A saleswoman stands at the counter of her small shop in Zhongguancun, in which a rainbow of cases are available for iPhone addicts. [PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY]

Apple made such a difference in the cellphone market with its iPhone that experts actually call the time after its launch the post-iPhone era.

Its privileged position can be seen from the attention given it by high-end brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, which have launched special iPhone cases. The luxury edition of a LV iPhone case sells for as much as 8,000 yuan (over $1,100).

For most iPhone fanciers in China, the amount of cases to choose from is huge, from a cheap 5-yuan plastic one in Xidan, to a several hundred yuan brand product in the Apple store in Sanlitun. The material varies from rigid plastic, silica gel, to leather, fabrics and so on, take your pick.

METRO selects six cases that combine performance with a reasonable price. We also interviewed six iPhone subscribers who shared their own experiences and opinions on iPhone cases.

"Get a good case for a good phone!'

Liang Jun, 30, IT engineer, male.

His iPhone now wears a transparent rigid plastic case, which he got for 120 yuan from taobao.com. The shop owner said it was a Japanese brand. He got his iPhone 3GS as a birthday present from his girlfriend, who bought him a cheap black spiral case as well. But he only wore that for one day, and then turned to taobao for a better one.

"Such an expensive cellphone, I didn't want a tacky case."

Jacqueline Liu, 25, journalist, female.

Her iPhone has a black leather case for protection, also available from taobao. It costs 199 yuan.

What she values the most about the case is the protection she feels it provides, "in this respect, leather is better than plastic".

Luo Dongdong, 35, sales manager, male.

He got a Speck black rigid plastic case for 150 yuan for his iPhone 3GS.

"I invested more in a case than usual since the iPhone is a trendy thing," he said.

"No matter what, I won't pay much for a case!"

Ding Qing, 25, electronics engineer, male.

A friend sent him a black net fabric bumper for his iPhone two years ago. It was bought in Xidan for 15 yuan but he only used it for a while.

"No matter how good a case is, it will still lower the touch feel of the phone," he said.

Fu Xiaolei, 26, journalist, female.

She bought a pure blue plastic case for 20 yuan in Xidan. She values good looks, but she won't pay more than 50 yuan for one.

"The phone is already so expensive, who would pay that much extra money?" she said.

Ma Jia, 25, government worker, female.

She prefers the case to be simple. Hers is a green plastic one, which she got at Sanlitun for 10 yuan.

"I won't buy a case for more than 15 yuan. I don't want to pay more than that because the phone is expensive enough."

China Daily

(China Daily 08/26/2010 page27)