If I'm going to be honest, I kind of expected more from this contest: There aren't many truly impressive drawings submitted as of now, and the current leader in votes is a virulent anti-Obama nutball creation that looks more like the bumper of an Alabama pick-up truck than an iPhone case. A drawing of Obama as Heath Ledger's Joker? What does that even mean? You can't be an anarchist and a socialist at the same time, they're completely conflicting ideologies. Take a political theory class, Cardboard iPhone Case Drawing Man!

Anyway, I think there are enough badass illustrators among the Giz readership that we could really bust out some impressive entries. I'd love to see what you guys can do—this contest is ripe for a Giz onslaught. Go forth, readers! [Case-Mate via CNET]

Case-Mate, the people who used to make zipper booklets for CDs, built the $80 Enlighten case that lights up the Kindle at night by way of an LED-illuminated acrylic overlay. So basically they pulled a Sony: Taking what's right about e-ink, and screwing it up. You don't put anything on e-ink, for the same reason you don't read paper through a film of plastic. We typically don't write up cases, but despite its unique gimmick (okay, because of it) this one looks exceptionally pass-worthy. [CNet]

It's bad enough when pompous over-the-hill watchmakers think they can get into the cellphone business, like Tag Heuer did when it introduced the luxury-for-luxury's-sake $6000 Merediist. It's worse when they team up with an extreme car company to release a still more ridiculously irrelevant phone, like Tag Heuer did when it called up its friend Lamborghini and cooked up the, yep, special edition Merediist Automobili Lamborghini. For $8000, you get the same crappy phone as before, but with the signature angry cow shield on the keypad, and a plaque in place of the crocodile skin. Yes they'll sell a handful to bald Italian billionaires over 60, but how many of those can there be? [Tag Heuer via Gadgetell]

I love when the age-old bicycle gets a redesign, and points go to Joey Ruiter for thinking through the needs of the urban bicyclist, trading speed for agility, and stripping the bike to its simplest parts. But I never thought bike seats could look any more uncomfortable than the borderline rectal probes out there now, until lo, I spotted this rectangular sucka. Joey, you're clearly talented, but I gotta ask, how can that seat be copacetic to the culo? [Core77 via The Awesomer]

As much as I want alternative energy ASAP, I am worried about wind farms. First, they're killing off flocks of birds or at least scaring them the hell away, and now they're making air traffic control jumpy too. Because of their flailing metal blades, radar waves get super screwy around them, and sometimes cause airplanes to disappear from radar. (Cue gulp of fear.) For this problem, a firm called Qinetiq built a seemingly decent solution, layering blades with sheets of radar-slurping glass-reinforced epoxy and plastic foam. It's nice, especially because you can pretty much replace the blade and leave everything else as is. But it's just coming out of the trial phase, and will take some time before it's ready for turbines that are now in place or being built. While we wait, let's talk about them birds... [MIT Tech Review via PopSci]

The Price: $30

The Verdict: It does what it claims, which is hold two of your credit cards/ID cards simultaneously, but it's a pretty snug fit. The slight bending or bowing that your cards go through to fit into the slot shouldn't be enough to break it, but the two will scrape against each other because the space is so small. Which is good and bad.

On the one hand it's good, since it means your cards won't fly out of the slot when you're whipping out your phone. But it's also bad, since you'll have some slight difficulty in pushing out your cards. But it's not unusable, and it's not anything you can't overlook if your whole reason for getting this is that you don't want to carry a wallet on you.

Our only complaint would be that there's only room for two cards, and very little room for cash. Technically you're not supposed to even put cash into the slot, but if you fold up a couple bills, it'll still squeeze into the limited amount of space given.

Those of you who carry money clips will be familiar with only having your ID, one or two credit cards and some cash in your pocket. With this, you'll cut down the need to even have a money clip in addition to your phone, the convenience of which is probably worth $30 to you.

It does what it claims and holds two cards snugly

Slightly hard to remove the cards once they're inside

Not a lot of room for cash

There's no denying the convenience of putting all your stuff into one device when you want to travel light. Potential ID-flinging when you take the phone out of your pocket aside, it's definitely an interesting idea, and a physical interpretation of the "smart phone" that keeps all your payment and identification information on it.

It is only $30, and it does protect your phone with a protective film, which makes it at least as good as regular cases. So if you're the kind of person who has a money clip instead of a wallet, pry off $30 and send it to Case-Mate. [Case-Mate]

The Gadget: Case-mate's Clear Armor film for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPod classic (80GB and 160GB) or BlackBerry Curve protects against scratches using a military-grade Scotchgard film from 3M.

The Price: $19.99

The Verdict: Yes, yes, we know that the 3G iPhone is here, but if you are anything like me and on the fence about upgrading, Case-mate's Clear Armor will do a good job of protecting against scratches while preserving the natural beauty of your original iPhone, iPod or BlackBerry Curve. However, there is some major bullshit involved with their advertising campaign that put me off. First of all, Clear Armor is basically the same thing that Zagg has been selling for years under the name Invisible Shield. The difference is Zagg uses their own nano-memoryTM technology instead of 3M. However, Case-mate has tried to differentiate by relying on gimmicks like throwing a BlackBerry Curve 8300 wrapped in Clear Armor into a blender to demonstrate its durability. As Giz reader Shaun and others pointed out in the comments on the original Clear Armor post, it appears that the BlackBerry used in the demo is absolutely caked in this stuff.

The other issue I came across involved the application of Clear Armor. The video on the site makes it seem as though it is easy to pull the film off the backing before applying—but the reality is that nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, using my gigantic man-hands I managed to tear off the portion of the film that covers the top of the phone on both sets of rear films. All I can say is that it is a good thing that each set of front and back films comes in doubles, because you will probably need them both to get it right. In retrospect, I probably should have used a pair of tweezers or an X-Acto knife to ensure that I got the film off in one piece.

Again, the technology behind Clear Armor is great. I mustered up enough courage to scratch my keys along the back of my iPhone and it came away completely unscathed. However, if you were foolish enough to put your phone into a blender wrapped in a single layer of this stuff, I can guarantee that it would not survive the beating. That having been said, my advice is to stick with Invisible Shield. They offer a lifetime guarantee on their product, they protect a wider range of devices and they are already taking pre-orders for a 3G iPhone version. [case-mate]

Case-mate's Clear Armor is available now for $19.99. It may not have been released in time for the iPhone case Battlemodo, but look for a review soon. [case-mate]

The case-mate leather collection:

The leather collection from Case-mate comes in both a variety of styles and colors that include line leather, croc-embossed leather and carbon fiber leather versions (the Black Croc-Embossed Leather iPhone Case/Holster Combo is pictured here). They are branded as luxury models with prices to match (line leather $49.99, croc-leather $59.99 and carbon fiber $69.99 for combo versions). All of the cases include a holster, screen protecting film and a design that features leather wrapped around an impact-resistant plastic shell—which makes them basically the same in terms of shape and protection. So, if you dig this style of case, the decision is going to come down to the leather used.

I found that all of the versions lived up to their luxury status in terms of materials and craftsmanship. Protection is going to be good but not great considering that the top is completely exposed and the screen is protected by nothing more than a simple scratch resistant film, but it should do the job for normal wear and tear. That holster is a friggin' beast though, so if you don't need to clip this to your belt you are better off saving a little cash and purchasing case-only. Case-mate's Naked Case was also tapped for this review, but units are hard to come by. Look for a stand-alone review soon.

Otterbox Defender Series:

Out of all the cases reviewed, the Otterbox is going to offer the highest degree of impact, dust, scratch and water resistance. It features multiple layers of protection with a hard-shell case that covers the body of the phone, a thin plastic membrane that covers the screen, camera and Apple logo, and a rubber jacket. It allows access to all of the iPhone's controls (except the silence switch) and if you lead an active, rugged lifestyle, the Otterbox should stand up to punishment—just don't expect this thing to be completely waterproof. While the rubber layer does fold into the iPhone's open ports and there is a mesh over the speakers and microphone, it is not designed to be submerged in water.

Naturally, with the plastic case covering the screen itself, you are going to have to deal with the occasional air pocket, touchscreen command error and blurry photograph—but these issues do not represent much of a problem. However, I did manage to rip the rubber outer casing inside the first day of using it, so I have my doubts about the long-term durability of that layer. It is also very bulky, but that is to be expected with a case that offers this type of protection. All in all I would say that the Otterbox's $50 price tag is a little steep—if only for that issue with the rubber outer layer. Also available in a yellow version.

Ivyskin Xylo T2 Touch-Thru Case:

Ivyskin is heavily touting their Surface Xylo Wave (SXW) technology as a "breakthrough" given the fact that it allows for normal touchscreen operation through a hard-shell case. But, to be honest, I found that the Otterbox, the Xylo and the iShield mirror are all basically the same in this respect. The plastic covering the skin on all three cases is extremely thin and offers protection that will hold up to scratches and light impacts. I would say that the screen on the Xylo is the thickest of the bunch, but I doubt that it will offer a substantial increase in protection over the other two devices. They also deliver the same amount of accuracy with the touchscreen—that is to say you will occasionally find yourself double-tapping to type or open up a link, but it does not represent much of a problem. When it comes right down to it, the technology works well.

As for the case itself, the Xylo T2 is made of a basic polycarbonate, which is like wrapping the phone in a form-fitting jewel-box. It will provide adequate protection against minor damage, but don't expect it to withstand a jarring impact. However, if you are looking for full protection against everyday wear and tear it will do the job with a design that does not add a ton of thickness to the phone itself. Not bad for $34.99. Also available in a variety of colors.

iShield Mirror:

Finally, the iShield Mirror is basically the same case as the Xylo T2 but the plastic covering the touchscreen is thinner, and it offers a gimmicky film on the surface that allows it to function as a mirror when the phone is not in use. To be honest, the images in the mirror end up being too distorted to make it functional, and the film renders the screen image fuzzy in low light and nearly invisible in the sunlight. So, if you are looking for a case of this type, I suggest getting over yourself and ditching the mirror functionality for the Xylo T2—especially since it will only cost you $5 more.

Conclusion:

With the exception of the iShield Mirror, I can confidently recommend all of these cases. I found myself using the Xylo T2 the most in everyday situations because of its small form factor and complete screen coverage and the Otterbox while I was out mountain biking on the trails. But the Case-mate leather collection was the most physically attractive option by far. In the end, it will really boil down to the lifestyle you lead, how much you are willing to spend and your personal preferences. [case-mate and Ivyskin Xylo T2 and Otterbox and iShield Mirror]

It also seems like OtterBox has a case that also has a membrane and acts the same way. And their case came out last year!