The Week in iPhone Cases: Sopwith Camel edition

Welcome to another of Macworld’s iPhone-case roundups, in which we bring you the latest protective accessories for your handset of choice. This week’s batch includes a surprise appearance by some friends from a classic comic strip, alongside a favorite drawing instrument for children and a set of brass—well, aluminium—knuckles. We’ve even thrown in a few iPod touch cases for a change.

Ballistic: The Life Style Smooth (iPhone 4 and 4S; $30) is a sleek case built with fashion and convenience in mind. It provides maximum protection with minimum bulk, and comes with sixteen interchangeable corner tabs in various thicknesses and colors. The case is available in black, charcoal, hot pink, purple, or orange.

Big Big Pixel: The 8-Bit Bumper (iPhone 4 and 4S; $25) brings all the beauty of retro gaming to your iPhone with a case that provides protection in the form of very large pixels. The bumper is made of silicon rubber coated in an anti-friction compound that helps it slide effortlessly in and out of your pocket. The 8-Bit Bumper comes in white, black, or pink.

CellPig: The Cell Helmet (iPhone 4 and 4S; $45) is a case that comes with one year’s worth of coverage against incidental damage, during which the company claims that it will fix or replace a broken phone in exchange for a $50 handling fee. The case itself, which comes in black with a variety of interchangeable colored back plates, is made of dense, polyurethane rubber and features angled edges to deflect the force of impacts away from the iPhone’s weak spots.

Concord Keystone: The company’s Swarovski cases (iPhone 4 and 4S; $85 to $89) bring the famous glassmaker’s crystal to the iPhone in all its sparkling glory with a series of beautiful designs. Each individual glass bead is set by hand by what must a very, very patient artisan. The underlying cases are available in black or white.

Griffin Technologies: The Crayola Classics (iPod touch; $25) is a case that turns your fourth-generation iPod touch into a large crayon—albeit one that doesn’t draw—by incorporating one of four of Crayola’s trademark colors: Caribbean Green, Cotton Candy (pink), Purple Pizzazz, and Blue Berry.

For a quirkier look, the Crayola Color Clicker (iPod touch; $25) is a polycarbonate back cover that comes with a series of multi-colored “clickers” that can be attached to it in a variety of combinations. The case comes in yellow or green.

id America: The Hue (iPhone 4 and 4S; $20) is a soft-grip case that features a unique two-piece assembly and a silicone coating for optimal feel. It comes in grey, pink, green, blue, violet, purple, yellow, or white.

iLuv: If you’re a fan of Charlie Brown and his friends, you’ll be pleased by the Peanuts Collection (iPhone 4 and 4S; $20 to $35), which brings many of the beloved characters created by the late Charles Schulz onto your favourite mobile device. The collection includes five different cases featuring Charlie Brown and Snoopy—including one of the latter in his famous World War I aviator attire—as well as a protective film decorated with various characters.

InCase: The Box (iPhone 4 and 4S; $30) is, as its name suggests, a soft rubberized case that features a minimalistic design and straight corners for a “boxy” look and feel. It includes cutouts for all of the iPhone’s cameras and ports, and comes in black, white, red, or translucent.

KnuckleCase: The KnuckleCase (iPhone 4 and 4S; $99) is, well, exactly what it sounds like: a case that incorporates a set of brass knuckles—except that the knuckles are made of aluminium, and their declared goal is, at least in principle, to help secure an iPhone to your hand, rather than to inflict pain upon another person. The all-metal construction makes the case completely recyclable.

OnTrion: The iHangy (iPhone 4 and 4S; $15) hooks up a cord to your phone so that you can hang it around your neck while you’re out and about. It comes with a handy “touchpen” stylus that you can use with your handset, and it’s available in black, white, or purple.