iPhone Lifeproof wallet case "hack" [View all]

"Hack" is probably a little strong.

Anyhoo. Mrs. Robb and I both have the Lifeproof cases -- which we love.

But she's gotten used to having her phone in a wallet case, where she can keep a couple of credit cards and a driver's license, but be able to open it up and use the iPhone. Something like this:



Of course, when you put the phone in a Lifeproof case, none of the iPhone-specific wallet cases fit.

But... I did a lot of shopping around, picking up other brands of phones and measuring them veeeery carefully. Turns out an iPhone in a Lifeproof case has almost precisely the same dimensions as an HTC phone called the Rezound. Which has one or two wallet cases out there; I picked up this one, from a manufacturer named "Monaco," for about $25:



It's almost perfect. Camera hole on the back is even in the right spot, through blind luck. The iPhone is held in place with rubber-coated metal clips that grab the rubber edges of the Lifeproof case perfectly, so the entire face is accessible, and nothing slips around. The only modification I had to do was to cut off the bottom clip, which was extraneous and made phone sit a touch too high. Other than that, a great solution to wanting a bomb-proof phone case with a leather wallet case's style and convenience.

I'll try to remember to take a picture of our final product -- Mrs. Robb is out and, of course, has her phone.