If you lead an active life, the Belkin Sport Armband for iPhone may be just the ticket for keeping your iPhone handy and well-protected while you sweat it out.

The Belkin Sport Armband for iPhone is a comfortable neoprene case with a clear plastic front. It wraps around your arm and uses a Velcro fastener that's easy to manipulate even when your hands are sweaty. The case itself is water-resistant and hand washable, both good qualities in a case you're going to sweat upon.

The clear plastic front lets you use the touch screen without removing your iPhone from the case. And the volume controls (note the plus and minus signs on the left side of the case in the picture above) can be pressed right through the neoprene, which is nice. As you can see there is also a small key pocket.

Which brings us to my gripes about this case. First, the key pocket was too small for my Mini Cooper key, which has an integrated electronic door locker built in. My second complaint is that the thick plastic front sometimes impedes using the touch screen. I found myself having to tap harder or several times for it to register. Not a huge problem but other cases with plastic fronts have worked better. Finally, it's a snug fit for your iPhone and getting it in and out of the case is not as smooth as I'd like. I guess I should be happy that my iPhone is held securely but I found it irritating having to wrestle with it to get it out of the case.

The Bottom Line

The Belkin Sport Armband for iPhone is the first case of its kind I've tested. It does what it's supposed to do and does it quite nicely with just a couple of minor irritations. If you're an active person and want an iPhone case that won't impede your workout, this one will do nicely.