By 
If you managed to get a Nexus 4 from the mailman last/this week, chances are — like me — you worry every day about your shiny new smartphone meeting an early demise from a chance drop or spill. And who could blame you. The Nexus 4 is the first Nexus to feature glass on both the front and back of the device. That means it really wouldn’t take much to shatter that thing to a million pieces.
But today, I can rest a little easier now the UPS guy has paid my house a little visit, finally dropping off the official Nexus 4 Bumper Case. For those interested, here’s a quick video showcasing the bumper and after, I’ll go into a little more detail with my thoughts on the case. Enjoy.
Build Quality
Upon pulling the case out of the box, I was completely taken by surprise at the quality of this little bumper case. A combination of flexible rubber and plastic, the case features a black TPU-like material that’s smooth and chiseled on the front, with a neat texture on the back. The sides of the case are accented with a plastic band that has a metallic finish (similar to the color on the Galaxy Nexus), and the volume rocker and power buttons are finished in chrome. Once slipped on, the case holds onto the Nexus 4 firmly, like a man to his lady.
Coverage
Keep in mind this is a bumper case which means it will protect the device from bumps and bruises (makes sense) but it wont protect the phone from falling down a flight of stairs, or off your 2nd story balcony. The back of the device is left completely exposed, but the rim of the case is slightly more raised than the front, keeping the device from coming in contact with scratchy materials sudden contact with the pavement. Given that your device is less likely to fall completely flat on its face or back, this bumper will protect you device from about 90% of life’s unexpected “accidents.”
Value
At $20, the Nexus 4 bumper isn’t cheap, but that’s not to say it’s all that expensive either. You’ll see cheap silicone and TPU cases offered for around the same price in carrier retail stores, and while theoretically you can find cheaper cases online, I can guarantee you wont find one of this quality, let alone one that completely blends into the device. This case was literally designed for the Nexus 4, not just made for it. It’s because of all this, the official Nexus 4 bumper case is an instant buy (whenever it comes back in stock on Google Play).
you’re afraid to go with no case. yet you peck on your phones like a woodpecker with your nails. man you make no sense to me O.o
Nails don’t hurt phones, pavement does O_o
go on…
Chavez ur the effing man
Nails can hurt phones, just fyi. Usually with a bad clear coat, or whatever they call it, but yeah, it can happen.
So my review just wasn’t good enough huh?! ;( lol
Dat portrait video.. O_o
..
Does anyone know if something like this is available for the Galaxy SIII? I’m planning on getting one on Friday (yes, I’m braving the crowds) and would rather have this style that a full-cover case.
SGP has some bumper cases, also Ebay.
I think it’s about time you take the plastic off the back of your N4. Let that baby shine.
noticed the same thing, took it off mine earlier this morning when the ups guy dropped it off. got the phone and case in 1 shipment! so far so good!
It’s still on there because he’s selling it.
Then why buy accessories for it? I’m lost. Oh, and the photoshop in the lead pic editing the sticker out is horrible. What is going on here? Shoddy work phandroid.
I don’t know if you knew this…but you can re-sell accessories too. Shocker, I know!!
You don’t say?
He wasnt trying to make it look like the sticker wasnt there, he was making sure nobody could see the IMEI and other numbers…
Naked is the way to go!
I don’t even want to use my nexus 4. I’m worried. She’s beautiful!
Yea but she don’t got LTE therefore irrelevant.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/23/3681450/nexus-4-band-4-lte-support
Kind of like you…
I was hoping to see a review from you on this device. I mean I personally know everything about it and there are tons of others online, but seeing one from Chavez or from a member of Androidandme is always good. Might of mentioned something I didn’t even think about. Only thing I think the device is missing for my personal liking is a very very nice quality camera that shoots awesome video and takes awesome pictures like the S3 and iPhone 5. Just makes you want to slap a stock ROM on better hardware.
Review is coming very soon :)
Hurry! I need to see more N4 because I DON’T HAVE ONE.
Like tonight soon?
The back of the device is left completely exposes, but
I think you meant a D there :P
also, i’m becoming _that guy_
>_<
Thanks, _that guy_. O_o
y’know, that grammar Nazi everyone hates. there’s always _that guy_ in a thread, and somehow I’ve become that >_<
“Ahhhh yeah, there we go” – Chris Chavez
BOOOIIIIIIING. *blush*
are you using a screen protector? what brand?
Nope. Going clean. I left the screen protector thingie on the back because I don’t intend on keeping the Nexus 4 for very long.
will you sell it to me at cost?
It’s already been sold. The only reason I bought it was to see if I’d like it over my Note 2. Sold it for the same price I paid for it to a friend.
Then I bought the extra Nexus 4 for a friend in need (I knew at least 1 of my Android friends would miss out). Again, not trying to make money :p
Sooo, can we assume you prefer the Note 2? Always looking for opinions as I have yet to make up my mind between the two.
You have good taste in phones dude. Down the road I’ll probably have the Note 2 along with my Nexus 4.
I wish it had a high quality clear PC(poly carbonate) backing thus to protect the rear of the device, I find “bumpers“ to be redundant. What if the device falls from a high enough distance directly on its back? I doubt a bumper will stop the rear glass panel from cracking. Would it?
It’s slightly raised, so it wont really come into contact with the ground. Then again, it depends on how high you drop it. The bumper will protect it from most drops and fumbles, but probably not down a flight of stairs.
Thanks, was just about to ask the same thing. Thanks for the high resolution pictures. Nice to see. I guessed it was very well made, happy i was right :D
even polycarbonate will take damage when dropped high.
Some jack-a is selling 9 of these for $80 on ebay. what a douche
There were some issues with orders of the Nexus 4 going through multiple times and being unable to cancel. Maybe the same happened with the bumpers.
His name wasn’t…. Gamercore, was it? O_o
This makes me want a bumper for my Galaxy S3 now… Time to hop on eBay
As someone who doesn’t like bumpers or cases at all and just likes having their device as is would you recommend this? It is very noticeable when using or reaching into your pocket for the phone? I received my Nexus 4 yesterday and have noticed as some have that if you place the device on any form of sloped surface that won’t create lots of friction, for example one’s leg, it will slide, This has me a little worried with the glass back and that when I’m sitting I usually just put my phone on my leg, while on vibrate and no ringer so as to not disturb others.
Yeah, you’re gonna end up dropping it. This will definitely protect it from those little drops and adds very minimal bulk.
I normally don’t like cases or bumper cases either but this one is the exception. It actually looks really good on the phone. It’s some kind of plastic and it had a real metal strip around the edge with real metal buttons for the volume and on/off buttons. It’s really nice.
I was a big fan of Chris’ DIY Comic Book Cover… curious if Chris will comic-bookify this? I assume that inherently the Nexus deserves an organic experience and the back itself is so beautiful… but if you’re out there, Chris, care to clarify?
Can’t comic book this up. It’s essentially a fancy TPU case and wouldn’t work right.
I’m predicting some cracked glass on these things, even with the bumper case. :(
Looks much nicer than I expected. I might look into one but I need the back of it to stick to my Pugoo in my car so I’ll probably stay naked or get a cheap clear case.
I’ve always been a little anti-case cause they take a nice light phone and make them so bulky, but this thing looks great, and i wish I had one for my s3 before it decided to fall off the corner and smash a corner.
Question: is it form fitting? It almost looks “loose” in the video…
It’s not like a second skin. It sort of snaps in and isn’t loose. It’s definitely higher quality than an iPhone bumper case.
Fits like a glove :)
Not O.Js glove ^o^
I too was completely surprised by the quality. i’m really glad I bought one. It’s definitely one of the nicest bumper cases I’ve ever seen and used. It’s definitely a must buy.
I’m pretty sure the matte silver band around the bumper is metal.
It’s plastic. I’m 99.9% positive.
next time make it plastic! we need usefulness not less important design, we are not iSheeps…
Can you get a similar case for a Galaxy Nexus?
Sigh, within an hour of getting my Nexus 4, splat, right on the pavement. Now the top area is scratched up, luckily though the glass didn’t shatter. I could have used this bumper…
WoW. I did the same thing when I got my GNexus. I had ordered the case, but it hadn’t come in yet. I feel your pain.
Close enough
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_15?url=search-alias%3Dmobile&field-keywords=galaxy+nexus+bumper&sprefix=galaxy+nexus+bu%2Caps%2C182
will it make remnant on the device after a while?
will it distorts the device if you get rid of it?
Does the bumper mess with the curved sides of the screen?
Never mind. I like the case though. Now if I can just get the effing phone!
At 1:45 in the video.
Is it compatible with invisibleSHIELD Extreme? :)
A little late to the review/comments…, but does the bumper help keep the device from sliding around? I’ve heard that because it’s so smooth (back and front) that it slides around on hard surfaces very easily. Just wondering if the case was soft enough to keep that from happening.