Just in case: Why everyone should have a mobile phone cover

Sure, your smartphone’s a kick-ass piece of bling – the days of the ugly half-brick mobile are long gone. Phones are design items and, boy, do we love them. But as with many of our favourite pieces of kit, it’s often wise to cover them up. Why?
Safety First!

You know that awful protracted slow-mo sequence where your grip slips, your phone drops, and you just know it’s going to hit that rock? The US cell-phone repair industry has shown major growth over the past five years and it’s no wonder. Even smartphones like the Nokia Lumia 920, which has survived the sturdiest tests, aren’t totally indestructible. So we reckon, it’s better to let a cover take the hit. Chips and scrapes and the tiniest of cracks can destroy the appearance of your beloved  smartphone or, worst case, affect its functionality. Why take the chance? Get yourself protected.

Ooh, la-la…

Safety can be sexy! Even if your phone looks just like the next kid’s, you can jazz it up to suit your individual aesthetic by picking a funky cover – and, of course, you can buy as many covers as you like, so your phone can always reflect your mood. From a simple, elegant black leather slip-case, to an in-your-face Angry Birds clip-on, you’re always, well, covered.

Extreme Conditions

We’re not all city-slickers – some folk want to drag their mobile phones up cliff-faces, into canoes, through desert storms or, ahem, through the driving rain of the Great British summer. And most phones aren’t cut out for those conditions: water-damage is said to account for more than twenty per-cent of handset insurance claims in the summer months. Poolside accidents do happen! So take precautions: tether your phone to yourself with a belt-mount if you’re going hiking, and grab a waterproof cover if you’re heading near the wet stuff.

The Goods

Back in the nineties, phone covers were about as slick as Filofaxes and about as user-friendly as mittens for typing. But now, the range and options are near endless. Our current favourites are the wireless charging shell for the Nokia Lumia 820, with its range of colours and wireless power up, and the CC-3046 hard case for the Nokia 808 PureView – a sheath for your phone that’s worthy of a pirate! Why? It’s got a special eye-patch attachment that’ll keep the phone’s camera-lens free from smudges so your photos will always be tip-top. Avast, me hearties!

Any other ways your cover has saved you from a smartphone disaster? If so, we’d love to hear about it in the comments below.