Belkin’s latest collection of iPhone 4 cases has a hint of that old wedding rhyme going for it: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. The simplest of the cases is Shield Micra ($25), a clear hard plastic shell that covers iPhone 4’s back and most of its sides while leaving its face, top, and bottom exposed — it’s one of Apple’s free iPhone 4 Case Program giveaway options.
Next up is the more advanced and interesting Shield Eclipse ($30), which uses a mix of clear hard plastic and opaque soft plastic to provide coverage for everything except the iPhone 4 screen, with camera, port, and ringer switch holes. Novel here is the use of clear plastic for only half of the iPhone’s back, as most cases go either with a fully clear rear panel or none at all.
By comparison, the all soft plastic Grip Vue ($25) uses frosted clear translucent material to provide nearly identical coverage; it’s probably our favorite of the bunch. Finally, Verve Cinema ($30) is a faux leather and contrast-stitched, colored fabric case in the style of classic Incase iPhone designs, using Velcro to hold closed and a new elastic and fabric loop in the back to serve as a video stand.