I have a BD writer, the PC kind. I don't use it all that often, I don't have a HD camcorder or anything, but I backup my family photos from my NAS device about once a year. it's the only use I have for it. Other than that I could have probably lived with just a BD reader. Oh, and happy birthday.
For you maybe, yes. I personally don't like silicon cases around my phone and I guess most iPhone users I see don't have the phone in a silicon case either. At the end of the day, it is a design flaw...