First Look: Element Case Vapor 007 for the iPhone 4

UPDATE 11/2/2010:  Since doing the video I stumbled on a bunch of reviews and comments by owners of the Element Case Vapor and found at least the first batch of cases severely blocking cell phone reception, in some cases killing it altogether.  A YouTube commenter had a great idea to test the Vapor 007's ability to block reception using the infamous Field Test.  I did a quick Field Test in my bedroom, a place where there is very bad reception but I still don't drop calls there.  Here's my unscientific results:

• With Vapor 007 and Carbon Fiber Back Plate: -110 dB
• With just Vapor 007 bumper: -100 dB
• With no case: -100 dB

Hardware expert Anandtech says that the iPhone 4 should be able to hold calls and stream data even when reception is down to -113 dB.  So, even though the carbon fiber back plate is appearing to affect cell reception by -10 dB I am not dropping calls.   Someone on an AT&T network that is not as good as the one here in Honolulu could conceivably drop calls.  Obviously, I need to do more testing on this.

Element Case Website
Vapor Extreme Metals
Previous posts about the Element Case: Liquid Edition for the iPhone 3G/3GS