As soon as we saw the page go up on ElementCASE’s site, we knew we had to have one. The Vapor case for the iPhone 4 is perhaps the meanest, most bad ass-looking bumper / case we’ve seen so far. It’s made from a solid block of “aircraft grade aluminum” and features a non-conductive coating on the inside to do away with that pesky antenna issue. We’ve been playing with two different Vapor cases for a couple days and here are our thoughts:
The construction of the case is top notch — really solid, though we would have liked a better system of taking the case on and off. To get your iPhone situated nicely, you have to bend the large frame a bit to fit your iPhone, then carefully insert the phone making sure the sharp edges of the frame don’t scratch the handset, then you have to attach the second piece and get it nailed down with 4 screws. Once the phone is in the case, it all comes down to personal preference. The case is manufactured well, fits snuggly on the iPhone 4, but does have a couple draw backs. Since the aluminum is so thick, the headset jack gets recessed, the vibrate switch and volume buttons can be a little hard to press, and the on / off button, while accessible through an integrated button, loses a bit of tactility.
All in all, the ElementCASE Vapor case for the iPhone 4 is the most aggressive-looking and lust-worthy case we’ve seen so far. While we love the concept of the Vapor case, the execution misses the mark in a couple ways. Some people might not like the added thickness and weight it adds to the handset, and the case makes the phone’s buttons pretty recessed. Plus, at a starting price of $79, it’s up there on the expensive scale.
Click on over to our ElementCASE Vapor iPhone 4 case gallery!
