Good Protection but Shows Scratches Badly (black)

After a lot of research looking for best 3GS case, I ordered the Candyshell black. As many others have already said, I didn't want a soft case because of lint and stretching. I didn't want a hard case because of lack of protection and potential damage to the phone and because I wanted to be able to leave my BestSkinsEver (like Zagg InvisibleShield) full-body skin on inside the case to keep it like new for when I sell/pass it to someone else.

The Candyshell is made very well and seems like it would provide great protection. The fit with the installed full-body skin was no problem at all due to the flexibility of the Candyshell. Since the Candyshell doesn't overlap the chrome on the front, there was also no issue of the screen protector being dislodged or damaged by the case.

Unfortunately, after only a week of careful use (desk to pocket to car to pocket to desk) with no drops, the back of the Candyshell is scratched very badly and looks pretty bad. I still rated the case 5 stars since this is entirely a cosmetic issue as it doesn't affect the ability of the case to protect the phone. It is very annoying on something that is so new (for me, anyway), so I'm going to try the white instead as I've read that the scratches are much less visible. It seems that maybe Speck should have used a different finish or coating on the rear of the case.

Still seems like the Candyshell would provide the best protection and easiest installation of the more substantial cases available. The ability to use it with a full-body skin is a huge point for me. I just didn't like how bad the back looked after so little time. Hopefully, the white will look better.

Great Product...maybe too good

This case is the best case I have ever had for my iPhone 3G. It has the soft and hard layers for extra protection, and yet it still manages to be extremely sleek and thin. The only down side to it is that it is EXTREMELY hard to get off; I almost ripped off my fingernail the first time I tried; but I suppose that is a good sign that it is protecting the phone well.

I would highly recommend this product.

Great product

Love the case. Only thing that would make it better is if it were a little less slick.

Very sleek

I have only had this case a week but so far I really like it. My first case was an Otterbox but the use of the belt clip led to the distruction of my 3 week old I phone 3gs. It came off while getting out of a vehicle.
The otter probably offered better protection but the belt clip did not work for me and it was just plain ugly.
The speck is very sleek by comparison. The hard plastic makes it easier to get out of my pocket.

The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because of the difficulty getting the phone out of the case. I tried to take it out so I can plug the phone into a dual charger I have. Didn't want to risk breaking it or dropping the phone so went back to using the standard charger that came with the phone.

For the day you're not as careful

I am normally really careful with my phone - I clean it regularly, don't toss it around, handle with care, etc. But there's always that moment, when despite all that care the darn thing just slips out and falls... It happened twice this summer, straight down on a cement garage floor. Glass down! And not a ding, scratch, or malfunction. The case is a little roughed up, but heck that's the point. After taking it on and off so often (see above comment about being a cleaning freak) I cracked the thinnest little strip at the bottom of the case, but I fully intend to replace it with another one of these cases. Maybe I'll try a more spiffy color but the black/grey is really sharp!