Of course, nothing looks as cool as the iPhone 4 on its own, but if you want to avoid the antenna problems and the shattering, you are going to need one of these. They are made of aluminium, and they have an interior liner that separates the metal from the antenna, insulating it. The manufacturer – who also makes the beautiful Joule iPad stand – told me that their tests showed no interference whatsoever across all models of iPhone:
We basically wrapped it in an inch thick of anodized aluminium all around with our special secret liner inside, nothing impacted the reception.
We will have to test this, but it definitely is the first bumper that actually looks cool. Especially the way you put it together with those hex screws.
The Vapor4 is not cheap, although not as expensive as the beautiful exotic wood back replacement: It starts at $US80. For $US100 you get the V4Carbon, a carbon fibre back plate that will further protect the iPhone 4 fragile glass back. [Elementcase]
maddogeco
Friday, July 2, 2010 at 7:40 AMConsidering buying a iphone just for that case
Art Nau
Friday, July 2, 2010 at 8:50 AMiPhone4 just opened the whole new market for the case developers
now they need to be stylish to be attractive for everyone who wants the phone … working phone that is without to much of a ‘look damage’
Nato
Friday, July 2, 2010 at 10:08 AMIt’s called the Vapor….hmmmm. Is there a real photo of this product.
huu
Friday, July 2, 2010 at 11:08 AMYeah, let see some real photo.. i saw computer render of products before and sometimes they are far different from the real thing
Simon Reidy
Friday, July 2, 2010 at 3:53 PMThat looks damn sexy, but I’d want one minus the big ugly American spelt “Vapor4″ lettering on the side.
Andre
Friday, July 30, 2010 at 3:03 PMHas anyone actually purchased one of these? I’m seriously considering and would like some good feedback.
Thanks
Tom
Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 10:16 AMYes it does exist goto http://www.elementcase.com you need to pre-order the item. It is quite expensive but looks awesome.
Cash Jay
Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at 9:07 PMThis is definitely a totally awesome case, too bad they are impossible to obtain !! I submitted a request 2 months ago and have made several attempts at pre-order, all to no avail ! tried emailing them but no ! reply ! I would be curios to know if anyone has actually got their hands on one of them yet ??? if so send me an email with your comments.
Rich
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 4:59 PMI just got my element case and i tried it and then switched to the apple bumber and there was the same reception no difference.I think it adds style and extra protection for the iphone 4 and definitely worth the extra cash.
satisfied customer
Rich
Gene
Friday, August 20, 2010 at 2:19 AMRich,
How long did it take to get your case? When did you order it? I have been waiting for a month.
Gene
Tony
Friday, August 20, 2010 at 7:40 AMRich,
I’m curious if we got the same case. Mine has different features than what is pictured, and mine is different even from the pictures on the ElementCase website. I have experienced reception problems. I am in the city where I usually get 5 bars and I am down to 3. I have emailed ElementCase about the issue. I want to like the case, but it’s not living up to the hype. It’s just not what I was expecting.
ArmyDave
Friday, August 20, 2010 at 2:51 PMI received my case yesterday, and I also experience, on average, a two bar drop in signal strength. After installing it, I was no longer able to send or receive calls from the first floor of my house, and I began experiencing dropped calls on the second floor. For you doubters out there, see for yourself. These pictures were all taken at my desk on the first floor of my house. http://www.d3deaf.com/vapor4
The liner was not as advertised. There is nothing high tech about it. It appears to be the same kind of foam rubber used in cheap weatherstripping, and it does not line the entire case. At the time I placed my order, there were photos on element’s website showing a very different liner design that appeared to wrap around the entire inside of the case. These photos seem to have been removed. The lack of the complete liner that apparently was in their original design may be allowing the aluminum to contact or bridge the antennas, which may be causing the signal degradation.
Apart from the reception and liner issues, I like the design and quality. The extension around the microphone and speaker do not cause any apparent sound quality issues. Rather, they keep me from accidentally covering the microphone or speaker accidentally with my finger. The case does make it a little less comfortable for me to rest the bottom edge of the phone on my finger, though.
I emailed element, and they agreed to provide me with a full refund.
Bryan
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 6:50 PMJust got my preorder invite and ordered this with the carbon fiber back. Will let you know how it is when it arrives.
BossHu
Saturday, August 28, 2010 at 9:44 AMThere is something seriously wrong with this bumper. I’ve received my yesterday… and today, I immediately notice reception issues. Places were I had reasonable signal before no longer give me enough to even make a phone call. Phone been on for about 7 hours with minimal use and battery life has already gone down to 40% (I’m assuming reception caused more battery use).
Operator
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 10:36 AMArmyDave and BossHu,
Thanks for sharing real feedback, the problem online is that everything always appears perfect and everyone shuns on negative feedback.
I have one on order and is part of the “second batch”, what I found misleading most was the shipping times. When they sent out the preorder ready email to me on 11th August, it stated that it would start shipping 16th August.
After paying, my order is now 3 weeks outstanding. I asked for an ETA only to get a feedback nearly a week later.
Coupled with the reception issues, that’s the last straw for me. I’m putting in a cancellation request. Their FAQ has recently been altered to indicate that it may or may not improve or degrade reception. Far from impressed.
Sam
Friday, September 3, 2010 at 4:15 AMIt look great. How much for the case including shipping and how long did take get your case.