It seems as if almost overnight, smartphones have changed the world. They have quickly become an essential tool in our daily lives, making it possible to take care of business while on the move. Although they haven't quite reached the point where we can abandon our home PCs entirely, they are highly functional and easily pocketable machines that we all would have a difficult time giving up. As they become more functional and vital to the way we communicate, work and socialize, it becomes harder to release the white-knuckle grip we have on our pocket-sized computers.
I use my phone for everything from listening to music in the car to taking pictures, knocking out quick emails and even shopping from time to time. I avoid using my computer at all costs and will do anything I can from my phone (or tablet) first. And that's the point. My phone has become the one thing I cannot leave my apartment without – besides my keys, of course. (I obviously wouldn't get very far without my car keys.) I cannot begin to count the times I have left my apartment without my wallet or money clip in my pants pocket. But I have never left my phone behind, mainly because it never leaves my hand.
I'm the kind of person who doesn't like cases. As I've said many times before, I like to feel the phone as the designers meant for it to feel, not bulked-up and padded by a case. But I also hate carrying so many things in my pockets everyday: a knife, two sets of keys, a wallet, and anywhere from one to three phones (sometimes I'll throw a phone or two in my backpack).
Smartphone wallet/card holder cases have been around for some time now, but more recently, I have noticed more of them popping up in stores and about the web. I want to like them because they only make sense. But I'm skeptical of how efficient or ideal they really are, and of course, there is the safety factor to consider. Carrying your cards, money and phone bundled into one sort of increases the risk of you losing everything in one fell swoop. I'm personally not worried about that, though, as I typically have a death grip on my phone. Also, I'm a huge advocate of NFC as a payment option – or any "plastic" alternative for that matter. Carrying a virtual card on your phone is no less dangerous than carrying real cards.
In hopes of trying one of these card holder cases out and going a few days without a wallet, I took to Amazon and purchased one for my iPhone. Being the cautious consumer, I took the cheap way out and purchased a knock-off of the Case-Mate. Bad move, Taylor. Long story short, it wasn't made for the slightly-modified CDMA iPhone, nor did it account for the trivial difference in thickness of the white version.
Now I'm one case in the hole and even less likely to try again. Even with the case extremely loose on my phone, all I could manage to squeeze in the card holder on the back was two measly cards. This seems the be the main complaint with most of the different cases I looked at. The problem is, I need room for at least five cards.
There is one case that has caught my eye a time or two: the BookBook for iPhone. Unlike the cheap cardholder case I tried, the BookBook is actually a wallet and disguises your iPhone as, well … a book. It's made of high quality leather and would easily replace my wallet, as it has room for several cards and a cash pocket.
I'm kind of torn. This would keep me from forgetting my wallet again, but I'm not sure I can stomach $60 for a cell phone case. More importantly, one that I may not even like. This is why I'm giving the floor to you guys and gals. How do you feel about wallet or card holder cases? Have you tried them before? Would you pay $60 for a wallet and an iPhone case? Sound off below!
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