Griffin Survivor Case for iPod Touch 4th Gen - Extreme Duty Case

I ordered this case on behalf of my Dad, who, in his line of work as a farmer, goes through phones, CD players etc at an alarming rate. As the iPod touch is considerably more pricey than anything he's ever had before, we reckoned it was worth investing in this case, as I was really impressed with the demo video they had on their sellers page. Having received the product quickly and without delay, we were delighted to try it out with the new iPod. The fit of the plastic case and the protective rubber outer coating is second-to-none, I really do have to praise them on this. To know that you could essentially drop the case and the iPod is still protected gives us all great peace of mind.

The one thing that I do feel is important to point out is that although the plastic case offers great protection against damage, it is not entirely practical as you are limited to the type of jack you can insert into the headphone socket; similarly you are unable to connect anything other than the standard Apple charger to the charging port. The main reason we got my Dad this iPod was so that he could use a radio tuner to connect his music to the sound system on his tractor/jeep and the one that we bought certainly works, but only when the iPod is not encased in the Survivor Case. It is disappointing in that sense because we spent a considerable amount more on this case than any others on the market, but have found it isn't compatible with what we want to use the iPod for.

Having said that, if you are wanting to use your new iPod with the standard Apple headphones, it will be absolutely amazing, but others should be aware if you want to use any other type of connecter, then it may not fit, due to the plastic case having dividers built into the areas around the charging port/headphone jack.

All in all, I am impressed with the product itself, but disappointed in the sense we cannot use it for what we intended.

Needed something to protect my ipod from the elements as I use it for outdoors as well as work. The case is very well made and tough. There are no problems with the screen protector other than you need to turn the brightness up outdoors to see clearly. My only gripe is that the camera can only be used whilst holding the protective flap out of the way with one finger. Also, I've modified the clip so I can mount it on my bike handlebars but would have been nice if Griffin had a car/bike mount. Excellent otherwise.

First off. I don't like to give people a misleading review or anything and I prefer to talk in brass tax as they say. Also when writing a review I prefer to use a lot of fact and common sense more than opinion. If any of it sounds very obvious common sense stuff then good. I'm not talking down to anyone and the only reason I will emphasise something is because I have taken the time to read all of the reviews available from 5 stars to 1 star and I want to point out what I feel hasn't been noticed or because someone has taken the word 'extreme' literally and assumed its indestructible/bullet proof - then proceeded to find out its not and then writes a 1 star review.

WHAT YOU GET FOR YOUR MONEY:
Interior is a dual cover case - made of plastic that surrounds the ipod touch and clips together which has accurately measured gaps for your port connection, earphones and buttons. I describe it as dual because it covers the back and front of the iPod touch 4G. even screen is protected by a clear but slightly dark silvery piece of plastic. so your actual screen doesn't get scratched up. seems not to cause any difficulty with the touch screen though.

Over the hard case you get a snug fitting silicone rubber case . which comes with larger bits of silicone rubber on all corners and down the sides to help protect against bouncing etc.. It also comes with flaps to cover the exposed ports etc.. - as previously discussed - this WILL FIT TIGHTLY over the ports and isn't super easy to get off. ITS MEANT TO BE LIKE THAT!! if you read the product description you will notice it tells you that it was tested in rainy conditions and sand etc.. IF THE FLAPS DIDN'T FIT SNUGLY WATER AND SAND WOULD EASILY GET IN.

GOOD POINTS:

better than most cases in terms of protection especially when you consider your getting two types of case for only a slight mark up
improves the grip you can have on your iPod. still may fall out of your hand but its definitely an improvement
sealed ports seem tight enough to keep most rain and sand out. not saying you should test it if you can help it or that its completely water proof. buy a water proof special bag if you want that. this is only for general wear and tear not chucking it in a swimming pool i.e. rain not a lake.

BAD POINTS:

its not 'EXTREME' in terms of the actual definition:
1. its plastic and silicone not some form of reinforced metal and bulletproof screen. so YES the screen will break if you shoot a air pellet at it etc. it never said the screen was air pellet resistant whichever numpty decided that clearly it would resist an air pellet being plastic and all...
2. its not completely anything proof. as in its not waterproof it only provides a general barrier. same against sand and wind etc..
IT is designed for GENERAL DAILY use. IT is not designed to be 100% guaranteed that if you drop it daily it will survive. although for what it is it is pretty tough and does give a little more peace of mind that 99% of the time it stands a better chance of still working if you drop it etc.
WOULD be extreme if it was designed to take one hell of a beating and instead of plastic was perhaps like hardened titanium or something stronger inside.
It makes the iPod touch slightly thicker but then again your buying it for protection. I don't know of many materials that are credit card thin that can protect your valuables really well. it is however still pocket friendly. its not ridiculously chunky though. just slightly thicker than a blackberry torch but thinner than the normal spine of a thin paperback library book.. roughly speaking that is.

THINGS OTHER REVIEWS DIDN'T POINT OUT/SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION:

The camera flap DOESN'T Have to be held back. if you notice when you pull the flap out. on the inside there is a smaller bit of pointy rubber. while the flap is on that stops the flap from going in to far but when you want to use the camera it poses a dual purpose. on the exterior of the case you will notice a small plastic hole of the same dimension as this bit of pointy rubber. simply bring the flap in a downwards direction without flipping the flap over and you will find you can push that bit of rubber snugly into that little hole and it will pin the flap back nicely without having to hold it back. problem solved.

The exterior and flaps are as stated made of silicone rubber so they will wear down eventually and even quicker if your treat them roughly and pull on them etc..

The case will dampen sound from the speaker in the iPod touch with the flaps down. speaks for itself really. just lift the flap off if you want to hear from that speaker clearly.

The case seems to be designed to accept the jack for normal earphones rather than big chunky jacks that you get on headphones. not all jacks/ earphones/headphones will therefore fit. so either take the case off if you really want to hear your music with those amazing headphones you got for Christmas/Birthday with the chunky jack or just accept it may not fit.

This one was pointed out before but the plastic that goes over the screen is a slightly dark silver finish. (THAT IS OPINION). back to facts. doesn't really pose as a problem indoors but outside can be hard to see screen without adjusting brightness. its a compromise between battery life and protection. but if your even considering this product then its not really too much of a sacrifice. just turn off the WiFi and location services and it shouldn't eat your battery too much anyway.

Lastly.. it was pointed out before but not all connectors will fit with the case on and as of yet I don't know of any dock that will fit with this case on. the bog standard iPod connector/USB provided fits well enough with the case on though.
With regards to the dock.. providing you have a fairly good dock that is stable you shouldn't have to worry too much about it breaking. the case is designed more for when your carrying it around so just be extra careful when its in a dock because chances are you will have to take the case off. and obviously dont go moving the dock around and make sure the ipod is in properly before hand. its just a risk you gotta take. simples.

Oh and PLEASE read carefully before you buy a product.. I read one review that said it was dreadful and such because it didn't fit an Iphone 4. well funnily enough your right it doesn't. probably because its MEANT TO FIT AN IPOD TOUCH 4th GEN. I'm sure it was just an accidental mistake and all but I'm afraid I don't have the willpower to resist pointing this out. Much love and all to the person that said that though. I don't mean offence.

In Terms of value for money: 4.5 out of 5 stars
WHY: its slightly more expensive than the average iPod touch case out in the market. at least it is currently in the on-line world. having said that its pretty good value for money. its not too chunky.. you get better grip.. and OK its plastic inside the silicone rubber but it does a pretty good job and I don't imagine that a 'real' extreme case - that perhaps is near indestructible - is going to be as cheap in comparison to this. I haven't tried dropping it but I have definitely got better peace of mind and protection if I do than certainly a lot of the cases out there on the market. By the way I'm half northern. half my family is from Yorkshire so 4.5 is more like 5 stars. my trouble with giving it 5 stars is I always want an even better product for an even better price :P.

Hope this helps. please don't be offended or anything for anything said in this review.