I love skin and jelly styled cases on my mobile devices, so this case the Case Mate Gelli for the iPod touch 2nd and 3rd Generations should be right up my alley.
As I stated in my Case Mate ‘barely there’ review. The iPod touch 2nd and 3rd generations are the most purchased iOS devices to date and because of this very fact I figured a lot of people would like to see some case reviews for the devices.
The Case Mate Gelli is made out of a high quality silicone. This makes the case super flexible and resilient, take a look at my unboxing video below and you’ll see how bendy it really is (hence the Gelli in the title). This is of course a good thing and all contributes to being a case which lasts well.
The design is fantastic and even though the silicone is resilient it's also rather thin. But due it being so thin it feels very nice around the rear of the iPod when in the hand. Plus it’s a very snug fit so the iPod won't randomly slip out. The texture of the exterior is smooth and glossy, it does cause the hands to sweat when held for prolonged stretches and is a finger print menace, that's a downfall of a glossy silicone exterior.
Probably one of the most notable features is that this case doesn't cover the bezel of the iPod. For whatever reason other case manufactures choose to do this, I hate it! It makes the iPod less operational because you keep creeping to the edge of the screen with your finger running out of room and that becomes a real pain.
On the rear of the case there are square patterns which look very cool and helps the iPod touch to stand out in public. The Gelli comes in a few colors ranging from Orange to Blue. I do like the choice that the Case Mate Gelli series has always offered and they haven't put the brakes on this with their iPod touch version.
The functionality offered is excellent and that did surprise me due to the thinness of the iPod Touch and the fact that the Gelli case covers all the exterior buttons. On the top where the sleep and wake button is, Case Mate have decided to create their own button using the silicone so it protrudes out the case a little. This is a good design choice because when you do choose to operate this button it feels as if you're just lightly squeezing the case. It’s very cool and the same functionality is implemented for the volume rockers, it really does make the case very accessible something some silicone cases don’t attempt. On the bottom of the Case Mate Gelli you have a great big cut out rectangle for the 30 pin dock connector and headphone jack to go through. Again this works well and third party accessories I have which require the 30 pin connector have all fitted so far.
If you do drop your iPod touch while it's in the Gelli you're not going to get full protection for the device but it is going to take some of the impact. You will likely cause some damage and like all these cases that leave the screen wide open if you drop your screen on hard ground enough times it will most likely crack even though Case Mate include a screen protector, it won’t really take much pressure or if any away from the screen. The one thing that it won’t do if you drop it from any height is fall out, the inside of the case has a matt covering which definitely helps grip the iPod touch in conjunction with the cases overallll tight fit. But the iPod Touch is actually remarkably easy to get in and out of the Gelli.
Overall the Case Mate Gelli is my favourite silicone case for the iPod Touch 2nd and 3rd generation and the skin type case I would choose to use on a regular basis on the device. It’s good looking, durable, feels great in the hand and the doesn't compromise the iPod's functionality.
