By Odeisel

I punish the hell out cell phones. I ain’t a player but I crush a lot of them. From the grey Motorola flip with the orange digits to Samsungs to Palm Treos, to Blackberries, I have dropped them, drown them and pounded them into submission. With smartphones coming in at prices higher than laptops, something has got to give. You can’t keep buying these things over and over, even if you’re on EBay or Craig’s List. Like going out in the cold, or going out with strange women (or men as it were), there comes a time when you have to protect yourself.

There’s a legion of iPhone cats who have fully imbibed the Steve Jobsian Kool-Aid, and that’s’ cool. Many more joined once the iPhone 4 came under the umbrella of AT&T. When phones start coming in at $500 buck, you damn right you have to protect that screen and everything else you paid for. At a certain point you have to figure what’s worth your money and how do you want to protect your asset. There are a ton of options for the iPhone crowd, ranging from leather suavete’ to dual layer plastic and indestructible. The Planet will put you on to game and introduce you to a ton of ways to wrap your iPhone (and give you the opportunity to win a couple).

iKit has a case that not only protects your phone, but also acts as a backup for those times when your battery is low. The NuCharge case can double the battery life of your iPhone 4 (Both the AT&T and the Verizon versions). The battery option can be switch off and conserved for those moments when you and your date Ola get chased from the movies by werewolves and zombies, or you’re driving around lost using your phone as a GPS. It retails for roughly $65 and can be found here.

Case maker Ballistic has come up with a protective case that is so indestructible, it was granted military grade protection. Don’t believe me? An iPhone protected by their case was thrown off a 20 foot roof, dropped from a 14-foot ladder face first, and thrown from a moving car…and still worked. The secret is a five-layer mixture of rubber plastic and silicon. For $50 you can save yourself the $100 screen replacement cost. Peep the video:

If you don’t want to be bulky and you don’t like the sporty look, XtremeMac has something a bit more smooth. If you have business clients, and you’re wearing a suit or making a first impression, you don’t necessarily want your phone case looking like those old Sony yellow sport Walkman numbers. The XtremeMac features a full leather sleeve and a microfiber interior, with protective plates for your screen. Comes in two colors, brown and black and can be found here for around $25.

Last but not least, we have the Scosche kickback g4. Have you ever been out to eat with your friends and saw something crazy on the ‘Net and you wants to show everyone there, and you end up with everyone hovering over you like they don’t want anyone else to see you breastfeeding? Say no more. The kickBACK g4 not only protects your iPhone 4 and give you a access to all of its ports and buttons, but it also features a kickstand so your friends can stay on their side of the table and watch the latest idiot or horrible singing sensation on your screen. It protects your screen in face down position, features a glossy polycarbonate shell with an impact resistant rubber interior. Available for $34.99.

Planet Ill happens to have the kickBACK g4 and a black leather XtremeMac case for giveaway. Join our forums and take a screen cap of your membership page. Email to Odeisel@planetill.com for your chance to win.