I was a bit foolish with my Nexus 4. I picked it up back in November, but it isn’t until this week that I collected a case for it. And that time uncased has taken its toll – I’ve got a bevy of scratches across the glass back of the device, although thankfully it didn’t shatter like The Verge‘s review unit. The front is a bit better – no nasty scratches here thankfully.

It’s on the left hand side that the disaster area lies – a nasty chip near the bottom of the device, right on the edge of the glass. There’s another one just above, as well. It’s certainly going to affect the resale value of the phone, but more importantly it’s an imperfection that I notice every time I use the Nexus 4.

That’s why I’ve resolved to never let another scratch afflict this smartphone. I wanted a case that was minimal, adding little bulk in exchange for a good amount of protection. I wanted to protect those vulnerable corners of the device – and hide the chips already there. I wanted to prevent the back and front from getting additional scratches, as well as provide a bit of insurance against the glass shattering from a nasty fall onto a hard surface. And finally, I wanted to keep the beautiful holographic back of the phone as visible as possible.

The one case that fit my criteria was the GenX Nexus 4 bumper. This is a more readily available version of the official Nexus 4 bumper, that sells for the same price and looks to provide a little bit more protection than the standard option.

The case seems to be a bit thicker than the standard Nexus 4 bumper, allowing to provide a little bit more grip in the hand and a greater lip around the front and back of the phone. This also ensures that one of the hilarious problems of the Nexus 4 – its immense slipperiness – to become a non-issue. No longer will I be able to spot every non-level desk in the office just by setting my phone down!

The look of the case is quite nice, with a subtle carbon fibre look along one section of the bumper. There are cutouts provided along the case, which look a bit too big in places but no doubt are designed for easy access. Testing them out, both the micro USB and 3.5 mm headphone jack are as easy to use as without the bumper installed. The buttons in the bumper sit on top of the original buttons, and seem about as easy to actuate.

So how well does the GenX bumper stand up to abuse? Well, I (accidentally) dropped the phone quite a few times onto carpet, and once onto a hard wood floor. In each instance, my phone escaped without any damage, although the hard drop had my heart racing. Whether it landed on the corners or just face first, I escaped without a scratch each time.

After a while, I felt a lot calmer about the whole affair – before I was quite concerned about accidentally dropping the phone and always went about things carefully, but with the case on I had the confidence to use the phone at my normal breakneck pace without needing to babysit it.

All in all, I’d recommend the case for Nexus 4 owners who’re looking for a minimal yet protective solution. While those who don’t like the back may prefer a traditional closed back case, if you’re like me and like watching the chassis sparkle then this is quite a good choice. I think if you really want the absolute minimum signature then the official case might be a better choice, but it can be difficult to get a hold of it – there’s no such problem with the GenX, thankfully.

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the case. If you have any questions too, I’d be happy to answer them for you. Thanks for reading the article and have a good day!