than most stores, so I grabbed one and put it on my iphone 4 right away. (Verizon iPhone 4, not 4S)

As far as form and fit goes, it's really similar to the current iphone 4 defender series, the major differences are the cut outs for the front and the back. Also to make note, these cases work on ALL models of the iPhone, whether you have a sprint, verizon, or AT&T model, they'll all work.

Otterbox's old defender series didnt properly work with the white iphone 4 due to the location change of the proximity sensor. People would be dialing with their cheek, ear, face, etc because the screen wouldnt shut off. Now with the larger cut out, otterbox has fixed this issue and made the case truly work with all models of the iphone 4/4S, both white and black.

Otterbox has also changed the rear camera opening to be one huge opening. This is because of some complaints of the flash reflecting off the old case and washing out photos. It's also because the camera is slightly different on the 4S, which requires the huge opening we're starting to see on every case available.

The colors are a lot better, they match, they're catchier. They've still left the back cut out which shows the apple logo. I find this cut out really useless and unnecessary, but it's nice they also add the same clear protective film that's used on the screen protector.

The built in screen protector feels the same, still gets finger prints and dust on it, but a quick and easy wipe with a cloth or shirt cleans it off.

If you have a white iphone, or are getting the new 4S on october 14th, this is the case for you! It'll protect your phone from everyday drops, accidents, and bumps. This case is a tank and definitely worth the money. Though it is a steep fifty dollars compared to the price of the "old" defender series currently, it's still worth the extra money.

EDIT: I just got my 4S in the mail a few hours ago and let it fully charge up before using. After it was done, I put the old otterbox defender on the 4S and it works fine with the black model, but not my sister's white model. The proximity sensor on the black does turn on and off just fine. The issue is though, the camera looks blurry and washed out with the case on. This truly is why otterbox made the huge opening on the new 4S cases. So get one of the new defenders ASAP, otherwise your pictures will look like crap.

UPDATE 10/25/2011:

I've been using this new case on the 4S for a while now, enough to have a solid review based off real world use. It's a great case, and I still stand by my original first hand review. One thing I noticed on the old defender was that dust would get in from somewhere, and then sneak under screen protector and look horrible when the screen was off. I haven't noticed any dust on the new 4S case underneath the screen. I dropped my phone when handing it to a friend, and it held up. It fell about 3-4 feet in the air, and it looks unharmed, so I'm glad I really have the 4S defender on my iphone, otherwise who knows, I might be stuck with broken glass on my screen.

The colors are a bit different in real life, than what Otterbox shows on their website, and here on amazon, but they're still beautiful and good looking.

Again, I recommend this case!

817 of 884 people found the following review helpful.
Nice upgrade from the original iPhone 4 Defender case
By K. Myers
I used the original Otterbox Defender case for my iPhone 4s, and while it worked ok, this version is a definite improvement. The hard plastic case and the screen protector seem to be the same as the original, other than having larger cut outs for the camera/flash and the front camera/light sensor/proximity sensor area. I never had issues using the 4s camera with the older version case, but I did with the proximity sensor and this case fixes that issue.

The holster has been changed to update the release mechanism. The tab that holds the phone in the holster has been shaped differently in order to make the phone easier to clip in and release.

The biggest upgrade is to the rubber jacket that fits over the plastic case. The rubber seems to be of much higher quality. It has a firmer, more substantial feel, and doesn't seem like it will lose shape over time. It gives the case a better grip in your hand and generally feels more solid overall.

The opening for the silent mode switch seems to still be off center, but not enough to be of concern.

If you are on the fence about whether to get the older iPhone 4 Otterbox Defender for your 4S or this updated version, I'd definitely pay the extra $10 or so and get the new version.

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