Review: Marware Accent for iPhone

review by Bill Palmer

One of the relatively few closed-face iPhone cases to come to market this year, Marware’s Accent reminds me of the flip-open cases for the traditional full-size iPod that were so popular back when the traditional iPod was still popular itself. In contrast, iPhone users seem to be leaning toward open-face cases or shields in order to keep the touch screen easily accessible. But there are always going to be users who want to keep their iPhone’s front face hidden, either or protection or discretion, and for those users the Accent does a pretty nice job overall.



That is, of course, if you like the shiny leather material and the flower design featured on the front face of all eight available colors, which comes down to a matter of personal taste. From a functional standpoint, the Accent provides easy enough access to all the ports and controls (including the screen, once you lift up the flap). Just as importantly, you can easily remove the iPhone from the case (not a given for this type of case) by pushing up through the bottom dock connecter cutout, which is a good thing since it’s unlikely that you’d want to spend any real amount of time talking on your iPhone while it’s inside the case, with the front flap hitting you in the back of the head – so you’ll likely be wanting to quickly remove it from the case any time the phone rings.



Why not a higher rating? Something about the Accent feels a bit less sturdy than it could be, as evidenced by the fact that the front flap’s velcro pieces have to be aligned each time you close it; allowing it to close naturally can result in it lining up a bit too high or low. Perhaps it’s a trade-off for being able to get the iPhone out of the case so easily. I really don’t know how many people are still looking for this kind of case in 2009 – but if you’re one of them, this’ll get the job done.

Learn more about the Accent at Marware.com.