Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

The world is a dangerous place. The iPhone is a delicate, beautiful thing.

How can these two phenomena possibly co-exist? How can we protect that which is most dear to us in a way that will give us at least one reason for calm?

Enter the fine Japanese company Marudai. Enter their great creation: The bullet-proof iPhone 4.

I am grateful to the Daily Mail for discovering this fine essential.

Apparently, the casing consists of a chunk of steel around an inch thick. I am not, as yet, a ballistic expert, so I will have to take Marudai's word for it that it can knock back a .50 caliber round.

You know there's going to be a drawback here, don't you? You know there has to be slight kink to the promise. Because, well, only the back of the iPhone is actually (almost) fully covered.

The front merely has a thin sheet of aluminum protecting it. There's a hole for the camera, too.

Still, for a mere $650, this is surely better than nothing.

You might wonder that this encased gorgeousness weighs a little. Well, 4.6 pounds or thereabouts.

But just imagine placing one on a bar or a restaurant table. At the very least, people will think you work for Mossad. At the very most, they'll think you are the sexiest, most accessorized human being walking the planet.

It's true that it's not bullet-proof perfect. But at least it protects your preciousness from all but the most talented of Jackals. And, in this world, that is perhaps the most you can hope for.