Last updated on March 19, 2013
For the last few years I’ve been using a Pelican 1050 case to carry my Google Nexus One phone when biking, hiking, mapping, etc. This past Monday I received my new phone, a Google Nexus 4, and set about fitting it into a new case. The Pelican 1020 is the closest fit, but unfortunately it’s just slightly too tall to hold the phone flat inside the case.
Setting the phone at a slight angle allows it to fit nicely in the case, and with the addition of two block of neoprene foam rubber (layered and held into place with contact cement) the phone is soundly secured in the case. The block near the top of the phone holds it from rattling around, and the thicker block near the bottom keeps the phone from sliding around if dropped soundly on its face.
This is not the most elegant solution, but until I can find a better-fitting case it’ll do. I’d love one which allows the phone to nestle in as nicely as the Pelican 1050 did needing just a bit of extra foam, but that’ll take some digging, if they even exist…
Awesome mod and review! I was wondering, with your experience, if the Nexus 4 had a case around it, would it still fit? eg. the nexus bumper, or poetic case? Thanks!
Joel: I think it might maaaaaaybe fit with the Google bumper, but I’m not sure about any others. A friend was just here in town with a bumper case for his, but I didn’t think to check it in this. It’d be a tight fit if it does, but I think the odds are on the side of it working.