To start out I must say that Contour Design is a new company to me. I have seen some of their products, but have not had a lot of experience with them. Going through my first impressions of this case though, I see that Contour Design is definitely a company that everyone should know about. Just take a look at this product and you will see why!

The Showcase comes in pretty standard blister pack packaging like most cases. Inside the packaging you will find the case itself, the belt clip, three different sized foam rectangular rings, and a small guide. First impressions are good, the case is a bit on the light weight side, but it looks very nice, and the build quality seems excellent.

To put your iPod in the case, the case opens to the side by having a hinge on one side and a clasp on the other. The clasp is a bit light weight feeling to me, but when shut, it is very secure. I just try to be careful when opening and closing the clasp, but once shut it seems like it does its job plenty well.

You may be wondering how this case can fit all the 4th Generation (4G) iPods considering each iPod is a different thickness. Well that is where the three foam rectangular rings come into play. These rings sit in the back of the case to add thickness to make up for the lack of thickness in smaller iPods. To give you a better idea, I scanned the guide that comes along with the case.

The foam inserts are rings so that you can not see them when looking through the back (which is clear). That brings me to the next section, the looks of the case. On the front and back of the case, there are acrylic windows so you can see your iPod. Pretty much the whole front of the case is clear with a cutout in the clear for the click wheel. On the back the window is a bit smaller, but shows of the apple logo and shiny back of the iPod well. The rest of the case (the sides, bottom, top, parts of back, sides on front) are all made out of plastic that changes seamlessly into the acrylic. It is a smooth plastic and is surprisingly nice to feel and hold in your hand.

For syncing and connecting your headphones, there are cutouts on the top and bottom of the case. The top cutout also is for the hold button so you can use the hold button while your iPod is in this case. There really is no need to take the iPod out of the case as you can sync, charge, and listen all in the same case!

Another neat feature of this case is the removable belt clip. Unlike normal belt clips that sit vertically along the back of the case, this belt clip goes horizontally to make the iPod sit horizontal while it is clipped to your belt. This is a person preference, but in my mind I like the iPod better when it is sitting horizontal on your belt. The belt clip does not swivel, and is removable via a spring loaded clasp. When the belt clip is off the case, the case is very sleek and does not have any form of a belt clip stud or post on the back. Also on the back of the case are two raised bits running vertical on the case that protect the window from scratches when you place the case on a table or flat surface without the belt clip on.

Overall I really liked the Contour Design iPod case. It was an amazing piece to look at and use, plus the build quality was very good. It seemed as though the case was very well thought out in its design. I also liked the price, not too cheap to make the quality go down, but not overly priced like some cases are.

Thanks to Contour Design for the Review Sample!