Maybe I don’t need a phone case at all?
For a brief moment when I buy the new cell phone I think: Maybe this time I won’t need a cell phone case at all. Finally, unlike all of its predecessors, this cell phone is very easy to repair. Replacing a display is a matter of seconds.
This is a very short-sighted thought, and I think it especially because the new cell phone has a transparent back. If I store it in a protective case now, I won’t notice any of the transparency.
But I don’t even have to see the wrongness of the idea. The moment I take my phone out of its box for the first time in front of the store, I know that I urgently need a phone case. It’s smooth like a bar of soap. I’m used to holding my phone by a grippy rubber case and its phone ring, and even then I still drop it several times a day because of my inattention.
Gluing the phone ring directly to the back is not an option. Because it is easy to repair, the back is not glued on like on my previous cell phones, but is removable. I have ugly visions of the phone ring remaining in my hand with the back stuck to it while the rest of the phone smashes into the street.
When I get home, the first thing I do is order a cell phone case. Unfortunately, there isn’t a good two-part case for the Fairphone like the previous one, just the usual one that protects the back in particular. But that helps me too. Until they arrive, I treat the device like a raw egg. I leave it in my jacket pocket on the street, and when I take it out, for example on public transport, I hold it tightly with both hands.
Two days later the case arrives. I put on the cell phone, transfer the cell phone ring and breathe a sigh of relief.
ALT
Because the case is transparent, you can still see the inside of the phone. There isn’t much to see there anyway, just a few antennas and screws.
(Kathrin Passig)