SENA Dockable iPhone 3g Flip Case Review
The SENA Dockable iPhone 3g Flip Case proved to be my favourite of the SENA batch and thus it is deserving of the first complete review.
I received a total of 5 iPhone 3g cases from SENA, representing a broad variety of their range. It was quite a mixed bunch and the Pebble-black Dockable case wasn’t immediately a clear winner because I found myself quite partial to the tough burgundy, crocodile skin effect Magnet Flipper. The only reason why the Dockable edged out the Magnet Flipper was, in fact, the semi-neutral pebble black style which I felt a little more comfortable carrying around.
The biggest difference with SENA’s Flip Case over the Piel Frama iPhone 3g Flip Case, that I looked at recently, is that SENA have implemented a fix for the one thing that bugged me about the Piel Frama: having to remove the headphones to open the flip cover. This does mean that the iPhone is less protected than it would otherwise be, but if you’re frequently listening to music and want a top flipping case the alternative is quite irritating.
Like Piel Frama, SENA pride themselves in producing quality leather goods and pack their products accordingly. Every single SENA iPhone 3g case came packed in a cute little drawstring bag inside a fetching cardboard box. The irony in this, of course, is that you now have a case to protect the attractive case that protects your attractive phone. Not that I’m complaining!
The SENA iPhone 3g Dockable case is very consistently stitched, very well finished and snug enough that it needs to be worn in before it truly fits the iPhone. This means that your iPhone, although not secured when the flap is open, is not going to slip out too easily.
Another big win for the SENA cases is the belt clip mounting point. There seem to be a wide variety of solutions to the problems with making the belt clip on cases optional. A lot of the attachment methods stick out to the point where they catch on loose threads in your pocket, this is true with Krusell and Piel Frama. The SENA cases, on the other hand, have a very discrete metal hard-point with a small hole into which the nub that secures the belt clip can be screwed. It’s still not the most attractive looking thing, but doesn’t catch on clothing.
The belt clip, when attached, will rotate and lock into several positions allowing you to belt-mount your iPhone 3g at 90 degrees or even upside-down if you wish!
The SENA iPhone 3g Dockable flip case is not quite as rigid as it could be, and doesn’t offer as much protection to the iPhone as the Piel Frama or SENA’s own Magnet Flipper. On the flip side this means it’s light, sleek and flexible and still offers more than enough protection to make the iPhone safe and sound in a pocket and almost enough for it to be entirely safe in a handbag or a gadget bag full of clutter.
The case gets the Dockable moniker for its ability to sit comfortably in the Apple iPhone 3g dock. The leather around the bottom half of the case is thin and allows you to fit your iPhone 3g into a universal dock without first having to remove the case.
Overall the SENA iPhone 3g Dockable flip case is a simple and straight forward iPhone case that ticks most of my boxes and is definitely worth considering. It doesn’t boast the esoteric features of Krusell or iSkin cases and is all the better for it. You can pick the Dockable case up at SENACases.com for an entirely reasonable $52 and it’s available in a mind-boggling array of colour and style variations.