Review: Marware Sidewinder for iPhone

The advent of the iPhone has prompted so many case manufacturers to come up with holster-based designs that it’s difficult, at times, to tell all of them apart. At least Marware’s $25 Sidewinder for iPhone has one distinctive feature: its retractable arm for managing those unwieldy iPhone earbuds. But beyond that, is there anything that makes this case stand out?

Like many holsters, the Sidewinder features a spring clip and a black plastic cradle for the iPhone. The exterior is rubberized plastic with a smooth-touch finish, and the bottom of the holster is molded to the shape of the iPhone so it can sit comfortably and securely. Two pairs of slits in the bottom of the case let the sound from the iPhone’s speaker emerge, no matter whether you face the phone’s screen inwards or outwards—the Sidewinder allows both. At the top is a plastic arm which keeps the iPhone securely clipped into place. To insert the phone, you just slide its bottom into the case and push the top towards you until the arm grabs hold; to remove the iPhone, pull back on the arm at the top and the phone pops out. All of the iPhone’s buttons and ports, save for the dock-connector port, are accessible when the phone is in the holster. (Of course, if you clip the phone into the Sidewinder with the screen facing inwards, you obviously won’t be able to get at the Home button or the screen itself.)

The rotating belt clip on the back of the case uses Marware’s Multidapt system, which means you can remove the clip and replace it with a car holder, bike mount, or other accessories that Marware offers for additional cost. The Sidewinder also lets you use the clip as a stand for watching video on the iPhone; a design that works well enough for that purpose.

To sweeten the deal, Marware also throws in a adhesive screen protector and a microfiber cloth for polishing the iPhone’s screen.

The most innovative feature of the Sidewinder is the aforementioned retractable arm. If you pull on the right side of the case, out slides a piece of plastic with several notches and grooves in it. The intent is for you to wrap your iPhone’s earbuds around this arm, thus keeping the cables untangled and orderly. This cable-wrap system works OK in practice, though I found that I had to be diligent about wrapping the cables to keep loose ends under control, and trying to wrap or unwrap them while the case was clipped to my belt was sometimes frustrating. Marware also claims a small notch in the arm accommodates Apple’s Bluetooth headset, but I didn’t have one on hand to test that suggestion.

I was a little dubious about the strength of the clip that keeps the iPhone in place, but repeated shaking didn’t dislodge or loosen the iPhone from the Sidewinder’s grasp. Likewise, the belt clip is pretty solid and durable, so I wasn’t worried about it coming loose from my belt while wearing it. On the downside, while Marware’s Multidapt system is nice in its versatility, the spring clip is somewhat bulkier than those on several other holsters we’ve tested, making the phone stick out from your side a little more prominently than you might like.

If you don’t use the standard iPhone headphones, or similar earbuds, you won’t get much added value out of the Sidewinder. But it does a fine job of keeping your iPhone easily accessible anyway. Its biggest drawback is that you don’t get much protection beyond the thin adhesive film included, though you can always turn the iPhone face-inwards if it makes you feel better.

Category: Reviews

Posted by Dan Moren on Feb 21 2008, 4:34 PM ET

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