So, I just pre-ordered my 4s and I have been looking at cases or bumpers. Now I know the first bumpers that came out with the 4 were not very protective, but they have made some improvements. They have some really cool looking bumpers and my question is, do they protect the screen? I figured if they had a small lip on them then they would do a pretty good job. I plan on changing the black glass out with a transparent glass and I would like to show that off, but I don't want to risk breaking the glass if a bumper isn't going to do the job. I know I can find a clear hardcase, but the look of a bumper with clear back plate is really nice. And yes, I know my warranty will void if I open my phone.

Well, I can tell you my opinion about it. Honestly I don't like either of them. With the 4 they are totally useless immo, so they will be with the 4s. The design is perfect and doesn't need some fugly clip on it. Just my 2 cents.

Well, I found this this bumper that looks promising. It has a raised edge to protect better than normal bumpers. What do you use to protect your phone?

Compared to 3gs, 3g, 2g, the 4 is so stable that I just carry it aroudn in the pocket with no problem. My 2g looked like shit after a while cause the aluminium was worn out and scratched, the 3G looked pretty used too cause of the plastic but the i4 is so stable that I think there is no need for any "protection". If it falls down and breaks, it will break anyway so ... well my opinion

For me it's still a device actually used, nothing holy, but hey my i4 looks very good still after 1 year of every day usage, you won't notice it is older than maybe 2 months.

I know the glass is pretty strong with the 4 so that's really cool that you haven't broken it yet. lol. I have a 3gs right now and if I broke the glass it wouldn't bother me, bc I can fix it. But, I haven't messed with a 4. But, if you can walk around without a case for over a year and no problems, then using a bumper for me is just added protection. I have yet to break any iPhones that I have.

I prefer to get an bumper,although the phone is stable anyway. The protective bumper can protect the phone from dirty,snip,scratches much better..

Well the i4 is pretty stable to scratchs, I found the glass back not to scratch at all, not even with keys in the pocket.

I've historically had really bad luck with iPhone 4 screens -- my first phone took a 2 foot dive and the screen cracked, my second one took a 6 inch dive in the Apple bumper and got cracked. Thankfully, Apple replaced both free of charge. I put the phone into one of the slightly rubberized, thin case-mate cases and have since dropped the hell out of it many times accidentally -- but you'd have no idea looking at the phone. The casemate cases have done an amazing job of protecting the phone -- if I pull it out of the case and wipe of the dust, etc., it is in 100% perfect condition.

I do love the iPhone 4's design, and I am sad that I cover it up with a case all the time, but with my luck it just made sense to get something rubberized. The plastic ones don't seem to make much sense to me, as plastic just transfers shock, vs. rubber which would absorb a percentage of it. ymmv, etc.

I find the glass on the iPhone 4 pretty scratch resistant compared to the other iphones. I do have a case to protect the back. Several months ago, I removed the protective film that covered the front of the phone because it was hard to see. So far, there aren't any scratches even though my two sons play with it all the time. Which I cannot say was the same for the iPhone 3G which started to show some scratches after awhile.

Yeah iAm stuck at a fork in the road it seems. While iLove the glass and the design of the 4, knowing my luck, it would break the first time iDropped it. iPlan on changing out the glass back plate and putting a clear glass back plate instead, that way iCan show off the insides. But, in doing that iWould need a bumper or a clear case, and iFeel the clear case would kind of muddy up the look. They have made great progress with bumper now-a-days. iAm eying some aluminum ones with soft pads of foam or rubber in the frame itself to absorb some of the impact. Also, they have a good sized lip on sides that way the glass sits inside of the bumper. iDon't like making these type of decisions lol.