I ordered one of these off of Amazon Friday when I got my Nexus
goo.gl/qpBr
I ordered through DayDeals. I received the two halves that snap together, but no belt clip
I want to note that the sides not shown in the picture are white, and it makes viewing the sides inconsistent and kinda ugly. It fits like a very tight glove except for the top left corner. It doesn't snap down all the way.
The case is very light, and in my opinion flimsy. I don't care too much about protecting it from light scratches, as I've ordered a full-body skin from Zagg to do that. I want to protect it from accidental drops, and I don't think this case can do that for me.
It flexes easily and unnecessarily.
I do like it shape, if it were to snap down completely. It leaves the entire screen open for my fingers to fing, and all controls are easily accessible, no ports or holes are covered up.
I also noticed that having a case prevents my hand from touching the screen and screwing up the points at which the screen recognizes input.
However this is overshadowed by the fact that the case provides less friction or grip than the phone without the case. I found the phone would slip slowly out of my palms while trying to type in horizontal mode.
Pros:
Nicely shaped
Doesn't cover holes or controls
Very light and unobtrusive
Improves accuracy with touch screen
Cons:
Did not include belt clip
Flimsy
Slippery
Does not fully fit over the phone
Unlikely to protect the phone in case of accidental drops
Overall I would give this product 3 points on a scale of 10. For less than $10 I didn't really expect much. I'd much prefer a Body Glove hard shell case similar to the one I had with my MT3G.
I got the same case and have the exact same issues. Already ordered a TPU case to replace it.
I have the same case as well, and would have to say that I agree with all your points... one thing (maybe the only thing) I like about the case is that it didn't add a whole lot of bulk, and still fits in my Case Logic holster which already had a snug fit for the phone.
I got two of these off ebay and both fit the phone perfectly. I know what you're talking about with regards to fit though. I ran into the same problem with similar cases for the G1 several times.
comparing these two..
http://store.androidcentral.com/mobi-products-skin-case/4A54A8341.htm
http://store.androidcentral.com/mobi-products-hard-shell-case/4A123A8345.htm
which would fit the phone better? I want to keep things slim, give the phone a nice grippy feel and also match the contour of the battery cover on the back of the phone.
how about the best screen protector?
Steinheil on the screen protector. Best on the market in my opinion. If you want the closest fit, I'd go with the TPU, or Thermoplastic Polyurethane cases. They fit nice and offer good impact protection if you drop your phone.
http://tpu-cases.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=16&zenid=2529a52e3ee3484144d98d2842243952
Both look like they are molded to match the contour of the phone. If you'd like something that will help prevent damage, I'd go with a hard case as it is less likely to rub around on the device, especially if something got between the case/cover and phone. The soft case can flex and could allow dirt/dust/sand down under the cover and it would sit there under the cover and scratch up your phone.
So, My wife has an iPhone5 and had an iPhone4; both with Otterbox Defender cases. The design of this case (and the Commuter series
) is such that there are two hard plastic pieces that snap together around the phone, a back and a front with integrated screen protector, and then a soft silicone type of outer layer plastic that skins the hard plastic inside.
This is a very impressive case on an iPhone because not only is it very rugged. it feels very solid and premium (costs about $50 too!!)
So I bought one for my SGS4, and, while it is still rugged, I am not so impressed, because the case twists and creaks and feels cheap. I believe it is because the Otterbox design must differ from the iPhone version because the iPhone is aluminum cased and the SGS4 is plastic cased. The difference is in how loosely (tolerance) the pieces are designed to fit together for the SGS4 compared to the ones for the iPhone.
Here is why:
The iPhone, being made of aluminum, will not get scratched by a plastic case, therefore the internal hard plastic Otterbox shell can be designed to fit so snugly around the aluminum that it will not flex and creak when you try to squeeze and twist it.
The SGS4, while being pretty solid on its own, is made of plastic and can not hold up to squeezing it very hard like a metal iPhone and can be scratched, so Otterbox designs into the back part of the inner shell a thin foam lining. The foam lining is springy and compressible, which means they have to design in a bit more tolerance (looseness) so that the front and back plastic pieces will snap together before the foam lining is fully compressed. This creates the problem that the Otterbox case on a SGS4 moves and creaks when you squeeze the phone in your hand. It is actually VERY creaky!! Only just pushing the buttons makes the whole think creak and feel cheap.
Unfortunately, I don't think there is much that can be done with such a design, unless they omit the foam insert and tighten up the shell or reverse the design and have a rubbery inner shell and a hard outer shell.
Well, I ordered an i-Blason case that has a soft rubber inner shell and a hard outer skeleton. I think it will feel much more solid and less cheap (and costs 1/3 the price of an Otterbox).
We'll see how it goes!!
gruuvin said:
So, My wife has an iPhone5 and had an iPhone4; both with Otterbox Defender cases. The design of this case (and the Commuter series
) is such that there are two hard plastic pieces that snap together around the phone, a back and a front with integrated screen protector, and then a soft silicone type of outer layer plastic that skins the hard plastic inside.
This is a very impressive case on an iPhone because not only is it very rugged. it feels very solid and premium (costs about $50 too!!)
So I bought one for my SGS4, and, while it is still rugged, I am not so impressed, because the case twists and creaks and feels cheap. I believe it is because the Otterbox design must differ from the iPhone version because the iPhone is aluminum cased and the SGS4 is plastic cased. The difference is in how loosely (tolerance) the pieces are designed to fit together for the SGS4 compared to the ones for the iPhone.
Here is why:
The iPhone, being made of aluminum, will not get scratched by a plastic case, therefore the internal hard plastic Otterbox shell can be designed to fit so snugly around the aluminum that it will not flex and creak when you try to squeeze and twist it.
The SGS4, while being pretty solid on its own, is made of plastic and can not hold up to squeezing it very hard like a metal iPhone and can be scratched, so Otterbox designs into the back part of the inner shell a thin foam lining. The foam lining is springy and compressible, which means they have to design in a bit more tolerance (looseness) so that the front and back plastic pieces will snap together before the foam lining is fully compressed. This creates the problem that the Otterbox case on a SGS4 moves and creaks when you squeeze the phone in your hand. It is actually VERY creaky!! Only just pushing the buttons makes the whole think creak and feel cheap.
Unfortunately, I don't think there is much that can be done with such a design, unless they omit the foam insert and tighten up the shell or reverse the design and have a rubbery inner shell and a hard outer shell.
Well, I ordered an i-Blason case that has a soft rubber inner shell and a hard outer skeleton. I think it will feel much more solid and less cheap (and costs 1/3 the price of an Otterbox).
We'll see how it goes!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a defender case and I don't have these problems. The plastic doesn't creak when I squeeze it. Takes a bit of pressure to actually get the plastic tabs to snap around it. The rubber molding is spot on.
You might have a bad case, or slightly off case.
Dunno.
Not to mention the iPhone case has the foam in the back too.. my case just recently started feeling a bit loose but i believe i didnt but it on all the way snapped, when i first bought it, it was extremely snug
I think you might have a defective case OP. AFAIK, you're the second person I've seen make this complaint but neither mine nor my husband's otterboxes are creaky in anyway. Not only that, but the plastic shell fits our phones fairly snug which works in our favor because these are the best cases we could've gotten on the ground and I'm not too worried about the whole samoled cracking issue.
(S/N: Did I just write a run-on sentence? lol)
Mine was creaky also and Otterbox replaced it.
I havent used the replacement yet. I switched to a different case because I didn't like the creaking.
I always remove the screen protector and don't know if this makes it less rigid.
The Defender on the my wives Iphone is really solid though.
Do you keep the factory screen protector?
Also, My GS3 did the exact creaking.
gruuvin said:
So, My wife has an iPhone5 and had an iPhone4; both with Otterbox Defender cases. The design of this case (and the Commuter series
) is such that there are two hard plastic pieces that snap together around the phone, a back and a front with integrated screen protector, and then a soft silicone type of outer layer plastic that skins the hard plastic inside.
This is a very impressive case on an iPhone because not only is it very rugged. it feels very solid and premium (costs about $50 too!!)
So I bought one for my SGS4, and, while it is still rugged, I am not so impressed, because the case twists and creaks and feels cheap. I believe it is because the Otterbox design must differ from the iPhone version because the iPhone is aluminum cased and the SGS4 is plastic cased. The difference is in how loosely (tolerance) the pieces are designed to fit together for the SGS4 compared to the ones for the iPhone.
Here is why:
The iPhone, being made of aluminum, will not get scratched by a plastic case, therefore the internal hard plastic Otterbox shell can be designed to fit so snugly around the aluminum that it will not flex and creak when you try to squeeze and twist it.
The SGS4, while being pretty solid on its own, is made of plastic and can not hold up to squeezing it very hard like a metal iPhone and can be scratched, so Otterbox designs into the back part of the inner shell a thin foam lining. The foam lining is springy and compressible, which means they have to design in a bit more tolerance (looseness) so that the front and back plastic pieces will snap together before the foam lining is fully compressed. This creates the problem that the Otterbox case on a SGS4 moves and creaks when you squeeze the phone in your hand. It is actually VERY creaky!! Only just pushing the buttons makes the whole think creak and feel cheap.
Unfortunately, I don't think there is much that can be done with such a design, unless they omit the foam insert and tighten up the shell or reverse the design and have a rubbery inner shell and a hard outer shell.
Well, I ordered an i-Blason case that has a soft rubber inner shell and a hard outer skeleton. I think it will feel much more solid and less cheap (and costs 1/3 the price of an Otterbox).
We'll see how it goes!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try getting it replaced. A sample size of one is not is any way considered enough to pass judgement on the tolerances and construction of a case and even moreso with a high end phone.
ricktat said:
Mine was creaky also and Otterbox replaced it.
I havent used the replacement yet. I switched to a different case because I didn't like the creaking.
I always remove the screen protector and don't know if this makes it less rigid.
The Defender on the my wives Iphone is really solid though.
Do you keep the factory screen protector?
Also, My GS3 did the exact creaking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but I was told that stuff gets between that protector and the screen and cause abrasions. I have both the outer one and a cheap film one under. I don't have any problems with multitouch.
I've had the defender before on my droid x and I dropped it on some gravel, and being that it's uneven, having lips doesn't help. The gravel didn't do any damage to the screen protector. However, I have dropped my droid x before with cheap films and they always get holes in them.
i never liked otterbox. way too bulky. for iphone i guess it's ok coz it's a small phone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
I was pleasently surprised with how slim the GS4 defender was.
I have had otterboxes for all my phones, BB and smartphones.
They have always been big and bulky.
ohh and I LOVE otterboxes warranty policy, send them an email with a picture of the defect and they mail you a brand new case.
Because I have thus far been unimpressed with my S4's battery life, I have been thinking about getting the Zero Lemon 7500mAH extended battery. I see that it comes with a TPU case, which is clearly necessary given the dimensions of the additional battery. Now, if I am looking at it correctly, this leaves the screen unprotected, which is what is making me seriously consider getting the Spigen Glas.tr for it as well. But, before I drop $75, I want to make sure that I am not missing something, and that the design of the extended batter case is such that a standalone screen protector is still viable.
beerindex said:
Because I have thus far been unimpressed with my S4's battery life, I have been thinking about getting the Zero Lemon 7500mAH extended battery. I see that it comes with a TPU case, which is clearly necessary given the dimensions of the additional battery. Now, if I am looking at it correctly, this leaves the screen unprotected, which is what is making me seriously consider getting the Spigen Glas.tr for it as well. But, before I drop $75, I want to make sure that I am not missing something, and that the design of the extended batter case is such that a standalone screen protector is still viable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure there is enough room for a tempered glass solution between the case lip and the actual screen. Thin film yes, I have a regular cheapo screen protector.
Someone else might have installed that but I don't see a 0.5 mm potential space and the case kind of snaps onto the phone as the lips come over the screen itself.
Hi I have this metal case that is held on with magnets and 2 pieces of glass, I took front off so I can type better but I found out my GPS is horrible any way to improve it? I just wanted a thin metal bumper but no one's sells it so I made one
Metal = shielding. This will reduce the matching impedance of antenna, making the signal amplitude drop. And as the phone will try to compensate by increasing the transmitting power sent to the antenna, it will drain the battery.
You would need the antenna to be out of the casing.
So no work around even if it's a bumper or I take the glass back out, want a slim metal case something premium like if rhinoshield made a case for this phone I would of gotten thar