Contour Showcase for iPhone 3G

How long has Contour Design’s Showcase been around? I vividly recall that it was by far my favorite case for the third-generation iPod – and that was nearly six years ago. Here in the present, the Showcase has evolved quite a bit and now adapted for the iPhone 3G. But the basic tenets of the Showcase remain the same: a combination of black hard rubber on the top, bottom, and sides providing impact protection, along with clear hard plastic on the device’s front and back to allow your iPhone to still be recognizable as being an iPhone while encased.

I like the Showcase for iPhone 3G, but some of the changes from earlier years detract from what has traditionally made the Showcase such a favorite: while past versions included a slider or clamp on the side of the case to ensure that it could be easily opened, the current design requires some tugging thanks to the fact that it’s basically a snap-together case (making it no easier to remove than most clear hard plastic cases on the market). And the large clear hard plastic window on the back of the case is only of real benefit if you have the white iPhone 3G model; the all-black iPhone barely shines through save for the Apple logo itself. And the implementation of the belt clip is such that you have to snap an entire extra hard plastic backing piece onto the case before attaching the clip itself, making it bulkier than it probably should be. Still, it’s one heck of a good-looking (and protective) case. I just wish I could give the iPhone 3G version of the Showcase more than four stars out of five. $35.