Headcase Bottle Opener Phone Case for iPhone 4/iPhone 4S (black) review: Headcase Bottle Opener Phone Case for iPhone 4/iPhone 4S (black)

It's hard to resist toying around with an iPhone case with a conceit as brotastic as the Headcase Bottle Opener Phone Case for iPhone 4/iPhone 4S ($19.99). Headcase has been making bottle opener cases for various phones for some time, but there's something about handling the protruding stainless steel mouth of the opener to really drive home the wackiness of a product that is, by turns, useful and completely cumbersome.

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Headcase Bottle Opener Phone Case for iPhone 4/iPhone 4S (black)

The Good

The affordable <b>Headcase Bottle Opener Phone Case</b> for iPhone 4/4S offers durable protection and two ways to open a bottle or can. You can choose among a range of colors and college logos.

The Bad

It's bulky and ungainly, and unless you're mighty thirsty, you're not going to need it 99 percent of the time. Although secure, the case is hard to remove. Enthusiastic can openers could splash liquid into the iPhone's headset jack.

The Bottom Line

With its protruding bottle opening mouth, the Headcase Bottle Opener Phone Case for iPhone 4/4S isn't for anyone seeking a low profile. It is, however, a usable tool for a very specific purpose.

See, the Headcase shell is quite nice on its own: hard and durable, with a smooth finish that easily withstands my nail scratches. My review unit was custom-decorated with the University of Miami logo, but you can choose another alma mater, a different design (like the American flag), or a solid color. Peering closely, I detected some rubbing away on one or two of the case's edges and corners. The two pieces of the housing snap together so securely, it took two people to pry it off.

Then there's the bottle opener mount, which starts just below the camera lens, sticks out almost half an inch, and contains two fins that stick straight up to the top of the case and are intended to open aluminum cans.

No bottle opener, bro? This iPhone case is your key (photos)

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The effect is a bulky and ungainly case, but I realize I may not be Headcase's target demographic. So I handed the case around to several colleagues, including some men who dropped it into their front jeans pockets in various configurations and declared it so unobstructive, they didn't even notice it.

I toted it with me to work, on errands, on the bus, in my purse, and to an appointment. My hands adjusted to the hump of the opener, even using it as a ledge to balance against my finger while operating the phone, yet my fingers kept finding and worrying the sharper twin fins.

Of course, the entire purpose of the case is to snap open some suds of one description or another. We luckily happened to have a couple such specimens in our office refrigerator. The bottle of beer came first. Since the opener mouth is a little shallow, I had to place it on top of the cap at the right angle before jacking my wrist skyward. The first attempt lifted a corner of the cap, but the second attempt cracked off the top.

Next came the soda can. I slipped in the double fins and lifted up. A satisfying hiss and snap told me that the case had worked, but a sploosh of sugary backsplash came awfully close to the headset jack. I'll have to cover the jack with my fingertip the next time I tangle with a pop top using my phone.

I can see this case appealing to a more limited and, um, rarefied demographic that may or may not include several stereotypical social types who frequent college campuses, fishing trips, sporting events, tailgate parties, the beach, empty parking lots, and tractor shows.

Thanks to the bulk, I'd personally opt for a keychain bottle opener rather than this live-in solution; however, I'll concede that the opener does its job and for just $20, the case's additional protection makes a pretty good two-in-one package. Consider it a three-in-one if you count the accompanying iPhone app that plays a song and posts your cap-popping victories to Facebook and Twitter.