Ever since I saw the pictures online, I’ve been living to get a hold of one of these cool magical cases that allow you to control the iPhone screen even through the solid plastic. It’s the have your cake and eat it too of the iPhone case world — at least in theory. You get to keep your iPhone in a full plastic shell while enjoying all the benefits of a "naked" screen.

Quick Look video

The quick look should have given you a decent overview of what the case looks like if you were able to understand my tumbling mumbling. I pointed out that the buttons and switches are accessible, but I’d also like to mention the bottom of the case. The speakers and dock connector are exposed, but you do give up dockability.The one disappointment here is that the earphone jack on the iPhone 2G gets even worse, in that it’s even further down that it was before the case.

Usage

Using the SeeJacket is a lot like turning your iPhone into a Blackberry Storm. The Storm’s entire screen is actually a mechanical button that you need to click, and while this case lacks any kind of mechanism, the feel l is pretty similar when you type. If you’re a fast typist on your iPhone you’ll have to put more pressure on the iPhone as you type to make sure it recognizes the keystrokes – especially the ones at the side of the screen like the shift and enter keys. Sometimes it’s almost as if the screen gets a a little stickier and you have to keep your finger down just a little bit longer than you used to for the phone to register a touch.

I had a spot of trouble with the screen “fogging” up during my first days with the case. As I touched the plastic screen it would end up sticking to the real iPhone screen and gave off the appearance of some icky air bubble. I kept these bubbles at bay by pressing the back of the case and basically pushing the iPhone into the front panel, but this got very old very fast. However, the good news is that it does seem to be avoidable. Taking the phone out and re-inserting it seems to work wonders, and I haven’t experienced any of this fogging since.

The case does add some bulk to the iPhone, but it’s just enough to make me feel comfortable about walking and holding the iPhone without worrying about a spontaneous curb dive. It is a little rough around the front edges, though, so it might be uncomfortable for some people to hold up to their ears.

Final Thoughts

I think the SeeJacket Crystal is a decent case that could be a lot better with improvements to the underlying design. Most any kind of protection is going to have some sort of drawback, but the screen is the most important area for the iPhone. Having an erratic experience with typing is a sacrifice I’m not willing to make for a case I’ll be using every day. I’m hoping that Artwizz makes an enhanced version for this year’s iPhone – and if it fixes those corner problems, I’ll be all over it.

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You can pick up your own SeeJacket Crystal in Silver or Black for around $30 from Harmonic Inversion or for $39 at Artwizz.com. There’s also a version for the iPhone 3G

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