I despise full cases. A lot of them provide excellent protection, but at the very high price of not being able to see the beauty of the iPhone. On the other hand, like you, I've used the phone naked and it scares me how easy it would be to drop it. That smooth metal is too slippery. My compromise was a bumper. I've used one for 3 1/2 years without a single drop. The only part covered is the edges, and I can live with that. The bumper will protect the phone in a drop on most any flat surface from a short distance, but of course if it lands on its face or back on a stone it's going to do damage. But the bumper gives me grip and so far it's kept me from dropping the phone at all.
