Though the names are familiar from earlier Speck cases, these two new iPhone 4 designs each incorporate some interesting new twists on earlier themes. SeeThru ($30) is a hard plastic shell with soft clear rubber sides capable of protecting most of the iPhone 4’s body while letting you see the device’s color and branding through the back.
By comparison, ToughSkin ($40) marks a return to a product that has appeared and disappeared from Speck’s lineup over the years, now resembling a rubber-laden vault with a hard plastic iPhone 4-grabbing frame inside. ToughSkin is one of the rare iPhone 4 cases with Home Button protection built into the front, and so much rubber on the sides and back that accidental drops won’t seem as scary as with an unprotected device.
No screen protection is included with these cases. Note that we updated this First Look in January, 2011 to reflect major changes to the design of ToughSkin, and final pricing for both products.