I've said it before, and I will say it again: the iPhone is a pretty device, but damn if it isn't a fragile one! If you're like me, every drop of your iPhone comes with bated breath, hoping that this drop isn't the one where your iPhone finally says "Enough!" and cracks under the constant abuse. Sure, a trip to the Apple Store or a call to your insurance provider, and fifty to a couple hundred dollars later, you'll have a new beautiful iPhone again. However, all of us can surely find a lot better ways to spend a couple bills than repairing our iPhones that already cost us enough.
The easiest way, obviously, to prevent these mishaps and broken devices is by putting a case on our iPhones. iPhone cases are now a multi-million dollar a year industry, with seemingly everyone under the sun making an iPhone case that offers "superior protection". However, most of these cases or nothing more than another flimsy piece of plastic, or thin piece of silicon, offering nothing more than just another layer to crack and little to no real protection at all.
A surefire way to make sure that your iPhone's case is for real when it comes to actually protecting your device is to look for cases designed to military specifications, or Mil Spec for short. This means that the case's design meets the rigorous needs of America's bravest, who are utilizing smartphones in theater and subjecting them to some of the harshest environments and situations. If your case can survive a war zone, then it can certainly survive most people's everyday lives.
Unfortunately, these Mil Spec cases come with a big (literally) trade-off. To give you this great protection, your iPhone is generally wrapped solidly around some thick armor, doubling the size and the weight of your iPhone in most cases. Not so fast soldier, modern advances in materials are yielding slimmer cases that offer the same Mil Spec protection you need for your battle called sh*t happens.
NewerTech is one of these companies who has developed such a case with their new NuGuard KX case. Utilizing "X-Orbiting" gel married to a hard shell, the gel distributes kinetic energy (the force caused when dropping your iPhone) evenly and absorbs it to avoid any unfortunate cracks or scratches. Unlike competing products such as the Otterbox Defender or Lifeproof case, the NuGuard KX case adds only about a half of an inch of thickness to your iPhone, taking the bulk out of the equation.
While we haven't gone hands-on with our own tests yet, NewerTech states they have drop-tested their case up to 48 inches (five feet) onto concrete, and you can view their demonstration video on their website here. NewerTech also includes a lifetime warranty with the NuGuard KX case, meaning if your case and not your iPhone ever has that enough-is-enough moment, another NuGuard KX case will be sent to you. Essentially, chances are a new iPhone upgrade will come before a case upgrade.
The NuGuard KX retails for $49.95 and is available now in eight color combinations: Trooper (white body and black trim), Roulette Red (red body and black trim), Midnight (blue body and black trim), Buzz (black body and yellow trim), Darkness (black body and black trim), Rose (pinkish-red body and white trim), Nubar Forest (green body and black trim) and Eagle Shield (tan body and green trim. This is the same MSRP for the Otterbox Defender and lower than the Lifeproof offering, both of which have more bulk than the NuGuard KX.
Check out the color options below, and you can order the NuGuard KX here