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Aluminum locking case

Ran across this today searching for cases for the Epic. Anyone using one? Its interesting in that it locks the slider during normal use and hinges open if you want to use the keyboard.
http://www.pdair.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=10100000_10000000_11001061&products_id=31414

Now this looks like quite a nice case for functionality.
Now if they just took off the whole part in the back for the clip and form fit the corners a bit more and offered it in more colors that'd be nice.

This may be the best thing I can do for now, I have been scouring for a jelly case to slip over the epic, since I never use the keyboard

Now, if somebody has the ability to cleanly cut aluminum and wants to sell a matched set consisting of this case with a hole cut in the back for the hump on the extended battery the other guy is selling to poke through... (strokes credit card and sighs)
It's hard to tell from the pics... does the case snap onto the lower half, or does the phone just rest inside?
How firmly does it secure the phone when the case is closed? Does the power button still cause the two halves to separate a little, or are both held firmly in place from both sides?

bitbang3r said:
Now, if somebody has the ability to cleanly cut aluminum and wants to sell a matched set consisting of this case with a hole cut in the back for the hump on the extended battery the other guy is selling to poke through... (strokes credit card and sighs)
It's hard to tell from the pics... does the case snap onto the lower half, or does the phone just rest inside?
How firmly does it secure the phone when the case is closed? Does the power button still cause the two halves to separate a little, or are both held firmly in place from both sides?
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Click to collapse
There are videos on you tube. The bottom looks like a very snug press fit. Top must be looser to allow for the hinge to work.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

...
I had a similar case for my old HTC Titan. I LOVED it. Being a pretty serious phone abuser, that case kept my phone together!
-Rob

I used to have a similar case for my Treo and they are extremely well made. I irregularly dropped my phone from about 5 feet in the air onto hard linoleum and it never suffered any indignities. These come in both black and silver so if you want a different color you would want the silver so you could send it out to be powder coated.
I just ordered one.

Mine came last night.
The good: locks the slider firmly closed. No wobble or "play" at all when pressing the power button. Phone easy to remove (for GameGripper purposes).
The bad: Feels terrifyingly slippery compared to the Seidio ActiveX. Obstructs "slide down" gesture for notifications.
The seemingly fatal (a big one): my "back" fake hardkey keeps randomly going berserk... but ONLY that specific one. The foam in the top half seems to be confusing the capacitive sensor.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Update: I've had the 'search' fake hardkey freak out a few times on me, too.
Another problem: it's definitely affecting reception. 4G and GPS barely work with the case in place.
Sigh. So close. So agonizingly close. It's awesome to not have the phone shear and jiggle apart every time I hit the power button, and the fact that it allows the phone to be easily removed for the Game Gripper without really compromising the slide-out keyboard's usability is very cool.
I'm really convinced that this case went straight from plastic prototype to mass production before anyone actually tried to use it in an area with 4G service, high humidity (presumably what's screwing up the foam and touchscreen), and who didn't just assume that the GPS was dysfunctional because Samsung sucks.
Sigh. Too expensive to throw away, and really nice in ways that ultimately don't matter because the touchscreen-button problem makes it totally unusable

The plot thickens: more touchscreen observations:
* Oddly, there's NO FOAM around the lower part of the screen where the phantom-pressed fake hardkeys are.
* Last night, it went completely berserk with phantom button presses on cue when I rubbed the latch a certain way.
This suggests that the problem's root cause might extend to the electrical conductivity of the case itself. It's strange, because I wasn't able to find reports of the same problem for users of Monaco cases for other phones (like the Droid). Lots of complaints about signal attenuation, but no reports of touchscreen problems.
I'm seriously tempted to buy some liquid electrical tape and coat the inside of the lid to see whether it helps. The problem DOES seem to go away when the lid is no longer in contact with the screen. However, if it's happening because the sensor is acting kind of like a Hall Effect sensor and the case is acting like a Faraday cage, nothing short of making the case (or at least the top lid) out of plastic is likely to fix the problem. Still, it's worth a try since I really like the case itself, and my alternative is to basically chuck it.

Update: as an experiment, I wrapped black electrical tape around the bottom lip of the top part. It helped a lot. I think I might have also found a contributing cause: cat fur. I think wisps of cat fur might be bridging the metal case & screen and carrying static electricity to the sensor. Oddly, though, some of its *worst* back-arrow spasams have occurred with the phone laying on the desk, untouched, 3 feet away.
I'm still trying to think of a good way to plastic-coat the case without making it look bad & get a nice, even black rubbery coating on it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

How thin is it compared to the other plastic cases?

Very interested in getting the Monaco Aluminum Case, which is very similar to this one. My last concern, how thin is it compared to Seidio Innocase Surface?

Build/Design Quality?

What do you think of this phones build? Initillay I thought it was great and solid... After some use Im starting to think its worse then I thought.
Why:
Screen Scratches and Cracks easily.
Power Button is sinking in.
Light Leaks
Bottom Lip Peals?
Location of charging port (Kinda Stupid)
Battery Life... (Not really build quality but still)
Kickstand Coating peels?
What do you think?

Lucky I havent come across those problems yet... So i say its good minus the tiny crevice around the screen, they could of designed it to be one solid piece....

mitchell4500 said:
What do you think of this phones build? Initillay I thought it was great and solid... After some use Im starting to think its worse then I thought.
Why:
Screen Scratches and Cracks easily.
Power Button is sinking in.
Light Leaks
Bottom Lip Peals?
Location of charging port (Kinda Stupid)
Battery Life... (Not really build quality but still)
Kickstand Coating peels?
What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me personally, i have not had any of these issues. I had the light bleeding issue real bad, and exchanged my phone and have been issue free since.

Yeah, I have no idea what your talking about? I don't have any of these issue, and I happen to think the build quality of the phone is fantastic!

i'll see if i can get any info about warranty exchanges for any of these issues since launch from VZW. i haven't heard anything about any of these issues prior to today when i read about kickstand "paint" peeling, but it seems to me that it's a metal finish. i don't see paint on mine at all.

I agree 100% with your statements about the charging port and the light leaks on the bottom buttons but I haven't really had any of those other problems.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

Thanks for the replies lol. Im having all of these problems except for the bottom lip thing.

I think that HTC must have issues with the quality control of their manufacturing. The MT4G had all sorts of issues ranging from good/bad screen displays, light leaks, off center FFC, creaky buttons, etc, and I switched my EVO once due to light leak issues as well
Sent from my Thunderbolt using Tapatalk

Off Set FFC? I definitely got that lol. I thought it was like that on purpose.
I just called them about all these things and they didnt want anything to do with me. They told me to go to the store.

The thunderbolt doesn't seem to have as good of build materials as some other phones HTC has made recently. Desire, nexus one, and desire s in particular. But its still decent enough, just not top notch.

The only problem i've noticed is the power button sinking in. If it gets to be a big problem hopefully there will be a recall
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

The ffc isn't supposed to be offset?

My only real complaint is the kickstand/usb configuration.

one major design flaw i dont like is the placement of the LED, being inside the ear piece makes it difficult to see sometimes when you have a notificiation, espeically at an angle.

digitalscars said:
one major design flaw i dont like is the placement of the LED, being inside the ear piece makes it difficult to see sometimes when you have a notificiation, espeically at an angle.
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thats not really a flaw, they did the same thing with the evo

The Front Facing Camera IS SUPPOSED TO BE a little to the Right with black on the left. ITS MADE LIKE THAT. Google Pictures of it and you will see they are all like that.

mitchell4500 said:
What do you think of this phones build? Initillay I thought it was great and solid... After some use Im starting to think its worse then I thought.
Why:
Screen Scratches and Cracks easily.
Power Button is sinking in.
Light Leaks
Bottom Lip Peals?
Location of charging port (Kinda Stupid)
Battery Life... (Not really build quality but still)
Kickstand Coating peels?
What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the volumbe buttons are terrible they get stuck some times and become untactile and sink in.
Also on three different thunderbolts I have had issues with the headphone jack losing sound to the left speaker if the the plug turns to a certain point or is pushed gently to the right. Driving me nuts.

mitchell4500 said:
What do you think of this phones build? Initillay I thought it was great and solid... After some use Im starting to think its worse then I thought.
Why:
Screen Scratches and Cracks easily.
Power Button is sinking in.
Light Leaks
Bottom Lip Peals?
[*]Location of charging port (Kinda Stupid)
[*]Battery Life... (Not really build quality but still)
Kickstand Coating peels?
What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The two bolded ones are the only biggies I have had. The former much worse than the latter. I have slight light leaks, but honestly if I had never seen a post about it I would have never even known it was there. The only thing I would add is the speaker location, or at least put holes in the kickstand. I still kinda miss my HW keyboard, as I am much slower with the OSKB. But really that is just a preference issue that LTE more than makes up for. I do kinda wish it had a builtin HDMI, but still LTE makes up for that too. The only thing that really aggravated me was the kickstand direction/charging port location. Personally I wish they would just put the usb on the bottom like the evo. But that is just me. That's really about all I can add.

nosympathy said:
me personally, i have not had any of these issues. I had the light bleeding issue real bad, and exchanged my phone and have been issue free since.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did this too and the phone I got doesn't bleed much...but the vibration motor is ROUGH (feels like it vibrated loose) and the plastic chin piece is pretty much just hanging there. I'm going to a more helpful Verizon store this time and making sure I get a good one. If I pay this much for a phone, it better be built pretty well.

I personally noticed the light leak the night I got my thunderbolt, which is the night of the launch, and it's really getting on my nerves. Coming from an eris, I'm used to the light leak from the lights behind the menu buttons at the bottom, but my thunderbolt has extra light leaks around the bottom casing. My only thought is that if light can get through, so can water. Being a daily swimmer, I want my phone to be as waterproof as possible. I bought a silicon case and screen cover for the phone, mostly to cover up the light leak and atleast for me, the bacl cover creaks ever so slightly... I dont know if thats just because it's on wrong or what... I'm afraid to take it off again cause it's so tight. Having just dropped $300 and signed my soul into another 2 year contact, I want my phone to be as perfect as possible, and I truly think I found this in the thunderbolt. Has anyone had these problems in later models (were they just early manufacturing defects?) I'm contemplating returning my thunderbolt for a new one. Also... Did I mention I'm an android developer and that's where the money came from to buy my thunderbolt?? Haha
Sent from my rooted s-off Thunderbolt

Anyone's TF developing creaks?

Normally I'm not one to obsess over this sorta thing but... My one month old TF seems to creak a lot when I press on the left edge (below the buttons) and either I'm going mad (quite possible) or it's getting worse...
If I grab it by the black bezel it's solid, it's when my thumb happens to rest on the bronze edge that it feels off and creaks audibly, I can seemingly push it back against the plastic back and feel it snap in or something. The other side has a tiny bit of it but it's nowhere near as bad... I'm just worried it might be stressing the screen or could loosen even more.

Mine doesn't feel very solid as well.It's a B50 model. I don't think there is any space between screen and glass. But a lack of strength is noticeable especially compared to iPAd2.

RAMBO29 said:
Mine doesn't feel very solid as well.It's a B50 model. I don't think there is any space between screen and glass. But a lack of strength is noticeable especially compared to iPAd2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree..Price to Quality rato on TF...as well with anyother company. A reason why Apple commands a premium for QC.

I have exactly the same problem and think the creaks got worse since I bought my TF. Otherwise it's a great device but the browser is bad. And I spend 70% of the time on the tablet using it.

Mine developed the same problem down the left hand side after a couple of days of receiving it and just got worse and worse. sent it back after a week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zfqx9-VHuE
The replacement doesn't creak like the old one but if i squeeze the edges around the power/volume buttons the back moves in so there's some looseness. Right now i don't notice it in normal use and considering it took a month to get a replacement it's not worth sending it back. But i reckon at some point in the future i'll have to sendit in for repair.
I really like this device, and have to say i'm really impressed with the updates and that Asus seems to be listening to their customers - but the build quality in my experience is not good, i'd have happily paid an extra £50 for a more solid/robust build.

Impulses said:
Normally I'm not one to obsess over this sorta thing but... My one month old TF seems to creak a lot when I press on the left edge (below the buttons) and either I'm going mad (quite possible) or it's getting worse...
If I grab it by the black bezel it's solid, it's when my thumb happens to rest on the bronze edge that it feels off and creaks audibly, I can seemingly push it back against the plastic back and feel it snap in or something. The other side has a tiny bit of it but it's nowhere near as bad... I'm just worried it might be stressing the screen or could loosen even more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lots of answers here if you search.

I agree it's super annoying.
But to venture a guess........the 3G transformer has a SIM slot in the exact location of the creaky side, soooooooo, it must be the lack of the SIM slot and included hardware that makes this thing creak. it would have been nice if Asus had stuffed something else into the WIFI model to fill the void. This is my only complaint with this device.

Mine uused to creak only on the right side bottom quarter... but I've noticed that it's been creaky in other places lately too. :/ But then again, it's not really as bad as some of what I've heard, and it's definitely more solid than my HP (which of course, was not of the envy line).

Mine creaks in the same spot as yours (OP) but I have it in a pretty nice carbon-fiber case now and it's a non-issue.

ExploreMN said:
Mine creaks in the same spot as yours (OP) but I have it in a pretty nice carbon-fiber case now and it's a non-issue.
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Click to collapse
What is the Carbon Fiber Case you have? Where is it from?

wilx said:
What is the Carbon Fiber Case you have? Where is it from?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17192114&postcount=283

Mine creaked and felt a little loose at first, then it stopped and everything feels really tight, i think messing with it one night i clicked something in place, the glass seems to sit more even as well.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium

Hmm, thanks for the feedback guys... I guess if it ever gets worse I might put the warranty to good use. Right now it's sorta irksome but not bothersome enough for me to bother just yet.
I can sorta recreate the sound from that YouTube clip but only if I push back on the copper border the press in from the plastic back (ie pushing that section back and forth from both directions)... Meaning, if you obsess over it then it'll definitely drive you crazy and you'll probably even make it worse in the long run.
During normal handling mine definitely doesn't creak quite as much. I've sorta gotten into the habit of putting more of my hand around it when picking it up (when I've noticed it creak the most) versus just grabbing it by the very edge, which pretty much mitigates the issue. No creaking at all around the longer sides without the excess wrap around border so I don't even notice in a portrait orientarion (which is how I do most of my reading).
Honestly, if this continues to be my biggest complaint after a few months, I'll be pleased as punch. I just hope it doesn't get proggresively worse. I definitely wouldn't pay $100 more for a sslightly more solid feeling device without as many ports or forms of expansion (dock/microSD), but that's just me.

Likewise, if i don't obsess over it, it's not gonna bother me - not worth sending it off for a month at the moment. But at least we've got the warranty there if it gets worse.

Build Quality

Has anyone felt any empty spots on the back of their device?
When I'm holding the device in my left hand my thumb is on the front and fingers on the back. My forefinger hits this spot right above and a little further back than the card slot, and the case indents then if I shift the weight of the device at all it pops back out making a clicking sound. When this happens I feel the edge of the back piece move under my thumb as well.
It is a terribly minor issue but it's also annoying. As I'm reading the back of the device is popping in and out just a tiny bit and clicking.
Has anyone felt anything similar on their device? Should I just get a case and forget about it? I would hate to exchange something for this tiny little issue but it is very distracting (to me).

amesenbrink said:
Has anyone felt any empty spots on the back of their device?
When I'm holding the device in my left hand my thumb is on the front and fingers on the back. My forefinger hits this spot right above and a little further back than the card slot, and the case indents then if I shift the weight of the device at all it pops back out making a clicking sound. When this happens I feel the edge of the back piece move under my thumb as well.
It is a terribly minor issue but it's also annoying. As I'm reading the back of the device is popping in and out just a tiny bit and clicking.
Has anyone felt anything similar on their device? Should I just get a case and forget about it? I would hate to exchange something for this tiny little issue but it is very distracting (to me).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes mine does it 2 its a lump of crap. i hate it with a passion that's why im selling it on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170811319...LX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_964wt_1344 and now im buying a galaxy nexus haha now that's quality. also it will be getting the new android 5.0 jellybean this year. our tab is good but not for what i what. i can not use it with out a case as it will scratch to bits. its almost like Samsung made it form a melted down coke bottle

hmm ive always heard these tiny click-like noises when i hold my tab without a case. annoyed me like crazy. i was thinking is was somehow the sd card slot cover. i'll check it out...

Well 10 minutes after posting, the Poetic case I ordered from Amazon arrived. Problem solved.
Primarily I wanted to know if the flexibility of the back cover was unusual. It seems to be so that greatly reduces the chances of exchanging it for one that doesn't have this issue.
Thanks for the help.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using XDA Premium HD app

I guess I'm lucky I don't have that problem. (knocks on wood)
Sent from my GT-P6210 using xda premium

I personally haven't noticed it, but that's also because I have a folio case for it. No big woop, it works for me I'm happy.

I use my GT-P6210 naked, with nothing but a screen protector, and I haven't noticed anything like this. I've tried some gentle probing to look for soft spots. Nothing. Feels solid.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using XDA Premium HD app

I don't have that problem either. And I've even dropped it a couple of times.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-4

Poetic Revolution Case Tab S 8.4 Review!

So I just received my Poetic Revolution case for the Tab S 8.4 and it's nice!
Unfortunately the pics won't re size when posting to XDA like some other forums, so this is the link to my pics:
http://imgur.com/a/T1jE8
I got the white/gray version to match my white tablet, and this thing is a nice heavy duty case that's not TOO bulky, but it's not that thin, either. It seems like it could definitely handle a drop. Although I really haven't ever dropped this tablet in the 1.5 years i've had it, there's always a chance for something happening when I throw it in my bookbag or something and head out.
The case feels very durable, which is awesome. My Tab S had that issue where the ugly gold fake metal sides would squeek and make creaking noises horribly when touched in a certain area, which was just some crappy build quality in the pre-metal days of Samsung back in 2014. It's really annoying, but luckily this case is so nice and tight that pushing in those spots no longer causes the creak, so that's great!
The case has a built in screen protector which isn't too bad. Some reviews I've seen said that it messes with touch sensitivity, but I have my sensitivity set to stock and it seems just fine. Don't know if I'll keep the protector on there since I use a basic one on the screen itself, but if this plastic protector helps guard against fingerprints, then I'll def keep it on there.
The white color looks nice, but I'll have to report back in the long run to see if it stays the same sharp white color or if it yellows out or fades.
There's ports for everything (speakers, IR Blaster, Charger, Headphone jack, micro SD slot) and the cool thing is that they're protected on here with a little flap for each (not the speakers) and the IR blaster has a clear plastic protector over it. Pretty good for durability!
Only negative I have is that the power/volume rockers are a bit hard to push, but then again I don't see how they could get around this since the actual buttons are pretty far recessed inside the case. Overall though, I won't be accidentally hitting volume or power anymore which is good.
Overall, it's an awesome case if you're looking for something to keep your Tab S in good shape, while adding a bit of bulk to the super thin design!

i have both the black on black,and the white...the rockers soften up after some time..it is very durable,and might i suggest getting somthing called lazy hands from amazon ..youll like them,it allows for single hand holding,and you wont drop it

nice! I like it. I actually cut out the built in protector bc i wasn't enjoying it much.. i wouldn't suggest anyone do it, bc it kind of takes away the rigidity of the case a little bit... but it's still nice.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4