SOS - Save Our Phones

I love my mobile devices, not just aesthetically, but also as in not wanting them to have a scratch. In the past there were phones like the Ericsson's that had the antenna in the middle and I have personally heard stories from Aircraft Engineers that have sworn that that was the only phone that has plummeted down from the top of the bridge while working on a plane and survived. Things have changed, phones are no longer sturdy, they are delicate, large screens, etc. The most common feature that I have seen with people is a Chipped or a broken screen.
So how do you save your phone. It's just a phone, yes but then it is an expensive one for that matter. It helps to have some protection to safeguard the same. They are nearly as expensive or in many cases dearer than Laptops.

I got my iPhone 6+ a couple of weeks ago. The first impressions of the phone were that it was a bit too large to hold in the hand. Add to that the slender and sleek body of the phone, it almost feels like it's going to pop out of your hand any time. I looked for some cases and most of the cases were silicon sleeves for the back of the phone. The other issue with the new iPhones is that the camera is not flush with the back so every time you place it on the table or a surface, the camera comes in contact with that surface first. worst still is if someone pushes it aside or drags it, the chances of the camera lens/glass gathering scratches is very high.

So the quest for some good covers led me to a couple of manufacturers websites. Today we are looking at one from UAG (Urban Armour Gear). A case adds a whole lot of weight and size to a phone, so one of my expectations from a case it to then allow me to carry some cards, etc with the phone. The product that stool out ticking the boxes was the Scout Folio (in Black) or the Rouge Folio (in Red).

First Impressions

Here are the first impressions for the Scout Folio (black) UAG case for the iPhone 6+

I got a package in the mail and had a slip for collecting an oversized package. Oversized as per the definition of the Post department since it could not fit in my Post Box. The box is slightly large sitting at 23cm x 14cm. I can stack about 4 Phones in that space. The case has a slot at the rear to feel the material the case is made of.





Upon opening the package, the case has a special feeling, it is a combination of Hardened Silicone Rubber and rubberized Snake Skin. UAG call it their trademarked Water Resistant Frog Skin. The feel of the case is amazing and the phone fits inside snugly. The Volume buttons and the On/Off switch have a rubber button on top protecting it, it is the Mute button that is left alone. There is a slot on the cover for the speaker, so you can speak with the cover closed, which is good. Specially for those that have a higher rate of perspiration or are in areas of higher humidity/heat. The cover is Water Proof so it should handle the sweat without breaking any sweat (pun intended) where as I have seen several leather covers that have been spoiled due to sweat.

The headphone slot, the charging slot and the speaker are available at the bottom through hardened rubber and the top has a similar banding for the Camera. Apart from this safety facet, the back of the case has a lovely grill that displays the UAG logo and also allows for dissipating the heat (if the phone gets too hot for any reason)

All in all, The case is lighter than the iPhone, but when put together, the phone in the case seems a little heavy. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Yes if your criteria is weight, then you would be better off with a silicon skin that does nothing other than protect it from scratches. The encased phone seems very sturdy in your hand. It seems like a slightly larger wallet. This particular case is Military Grade drop tested (MIL STD 810G 516.6) In all honesty, I am not yet game to consciously drop my phone to test the durability of this case. Since this are the First Impressions, it seems that it would work and protect the phone. I have tried to bounce the case off the floor prior to placing the phone in it and that seemed to give me some confidence that in the event that my phone might want to sky dive off my hands onto the pavement below, the case would cushion that.



The ability to hold upto 3 credit cards is good, but it might seem not enough When you would want it to be a replacement. It would have been nice to also hold a few currency notes. Here in Australia, since we have polymer notes, its ok to leave them in the board shorts, but if you wanted to keep them together, it just falls short. Though instead of a card you can also roll and place some cash. The card slot has a groove for easily sliding a card out, however you will have to remove the top card to access the one below it.

Pricing

With all of those features and functionality, you would expect that the price of this case to be in the range of about AUD $45-75 as most of the cases are, including silicone sleeves. Surprisingly, this lovely action packed case is available for $39.95 USD and includes FREE Worldwide Shipping. The case was shipped by UAG the very next day from placing the order (the postmark on the package confirms that), however it took about 3 weeks for it to physically reach me, which is an issue with the time taken by both US Post and Australia Post.

Summary

These are only first impressions, a followup would make sense after a couple of weeks of usage on the long term durability and quality of the case. There is one place that has stitching on which the cover of the case literally hinges upon. If the stitching starts to come apart, the cover would fail. However the remaining part of the case is a single mold and would continue to protect your phone from all sides. The phone sits about 0.5cm inset into the case, so if it does fall face down without a cover, the screen would not impact with the surface below, however if there are pebbles or rocks that are larger than 0.5 cm it could have a point of impact on the screen. The phone inside the case gives you confidence that the iPhone by itself does not. It does cover up the phone but it makes it look and feel invincible.

Given the price, the weight, the features of the case, this is a must buy for those with an iPhone 6+ for sure. The iPhone gets transformed into your own Armoured phone against accidentally dropping it.


SUMMARY
Product : Folio
Version : Scout
Manufacturer : Urban Armour Gear
Website : http://www.urbanarmorgear.com/products/scout-folio-iphone-6-plus-case
Twitter : @UrbanArmourGear
Device : Apple iPhone 6+
Price : $39.95

UPDATE: UAG have a promotion running for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Use the code CYBERWEEK14 at checkout. Buy one case and get the second one for 50% off.

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