The iPhone 4 Bumper Case was released in 2010 along with the iPhone 4. Unfortunately, this case was placed in the middle of a famous and rare Apple public relations issue, “Antennagate.” The design of this case is very simple, a plastic and rubber bumper that surrounds the outer edges of the iPhone 4 providing drop protection, a gripping-rubber lip that prevents the front and back of the iPhone 4 from making contact with a surface when placed flat, and a barrier that prevents holding the phone in a manner that may affect antenna performance.
MacWorld described the bumper case: “It consists of a stiff, plastic band that covers the entire metal edge of the iPhone 4, combined with relatively tough rubber around the front and rear edges to hold the Bumper in place.”
Antennagate was a name given by the media to a phenomenon that was reported soon after the iPhone 4 release on June 24, 2010, where the cell phone signal would drop if the phone was gripped in a way that covered the integrated antenna. Apple’s reaction was to hold a press conference 22 days after the iPhone release, hosted by Steve Jobs, who confirmed the iPhone 4 issue (and mentioned the same issue was present on competitor phones), presented several customer purchasing and phone performance statistics, and offered the black version of this case for free (or refunded previous bumper case purchases).
Apple offered this case in black, orange, blue, pink, green, white, dark gray, and later, (PRODUCT)RED.
Sources: MacWorld (case program, review), PCWorld, AppleInsider
