QUADOCTA Carboneum iPhone 4 / 4S Case Review

It’s official, the iPhone 4s is here and i’m sure that by now you are looking for the best iPhone 4S cases your money can buy. So what have we got today for review? Well that’ll be a case, and a pretty good looking one at that. This case is made by a company we knew little about up until 3 weeks ago, meaning you’re unlikely to find it in a store near you, making it pretty exclusive; and in all my time with my iPhone 4 and since the iPhone 4S being out, i’ve never seen anybody else rock this particular case. Read on to find out whether you’ll be wanting that exclusivity.

Unboxing

Hit up our Youtube video below of us unboxing this case. Please excuse the shake-cam-master effect in places, my stand was MIA. In the box you get 1x case, 1x screen protector and 1x Microfibre cleaning cloth.

Design, build

I really like this case. It feels great in the hand, is made from high quality materials, has a terrifically premium finish and fits the iPhone 4 like a glove (like, literally). The main selling point to this case or rather the thing that makes it attractive is the carbon fiber backing the smartphone cover has which looking at it, you’d really pass off as real in the pub with your mates. That’s not that this case is a social talking point though, because it’s content enough as to not draw attention from people, making it a bit of a wolf in sheep’s clothing when people hold your iPhone 4S in this case for the first time.

The case is made from plastics, and has a sticker planted on the inside with branding which further adds to it’s appeal – how many other cases do this right now? Not many. Should they really do this right now? Probably not. You can’t see the sticker at all when your iPhone 4S is in it, making it a pretty redundant feature / expense on the companies behalf. Let’s move on from unnecessary design then and focus on the cases aesthetics.

Dimensions wise the case is a flush fit with the iPhone 4 and adds very little weight or bulk to it, making it in essence a hard shell. I’ve never personally been a fan of hard shells and prefer leather cases myself, however this is easily the best looking hard shell I’ve ever used, making use of shiny metallic plastics around the sides.

Putting it on

As with a lot of cases the Carboneum only needs to be pushed in with ample pressure to be applied securely, and the case fits like a glove, holding the iPhone 4S as tight as physically possible. In many ways the case might be too tight from some though, as you can’t use it in conjunction with a skin such as Skinflips as the case just isn’t flexible enough. The benefit of this of course though is that no dirt will get trapped around the back, scratching your iPhone 4S.

Protection

All cases are bought for protection, and the QUADOCTA Carboneum iPhone 4S case is a standard hard shell affair, protecting your smartphone from being tossed in your bag and scratched in your pocket, but not so great against a 10 foot drop. If you are looking for drop protection, cases such as the Griffin Reveal will be better suited to your tastes.

Pricing

As of now you can pick one of these cases up from the officla Quadocta store for 32,98 €, and it isn’t available elsewhere online (a major selling point for me, as this is really exclusive).

Verdict

Overall this is probably the best hard shell case I have ever reviewed. It’s combination of premium materials, amazing fit, added screen protector bonus and exclusivity make it a very tempting case indeed, and a refreshing take on the standard and usually very dull hard case.

Rating: (9.5 / 10).