I placed the order for my free Apple Bumper case last week and it’s already here. Having the Bumper on the phone makes me appreciate the flat surfaces on both sides. I would have killed for a case like this on my 3GS – it’s small and unobtrusive, it still looks great, and you aren’t covering up the Apple design that has made the products so coveted.

The best part, of course, is that it was free. I would be hard pressed to drop $30 on one of these things, even with how much I like it. I should probably also mention, if you make a habit of dropping your phone like a good friend of mine, you should either invest in a good, sturdy case, or just assume that you’ll be paying a couple hundred bucks every few months to replace your phone.

Which free case did you go for?

I was excited when offered the chance to take a look at AGF’s Ballistic HC case for the iPhone 4. As the website suggests, the Ballistic HC is “Designed to Survive Life,” a great slogan considering I had dumped my phone onto a brick patio just a few nights prior to receiving the review unit. The Ballistic HC is a great case, and though it may not be for everyone, it’s perfect for people who can be rough on their phones.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the Ballistic HC is big. It’s a pretty thick case by itself, and if you want it to get even bigger there’s a bouncy silicon wrap you can put around the case for extra protection. The size is a good thing, though. It allows for all of the padding and space necessary to keep your phone safe in the even that you would drop it or accidentally smash it against something. A rubber inner layer separates your phone from the hard outer, protecting the phone from the case and adding some shock absorption. The hard outer shell also has fixed rubber bumpers for an extra layer of protection. The aforementioned rubber sleeve really takes the phone to indestructible new heights.

The front of the Ballistic HC case has a screen protector that allows your touchscreen to still function perfectly. I was really impressed, because I’ve seen a lot of cases for which the screen protector ruins the browsing experience on the phone. With the Ballistic, you almost don’t notice that the protector is there (unless you drop your phone, of course, in which case you’ll just notice that the screen is in tact).

I only had one issue with the Ballistic case, a problem AGF is both aware of and working actively to fix. As you can see in the picture below, the screen protector can get suctioned onto the screen, creating an oil-spill pattern across the screen. It’s not very noticeable when the screen is lit up, but it kinda sucks when the screen is black.

As I said, though, Ballistic is working on a fix. The company posted a YouTube video with a simple, temporary fix for the problem while they continue to work on a permanent solution. Really, though, if you need this case, you are probably more interested in the fact that it will keep your phone safe, and less interested in the way your phone will look while tucked safely away inside this beast of a case.

I’m on the road today, headed up to NYC to visit some friends, but I thought this was worth sharing. I got an email this morning confirming that my free Apple bumper case has shipped, despite the estimated 3-5 week ship time Apple initially doled out.

Even though I’m not among those cursed with a failing phone, it’s nice to see some quick turnaround on Apple’s part. Hopefully people can start to see a working phone some time early next week.

The big question surrounding the iPhone 4 reception issue is how did Apple not catch it? They had the phone for months, presumably testing it in the Bay area for months. So why didn’t the Apple techs experience the problem?

Miguel Helft at the NYT Bits Blog had one theory – when the Apple techs were out the field, the iPhone 4 prototype was disguised in a case to look like the 3GS. The case meant a tech’s hands didn’t touch the antennae, so there were no interference issues, so there was nothing to catch.

Apple said Thursday that a case is one way to solve the reception issues.