You’re walking down a crowded street and your phone begins to ring. You reach into your pocket or purse for your Smartphone, and in a moment of complete uncoordinated magnificence, your phone squirts from your hand and tumbles to the ground.

The cold, hard ground.

Has this ever happened to you? If so, you know the gut-wrenching feeling of total heartbreak – or is that Smartphone-break – as your device makes impact. At that moment one of two things is racing through your brain:

Oh (insert expletive here)! There goes another $500-plus for a new phone! or,

Whew! I am so glad I decided to buy a protective cover!

Protecting your investment

If your thought process runs to the first response, you might want to consider investing in one of the great protective covers on the market to protect that investment.

The need for Smartphone protection is a fairly recent development on the tech scene. As Smartphone and tablets have become larger and thinner, they also have become a bit more unwieldy and difficult to hang onto. That is an unfortunate side effect of the trend in thinner-is-better devices, as previous versions of these devices have been more substantial, more rugged in design, and thus less likely to be damaged or disabled if mishandled.

Take the iPhone 6, for example. It’s thinner, sleeker design and curved edges makes it more difficult to get a firm grip on the device. It also has a larger design that its predecessor devices, and thus is fits into ones hand more awkwardly, according to some owners. And if you own the iPhone 6 Plus, well, it is even bigger than the 6 and even more awkward to hang onto.

Factor in the steep price the new Smartphones are fetching – the new Samsung Galaxy 5 can run as much as $600 - it only makes sense to protect your investment with one of the many impact-resistant covers on the market today.

But which one is right for you?

The selection of appropriate protection is mind-boggling, although one needs to do some serious research to separate the aesthetically pleasing from the utilitarian. Many so-called protective covers are merely there to protect your coolness and not your phone by looking good, but in the end, offering little in the way of real protection.

Making the best choice

Do yourself a favor and look for a cover that offers protection first. After all, that is why you are buying the cover in the first place, right?

A serious consideration to take into account is your own lifestyle. What do you do with your Smartphone that would put it into jeopardy of physical harm? Are you a construction worker, fireman, police officer, or member of any other rugged profession that would put physical demand on you and your communications device? Do you ride a bicycle, climb mountains, run or job in your spare time?

Or are you just a klutz? (Don’t be ashamed to admit it. It’s OK … we all have a bit of klutz in us!) If you answered yes to any of those previous questions (especially the last one), then you need protection!

Once you have identified the covers with the highest level of armor to suit your lifestyle, appearance then can be considered. Choosing your Smartphone protective cover based on how cool it looks, or because it comes in your favorite color is not the best criterion upon which to base such an important decision.

The selection of available protective covers has exploded to meet the demands of the consumer, and if you take the time to do your research, it is very likely that you will find just the right cover to fit your phone, lifestyle and sense of style.