Tech21 iBand helps iPhone survive the Dragons' Den

We love to see an iPhone thrown across the room, so last night's Dragons' Den was a treat.

Jason Roberts scored the backing of two dragons -- sarky BT pitch-man Peter Jones and smug paper-and-pants vendor Theo Paphitis, for his company Tech21, which makes protective cases for gadgets.

His products include a case for the iPhone called the iBand, which wraps the edges of the phone in a rubbery casing made of a material called d3o. It's soft and stretchy until you stress it -- by throwing it against the ground, for example -- when it instantly becomes solid, protecting your pricy Apple baby.

The material is a fancy version of oobleck, or as the physics geeks call it, a non-Newtonian fluid -- and you know if something disobeys Newton, it has to be cool.

The iBand wraps around the edges of the iPhone, and doesn't cover the back or front, so it won't protect from scratches, although its raised edges might help by raising the phone off surfaces slightly. Expect to pay £15 for the case, which fits the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS.

Tech21 also makes netbook cases padded with air cushions and laptop cases containing shock-absorbing cradles.

Screenshot credit: BBC