iPhone - rugged cases for hiking

[flatfoot]

I know at least a few of us have iPhones.

What cases have you found that provide good weather and shock protection for your iPhone whilst also providing good control of touch functions.

NB: I use the iBikeConsole on my hybrid bike and it can be easily detached from it's mount. It's great weather protection when on a Bike but probably not suitable for bush walking. See http://www.ibikeconsole.com/.

[Son of a Beach]

I don't have a good hard cover for mine yet, just a soft silicone one, and a leather belt holster. The holster keeps it reasonably well protected from falls, but of course you can't use it while it's in the holster.

I'm not sure if there's anything really weatherproof for the iPhone, although the Otterbox products are well regarded in this area (at least for other devices).

For weather proofing while bushwalking with the iPhone (not that I always take a phone bushwalking), I just put it in a very small zip-lock bag. It's fully functional without ever taking it out of the bag. You can still hear it and talk into it, and the touch screen still works (it's really a proximity-sensitive screen, not a touch screen). While in the zip lock back I can insert it and remove it from the holster too (bag and all).

I did discover though, that the touch screen requires something specific about the finger tips to work. It won't work with gloves on, and it won't work with my nose. Very odd. Maybe it's temperature-related (it was a cold day - hence the gloves).

[tas-man]

<SNIP>
. . . the touch screen requires something specific about the finger tips to work. It won't work with gloves on, and it won't work with my nose. Very odd. Maybe it's temperature-related (it was a cold day - hence the gloves).

It's a capacitance triggered screen specifically tuned for finger touch. I have tried various options for a stylus and the only thing that seemed to work was the flat end of a metal teaspoon - hardly an improvement on a finger. I have got better at using my fingers now

Extract from long Wikipedia article -

Projected capacitance
Projected Capacitive Touch (PCT) technology is a capacitive technology which permits more accurate and flexible operation, by etching the conductive layer. An XY array is formed either by etching a single layer to form a grid pattern of electrodes, or by etching two separate, perpendicular layers of conductive material with parallel lines or tracks to form the grid (comparable to the pixel grid found in many LCD displays).
Applying voltage to the array creates a grid of capacitors. Bringing a finger or conductive stylus close to the surface of the sensor changes the local electrostatic field. The capacitance change at every individual point on the grid can be measured to accurately determine the touch location.[5] The use of a grid permits a higher resolution than resistive technology and also allows multi-touch operation. The greater resolution of PCT allows operation without direct contact, such that the conducting layers can be coated with further protective insulating layers, and operate even under screen protectors, or behind weather and vandal-proof glass.
PCT is used in a wide range of applications including point of sale systems, smartphones, and public information kiosks. Visual Planet's ViP Interactive Foil is an example of a kiosk PCT product, where a gloved hand can register a touch on a sensor surface through a glass window.[6] Examples of consumer devices using projected capacitive touchscreens include Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPod Touch, HTC's HD2, G1, and HTC Hero, Motorola's Droid, Palm Inc.'s Palm Pre and Palm Pixi and more recently the LG KM900 Arena, Microsoft's Zune HD, Sony Walkman X series, Sony Ericsson's Aino and now Vidalco's Edge, D1 and Jewel, the Nokia X6 phone and Google's Nexus One.

[Jellybean]

A friend who is totally obsessed with his iPhone used one of these on a recent trip - http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=28451 (Aquapac Mini Phone/GPS Case)- seemed to be pretty effective.

[BarryJ]

I have tried inserting mine in a weather proof cover which has a clear front (made for general phones and cameras). Works OK for most functions (have to remove the phone to use the camera) BUT weird things happen if I make or answer a call. The screen sometimes blacks out (can still talk OK) and it flicks between the keypad and the "options" screen. I guess this is caused by the fact that it's a "capacitance triggered screen specifically tuned for finger touch" (didn't know that until a couple of minutes ago - thanks tas-man) and contact with the cover causes it to throw "wobblies".

[Son of a Beach]

The screen blanking out is normal. It is supposed to do this while your talking on the phone to save batteries, and uses an infra red proximity sensor (just to the left of the earpeice - hold in direct sunlight to see it and the ambient light sensor next to it).

If some part of a cover or anything else obscures this sensor while the phone app is in use, it will automatically disable the screen to save batteries while it thinks the phone must be against your ear.

I enable the same thing in the mapping app I wrote so that users can place it face down or in their pocket to disable the screen and save batteries while the system is automatically recording waypoints (during which it does't sleep).

[BarryJ]

The screen blanking out is normal. It is supposed to do this while your talking on the phone to save batteries, and uses an infra red proximity sensor (just to the left of the earpeice - hold in direct sunlight to see it and the ambient light sensor next to it).
...........................................

Thanks Nik. The screen blanking occurs even when using the speakerphone option, so I guess the IR sensor is detecting the clear face of the pouch. Edit: This also explains why other apps seem to work fine (no blanking etc). Forgot to mention that I use the usual screen protector on the phone and an "Incase" case to "ruggedise" the phone..

The pouch is an Aquapac; see pics below:

EMPTY


With GPS (using phone to take pic):

[Singe]

I've seen a Pelican iPhone case, pretty bulky and not waterproof iirc, not sure whether you could use the screen through the lid. I just keep my iPhone in an internal, waterproof pocket in my camera bag...

[photohiker]

There is the Otterbox. They have a rugged case 'Defender' which is not waterproof but would improve your chances as long as you didn't dunk it. It's a polycarbonate impact shell with a silicone cover:



Then they have the 2600, which is waterproof:



More info Here. Haven't seen them in Australia yet, so import from the US might be the go.

[Singe]

Actually... maybe it was the otterbox defender I saw. Was in Mountain Designs in Canberra IIRC.

[Macca81]

that 2600 looks like a piece of high tech military equipment! not something you would keep on it all the time thats for sure. the defender almost looks like it would be fine as a permanant cover for it tho (havnt looked at the site yet so i could be wrong on both counts )