Related
For those interested, here is my OTTERBOX COMMUTER vs CASE MATE TOUGH comparison. I now own both of these cases and found some interesting differences.
OTTERBOX COMMUTER
+ Very solid case 9/10
+ Rubber has extra cushioning bumpers on corners to better protect against drops
+ Cutouts also have secure plugs to prevent dust and water from intrusion
+ top, bottom and sides have hard plastic protection over the rubber making a more secure fit all round.
+ Rubber is of a higher quality 8/10
- Sound quality of speaker phone is slightly affected by the raised plastic that sits closely around the speaker. Sound comes out a little louder and sharper but still sounds fine.
- Case can be quite difficult to remove because the plastic cover sits over all four sides and is very tight
- Plastic cover surface is very smooth and nicely designed but will be slippery with oily or sweaty hands
- Screen protector cutout is a little short near the top where the earphone is compared to other screen protectors I've used, but quality is fine, average.
- headphone and charging ports are a little smaller than I'd like but should fit most accessories.
- ON and VOLUME buttons are a bit difficult to press, quite like most TPU cases
- Having plastic covering on the front sides, it can be easily knocked off a table when sitting face-down, and back down is even worse.
CASE MATE TOUGH
+ Very solid case 8/10
+ headphone and earphone ports are a perfectly cut to fit all brands.
+ Very easy to remove with only sides covered by plastic cover
+ Plastic material has excellent grip on sides and back making it much more secure in the hand.
+ Plastic is less likely to show scratches over time
+ Quite easy to remove with only the sides cover the the plastic cover.
+ ON and VOLUME buttons are very easy and nice to press, with perfect feedback, almost a little 'too' easy actually.
+ The entire front is rubber, so when sitting face-down, it does not move and has a secure grip on surfaces, less likely to be knocked of a table etc
- Because the plastic cover only sits over the sides, the top and bottom have the rubber exposed and it could catch on things, such as removing from a tight pocket. not a huge deal in use.
- headphone and charging ports are open and exposed.
- rubber is a little thinner than the Otterbox's and more stretchy/flexible, though may not be a big deal in use/drops.
So in conclusion, I really like both cases for different reasons. At first impressions, the Commuter appears to be the better case due to it's port covers, more secure fit with plastic covering all sides and the extra protection given to the corners of the case.....BUT....
....the Tough case just feel better in the hand, more secure. While both are almost identical in size, thickness and weight, the Tough has a nicely textured hard surface (that looks like rubber in photos) and this is what I would call 'active' protection, compared to the passive protection on the Otterbox. What I mean is that the Commuter is more likely to slip out of the hand, but be better against drops, and the Tough case is less likely to slip out of your hands, but make be less effective against drops. Also with the Tough case having rubber all the way around on the front, it's rock solid when sitting face down on a table surface and less likely to be knocked off.
Also, if you like to change your case on a fairly regular basis, the Otterbox is not an easy case to remove. Not that difficult, but the Tough is about 3x easier. This is a big deal for me, and combined with the nice secure feel, the Case Mate Tough is the preferred case for me as a daily wearer. If there are days where I feel I may need some extra protection against, say rain, I may be a little more inclined to throw on the Otterbox Commuter.
Either way you can't go wrong as both are great cases.
leicashot, any chance of any piccies with the Galaxy in the commuter case ? I'm thinking of getting one for my shiny new precious !
Also, do you have a car holder of any type that fits with the commuter on it ?
Do provide pics of these two cases if possible...
Interesting! I always wanted to compared them, but I dont wanna buy those cases because I know i would never use them after.
abhifusion said:
Do provide pics of these two cases if possible...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will try take some pics later today....
do these cases come with screen protectors or no?
My tough case did not come with a screen protector which is fine by me since I hate them. Bout all I can say is that I had the tough case on my sgs2 both of which I got when they came out (each respectively, the case followed by a week or two) and have no complaints about it. Phone lived through a few drops one of which was standing in the back of a pickup to unload stuff and it fell out of my pocket onto the pavement, some 6 or 7 feet I would guess. The phone was fine and the case showed no mark whatsoever. I have not had any issue with the rubber on the ends sticking to anything and it does not pick up lint. The phone is easy to get in and out of the case but still completely secure in it and wont come out unless you take it out. The case has no movement on the phone and feels solid. The texture on the case is just about perfect for grip and more has an undefineable "good" feel. The ports and all openings line up perfectly with the headphone and microusb ports being opened up a little extra to let larger based headphone jacks or usb cables fully insert to their base. Something I appreciate because I have some headphones that sometimes wont go in without trimming the case.
To be honest I only see one real downside to this case and its going to come down to preference. If you want your phone as slim as possible this case isn't for you. The lip around the top is probably near two millimeter by itself and while it fits like a glove you have the width of both the rubber and case across the bottom and sides. To someone like me its a win because I think modern phones are too thin and I would want to do something to bulk them up even if I didn't need the protection.
I considered the otterbox to try something new but did not. I have no beef with it and it seems like folks that have them like them but for me it was hard to get away from something I knew worked great and for which I had no gripes.
I have a Case Mate tough too and i realy like, i used it on all my phones i had.
Here are some pics http://www.case-mate.com/Samsung-Galaxy-S-III-Cases/Case-Mate-Samsung-Galaxy-S3-Tough-Cases.asp.
Never had the Otterbox but it looks clunkier and bigger, the Case Mate is a bit more elegant and has a good grip and feel.
Do any owners of either case use them in car holders at all ? If so any chance of pics in the car holder ? Also, does the case interfere with the operation of NFC at all ?
Hey guys,
I have the CaseMate Though since last week when i got my S3.
Before that I had the Otterbox Commuter on my DHD and I must say, I like the CaseMate much better. It may does not protect the ports as already said, but it does feel very good in my hand.
Car mounting is not a problem for me, I have an universal holder in which it will fit in easily
leicashot said:
Don't mean to be negative but I got the case today and it feels great except I'll be returning it. Why? Because the top front and bottom front of the case don't have hard plastic holding down the rubber lips, so they get caught and stretch in the pocket when retrieving. This over time may cause the rubber to tear or stretch too much cause it's very elastic and thin.
Whereas the Otterbox Commuter has the plastic sides cover top, bottom and both sides so that no rubber is loose, but held down tight. A much better product from my experience in the past and looking forward to having it when it arrives in the next week or so. This review will cover what I was talking about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Dxcyfm3Vg
UPDATE: See my review on both cases here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27997216#post27997216
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read a negative point about Tough case from you in another thread. Didn't see it mentioned here.
So is this problem a big thing or can i go with Tough case?
I have the Otterbox Commuter case on my S3 and I love it!! I had a defender case on my Tbolt and it added weight and size to it. I did not like it for that reason. The commuter case for the S3 fits just right and doesnt take away from the size that much. I have to believe this is a must have case for some protection for your phone.
anyone know if the case mate tough fit the active holster because it does appear to be the same size as the commuter
What are the dimensions of the case mate tough.
Nice review! Have u ever used the incipio silicrylic? seems very much comparable to the Case-Mate Tough and I dont know which one to choose.. Heres a link http://www.amazon.com/Incipio-SA-302-Silicrylic-Silicone-Samsung/dp/B0085VAP38/ref=sr_1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1353870767&sr=1-2&keywords=incipio+s3
Hi, just got my casemate tough for the galaxy s4. I've been using one with my galaxy s3 and am very pleasedwith it but, unfortunately the one for the s4 is a bit disappointing. Although the look is the same the lip around the screen isn't as deep and the rubber doesn't come over the metal border fully. The volume button only has the rubber over it without the plastic surrounding which makes it feel fragile. I'll be returning the case and have ordered an otterbox commuter, although I would've preferred the casemate. Hope it's helpful.
I have 2 brand new Otterbox Defender series warranty replacements for sale, a Grey on white and Black on black with clip holsters for sale. Looking to sell both for cheap in a bundle. Shoot me a PM if your interested.
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk 2
Cyclops case
http://www.tridentcase.com/shop-pro.../cyclops-case-samsung-galaxy-s-iv-active.aspx
Unicorn Beetle Case
http://www.amazon.com/SUPCASE-Samsung-Galaxy-Active-Unicorn/dp/B00DY5UVK2
Has anyone tried these out?
What I am really looking for is a case that adds some extra waterproofing and a bike mount so that I can use the phone on my bike as a bike computer.
Buzz_Litebeer said:
Cyclops case
http://www.tridentcase.com/shop-pro.../cyclops-case-samsung-galaxy-s-iv-active.aspx
Unicorn Beetle Case
http://www.amazon.com/SUPCASE-Samsung-Galaxy-Active-Unicorn/dp/B00DY5UVK2
Has anyone tried these out?
What I am really looking for is a case that adds some extra waterproofing and a bike mount so that I can use the phone on my bike as a bike computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I own two of the Unicorn Beetle Cases, and had the Cyclops in my hands for a few minutes since my friend has one. I didn't like the Cyclops since it feels too "mushy" for my taste, but I'd say it *definitely* will offer more drop & rain protection if that is what you are looking for. I've never dropped a phone (knock on wood) and really just wanted a nice looking scratch protector type of case that is not too bulky, and the Beetle is great for that, but I don't think it would fare very well if it fell from a moving bike...
I ordered the black/yellow Unicorn Beetle, should be in a few days even thought it's a bit ridiculous: the tracking info showed it shipped from Memphis TN then to Phoenix AZ and then to Compton CA which basically means they leaped clear over Las Vegas NV in the process instead of just drop-shipping it here, go figure. I mean I know we're north of that route by a margin but even so, shipping companies (apparently this is coming by DHL) just can't seem to be efficient at all sometimes.
Anyway, once it arrives I'll post my opinions and thoughts on it but as stated it probably won't get here till Monday at the earliest.
But I can always hope...
Ok, got my Unicorn Beetle case and I absolutely love it - I chose the black/yellow color combination. A near-perfect fit (will explain that in a moment), gives the phone a really solid feel, not that it doesn't feel that way already but the additional weight and size just adds a bit more "uNF" to the overall heft of carrying the GS4A.
Now, about the near-perfect fit in my situation - I'm not saying this will be the same for everyone else but it was for me and I'll explain my "fix" for it as well.
When I first put the Beetle case on I loved it right at that moment, but after a few more moments I began to realize that the extremely snug fit was causing a problem: the power button was so "tight" it literally was acting like a touch-sensitive control just like the screen is. I mean it: I could just touch that side "bump" on the case and the power would go on and off with nary any pressure whatsoever. There was literally no space whatsoever and the power button section of the case was not only constantly touching the power button but pushing on it so it was like a micron or whatever away from making contact.
That wasn't going to work.
I removed the case and looked into the inner area where the power button of the GS4A makes contact with the case and noted there was a tiny "bump" added, probably with the intention of making sure the contact was made with the power button. Problem is that tiny plastic "bump" or hump or whatever you or the case maker might call it is/was about 0.5mm tall, give or take a tenth of a millimeter, so I took a razor blade and bent the side of the case (the grey rubber-like material, not the hard yellow plastic) enough so that I could shave - for lack of a better term - that little bump or hump so it was totally gone and the entire area inside the power button on the case was flush and flat.
Put the GS4A back in the now modded case and voila, not only was that issue taken care of in a few seconds but now there's a small amount of space between the physical button and the case portion that covers it - when I press in I can feel the rubberized grey plastic actually give just a bit, and I can feel the power button click physically as it does when it's "naked" and case free.
But, then I noticed that the volume buttons - the Volume Up button specifically - were doing exactly the same thing so, I removed the GS4A from the case again - I didn't check it for that little "bump" of extra material the first time because I wasn't having any problems with the volume at first.
Anyway, looking into the area inside the case on the volume buttons I noted another similar "bump" of extra material, one for each specific button (Up/Down) but this little bump was maybe 1/4th as thick as the one on the power button side was. I mean literally this was like a sheet of notebook paper thick while the power button bump was 4 or 5, big difference.
I did the razor shave thing on the volume button side and...
I am happy to report this case is pretty much perfect for me now.
The little mods I did took seconds but now the power and the volume buttons are working as expected, with just a tiny very tiny amount of spacing between how tight they were to now having that give that I notice when I press the buttons, I can feel them being pushed and get the click whereas with the case in original condition the buttons themselves felt rock solid with no give at all, and now we know why.
So, I'd give this case a 9.9 easy (there are no 10's, in anything), and would order another one without hesitation if I had a second GS4A. I'm a large guy (6'6" tall) and I have somewhat large hands, not gargantuan ones or anything, but whereas before with the bare GS4A feeling solid in my hand, with the Unicorn Beetle case on it, I feel like I could hold it while punching a hole in a brick wall or something and not think twice about it. The added ridges and nubs along the sides just kind of fit the size of my hand and the insides of my fingers when I grasp it, well, as perfectly as I could have expected.
Also, the cutout where the camera lens and LED flash are located has a huge spacing now, almost an 1/8th of an inch so you probably won't end up having to clean the lens nearly as often because of potential finger/palm prints on it. Helps a lot when it's laying on the backside as well.
If you want a solid case that looks great (my opinion of course), is fairly cheap in price (paid $9 + shipping = $14.99 for mine and worth every cent at this moment), the Unicorn Beetle for the Galaxy S4 Active is highly recommended.
(only camera I have presently is the one - two actually - in the GS4A so I have no pics to share, if you've seen the pics of the case then you pretty see what it really is)
Disclaimer: while the mod that I did - shaving off a half millimeter of excess plastic inside the inner area of the case where the buttons are located - has made it near-perfect for me and my use, minor manufacturing differences could mean that someone else using the same case (unmodded) might not have such incredibly close/tight tolerances as mine did, so YMMV. I just figured I'd spill my guts about my direct first-hand experience with the case and what I did to make it that much better. If you wish to do the mod that I did, just be careful with any sharp cutting tools you may choose to get it done.
Is the Unicorn beetle a rubberized case (IE if dropped will it help protect the screen from damage?)
br0adband said:
Ok, got my Unicorn Beetle case and I absolutely love it - I chose the black/yellow color combination. A near-perfect fit (will explain that in a moment), gives the phone a really solid feel, not that it doesn't feel that way already but the additional weight and size just adds a bit more "uNF" to the overall heft of carrying the GS4A.
Now, about the near-perfect fit in my situation - I'm not saying this will be the same for everyone else but it was for me and I'll explain my "fix" for it as well.
When I first put the Beetle case on I loved it right at that moment, but after a few more moments I began to realize that the extremely snug fit was causing a problem: the power button was so "tight" it literally was acting like a touch-sensitive control just like the screen is. I mean it: I could just touch that side "bump" on the case and the power would go on and off with nary any pressure whatsoever. There was literally no space whatsoever and the power button section of the case was not only constantly touching the power button but pushing on it so it was like a micron or whatever away from making contact.
That wasn't going to work.
I removed the case and looked into the inner area where the power button of the GS4A makes contact with the case and noted there was a tiny "bump" added, probably with the intention of making sure the contact was made with the power button. Problem is that tiny plastic "bump" or hump or whatever you or the case maker might call it is/was about 0.5mm tall, give or take a tenth of a millimeter, so I took a razor blade and bent the side of the case (the grey rubber-like material, not the hard yellow plastic) enough so that I could shave - for lack of a better term - that little bump or hump so it was totally gone and the entire area inside the power button on the case was flush and flat.
Put the GS4A back in the now modded case and voila, not only was that issue taken care of in a few seconds but now there's a small amount of space between the physical button and the case portion that covers it - when I press in I can feel the rubberized grey plastic actually give just a bit, and I can feel the power button click physically as it does when it's "naked" and case free.
But, then I noticed that the volume buttons - the Volume Up button specifically - were doing exactly the same thing so, I removed the GS4A from the case again - I didn't check it for that little "bump" of extra material the first time because I wasn't having any problems with the volume at first.
Anyway, looking into the area inside the case on the volume buttons I noted another similar "bump" of extra material, one for each specific button (Up/Down) but this little bump was maybe 1/4th as thick as the one on the power button side was. I mean literally this was like a sheet of notebook paper thick while the power button bump was 4 or 5, big difference.
I did the razor shave thing on the volume button side and...
I am happy to report this case is pretty much perfect for me now.
The little mods I did took seconds but now the power and the volume buttons are working as expected, with just a tiny very tiny amount of spacing between how tight they were to now having that give that I notice when I press the buttons, I can feel them being pushed and get the click whereas with the case in original condition the buttons themselves felt rock solid with no give at all, and now we know why.
So, I'd give this case a 9.9 easy (there are no 10's, in anything), and would order another one without hesitation if I had a second GS4A. I'm a large guy (6'6" tall) and I have somewhat large hands, not gargantuan ones or anything, but whereas before with the bare GS4A feeling solid in my hand, with the Unicorn Beetle case on it, I feel like I could hold it while punching a hole in a brick wall or something and not think twice about it. The added ridges and nubs along the sides just kind of fit the size of my hand and the insides of my fingers when I grasp it, well, as perfectly as I could have expected.
Also, the cutout where the camera lens and LED flash are located has a huge spacing now, almost an 1/8th of an inch so you probably won't end up having to clean the lens nearly as often because of potential finger/palm prints on it. Helps a lot when it's laying on the backside as well.
If you want a solid case that looks great (my opinion of course), is fairly cheap in price (paid $9 + shipping = $14.99 for mine and worth every cent at this moment), the Unicorn Beetle for the Galaxy S4 Active is highly recommended.
(only camera I have presently is the one - two actually - in the GS4A so I have no pics to share, if you've seen the pics of the case then you pretty see what it really is)
Disclaimer: while the mod that I did - shaving off a half millimeter of excess plastic inside the inner area of the case where the buttons are located - has made it near-perfect for me and my use, minor manufacturing differences could mean that someone else using the same case (unmodded) might not have such incredibly close/tight tolerances as mine did, so YMMV. I just figured I'd spill my guts about my direct first-hand experience with the case and what I did to make it that much better. If you wish to do the mod that I did, just be careful with any sharp cutting tools you may choose to get it done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buzz_Litebeer said:
Is the Unicorn beetle a rubberized case (IE if dropped will it help protect the screen from damage?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With mine, which I now realize isn't black/yellow at all but a very dark gray/yellow combo, the yellow part of the case is plastic, plain and simple - a tap of the finger or a pen will tell you that. But the gray portion is some kind of rubberized or rubber-like material that has a minor amount of flex to it, some give, some take.
I see people grabbing similar cases that have cutouts (large ones) for the volume and power buttons and personally I can't stand those kinds of cases myself. If I'm buying something to protect the device I want as much as possible of the device body/surface protected to the maximum potential, and given this one does that extremely well it's why I give it high marks as I did.
I don't consider this case to be "shock-proof" in any respects since it's such a tight fit. It's not like the Otterbox Defender for the GS4A (now available but of course insanely costly considering it's a case) which is a rubberized inner case with the harder outer shell that does provide some level of shock-resistance.
As my GS4A already has a cracked digitizer (that still functions without any dead spots or zones), I'm damned sure not intending to drop it at any time 'cause if that happens I'm pretty confident I'll kill it by doing so.
So to clarify: the Unicorn Beetle case is hard plastic on the very backside which melds into the slightly softer and very slightly more flexible sides. If it was entirely made of the harder plastic material it would probably require being in two parts or else you wouldn't be able to get the phone into the case at all.
I have both...
I have both the unicorn beetle and the trident cyclops and I have to say I prefer this case over both. I cant post links, so just search for this: black perforated net hybrid galaxy s4 active - on eBay and it'll pop right up. It has a better feel in my hand and it seems to provide more protection than the unicorn beetle, though admittedly not more than the cyclops. Funny, this one is cheaper than both and I liked it better. The perforated part is a rubberized hard material, and the inner shell is silicone. It also seems less bulky than both. Another reason I like it over the bulky cyclops trident case is that Im also using the bodyguardz tempered glass screen protector linked here. The plastic built in protector on the cyclops trident gets in the way.
Morgan
I am quite happy with the unicorn beetle case. I bought it a couple weeks ago because my bulky full-protection case wouldn't fit in my car dock, yet I still wanted protection and a TPU case anyway. Its been awesome ANYWAY just sayin.
br0adband said:
So to clarify: the Unicorn Beetle case is hard plastic on the very backside which melds into the slightly softer and very slightly more flexible sides. If it was entirely made of the harder plastic material it would probably require being in two parts or else you wouldn't be able to get the phone into the case at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the inside TPU or hard plastic? I ask because I want to buy the missus a new case (the Tudia TPU works good, but she needs a bit more protection; she doesn't know how to NOT drop phones ) but I've had bad luck with hard plastic cases scratching the crap out of phones and not actually protecting them when dropped. I had a S2 w/hard plastic shell and when dropped the stupid case would come apart! It scratched the crap out of the bezel as well, I definitely was not happy with it. I know it's a 1-piece case but I'd prefer to have TPU touching the phone on the insides, hard plastic is ok on the outside.
(Yes, I cleaned the case pretty regularly to keep dust/dirt out, it still scratched my phone more than it should have in a really short period of time)
Not sure what the difference is but the yellow portion on mine is hard plastic; the grey portions are a softer more flexible material so if that's what "TPU" is then there's your answer.
br0adband said:
Not sure what the difference is but the yellow portion on mine is hard plastic; the grey portions are a softer more flexible material so if that's what "TPU" is then there's your answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking at the pics on Amazon it was hard to really tell if the inside is TPU or hard plastic (TPU is the flexible rubber, usually) but you answered my question! I prefer TPU over hard plastic as I said in the above question, I think it's pretty shock resistant after using one for several months on my Rugby Smart. If Seidio used that over the soft silicone or hard plastic I'd be a lot happier... TPU is the best of both IMO.
IMissPalmOS said:
I own two of the Unicorn Beetle Cases, and had the Cyclops in my hands for a few minutes since my friend has one. I didn't like the Cyclops since it feels too "mushy" for my taste, but I'd say it *definitely* will offer more drop & rain protection if that is what you are looking for. I've never dropped a phone (knock on wood) and really just wanted a nice looking scratch protector type of case that is not too bulky, and the Beetle is great for that, but I don't think it would fare very well if it fell from a moving bike...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the back of the beatle case flat? I am thinking of getting it and putting a quad lock mount on it so i can put it on my bike.
Buzz_Litebeer said:
Is the back of the beatle case flat? I am thinking of getting it and putting a quad lock mount on it so i can put it on my bike.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not totally, no. The outer edge that looks glossy in photos is raised. The highest points are the middle portions on either side, raised about 1.5mm. Also the portion that has the SUPCASE logo in some pictures (but not in reality) is raised and textured a tiny bit.
EDIT: After looking at the quad lock in your other post, it looks like it would work fine with the beetle case. It is flat where you'd need it to be.
Acase Superleggera Pro
vs
Spigen Slim Armor
For Nexus 5
Prologue:
Going to have a good ol' fashion case off here for the Nexus 5. At first I was excited, thinking that I would actually take measurements and pictures, but then I remembered that I'm too lazy for that kind of stuff. Therefore, this will only be a personal comparison with color-codie goodness. A little warning that already I'm biased towards Acase because I've used a superleggera pro for my iPhone 4s (never going back to Apple) and after two years of dropping, that phone looks like its brand new (with loads of finger prints :good: ). Besides the protection, I also just love the smooth feel of matte...
Summary:
Both cases have their advantages, but personally I went with Acase.
Main Points:
If you didn't know, both of these cases are supposedly dual-layered cases. This means that these cases have two pieces to their design. Whether that actually adds to the protection and shock absorption or not, I have no idea. What I do know is that psychologically, I feel like my phone has better protection.
Superleggera Pro:
Silicone Case with a Poly-carbonate shell
Nice smooth feel but super slippery.
Example: Case face down, back up. Try to slide your hand against the back. Barely any friction or resistance when sliding my hand across.
Good enough lift in the back to protect the camera but no extra corner stands like the Slim Armor for airflow. Great lift in the front as well.
[*]Clicky feedback when pressing volume and power buttons. You can press the power button without accidently pressing the volume buttons too.
(Note: See Slim Armor main points for details)
A little Acase branding on the bottom of the back of the case.
Slim Armor:
Hard TPU with a Poly-carbonate Shell
Nice smooth feel, making it a little slippery but not too slippery.
Example: Case face down, back up. Try to slide your hand against the back. I felt resistance from my hand sticking to the case.
[*]Nice lift in the back for airflow and nice lift in the front to protect the screen.
[*]Buttons lose their clicky feedback. Big problem for me. Also had some occasional issues with locking the screen since the amount of force needed to press the power button makes you also press the volume buttons if you have your finger there.
Spigen branding on the lower part of the back of the case and on the right side. Looks cooler than the Acase branding but who cares really.
Review:
To me. dual-layer means two different layers put together to make one great case. With the Slim Armor, I was expecting silicone plus the poly-carbonate like the Acase I was already used to. As far as silicon vs hard tpu for the base part of the case, I haven't read or seen anything that sets a clear winner.
With the positioning of the second layer of poly-carbonate Acase wins here. I mean when I drop my phone it hits the corners or at least near the corners more often than it lands perfectly on its side. With the Slim Armor, the hard shell poly-carbonate pretty much just covers the side and the corners are covered only by the hard tpu. Spigen claims that there are "air-pockets" in those corners in their advertising but I don't know how effective these "air-pockets" are. Anyway, If I wanted hard tpu to protect my corners, I'd just get a hard tpu case. The Acase has all around dual-layering except for the buttons and cut-outs like the headphone slot. With the Acase I feel I'm getting the true dual-layered protection I'm looking for where both the hard shell and the silicone cover the corners for that added and padded protection.
Button feedback is another pet-peeve/preference for me. Acase, since its silicone, has perfect feedback. Easy to press down and you feel and hear that click. Spigen, no feedback...at all. Thanks to hard tpu, its hard to press your buttons down. Now I'm not saying that its impossible to press the button down but the resistance of hard tpu not only kills your clicky feedback but it also can make you squeeze your phone hard enough to press the volume at the same time as the power button.
Both cases pick up on finger prints pretty easily. The Acase can also pick up on dust, lint, etc with its silicone. Personally, I can put up with this for a better feeling case. After a little back and forth case swapping, I realized that the Acase has more lift than the Slim armor in the front Due to the thickness of the silicone at that point. The case also wraps around the edges more (something I liked) without making my screen protector peel up at the edges.
Both cases have plenty of space for the micro-usb and speaker cut-outs. However, with most cases there are issues with the headphone port. My tiny apple headphone jacks fit perfectly for both cases, however my bulky (1 cm diameter) speaker jack only fit with the Acase. Since the Acase uses stretchy silicone, I could push the headphone in at the expense of stretching the silicone a little. With the Slim Armor, there was no way to get it in without taking off the case at the top. (I will note that its easier to take the top part of the Slim Armor off than it is to take the Superleggera Pro)
Width and length are the same for both cases, however the Acase is slightly thicker. For me, this means more protection at the cost of a barely noticeable additional thickness. Both cases feel great in the hand, I just felt like the Superleggera Pro had more pro's and a better feel than the Slim Armor.
Edit:
Just got a chance to test the Acase with a wireless charger (CHOETECH Stadium) and it works! The charger isn't that special, so I'm going to assume that most chargers should work with the Acase. I still recommend you conduct your own research on wireless chargers and compare it to the CHOETECH so you can confirm that whatever you buy will work as well. I'm not supporting CHOETECH in any way, just stating the charger I used to test the ability to wirelessly charge through the Acase.
Well said!
I also own both cases, and will vouch for everything ximaginex said. Personally, I feel the Acase provides a better level of protection than the Slim Armor because it has both silicone & polycarbonate protecting the corners vs. just TPU. The Acase is thicker, but feels better in your hands and the button response feels like using the phone bare.
Pro Tip: If you wish to remove the branding on the Acase, borrow a cotton ball and a dab of nail polish remover from your girlfriend. Lightly rub the lettering and it should come right off.
Kennypete said:
Well said!
I also own both cases, and will vouch for everything ximaginex said. Personally, I feel the Acase provides a better level of protection than the Slim Armor because it has both silicone & polycarbonate protecting the corners vs. just TPU. The Acase is thicker, but feels better in your hands and the button response feels like using the phone bare.
Pro Tip: If you wish to remove the branding on the Acase, borrow a cotton ball and a dab of nail polish remover from your girlfriend. Lightly rub the lettering and it should come right off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The had no idea about the removal technique, thanks. Not sure if I want to do it or not though. The branding is like a classy tramp stamp for my phone, but having it smooth and clean might be pretty nice too.
Sent from my Nexus 5
So can you guys post pictures?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Clicky Feedback on spigen
I've got 2 different revisions of the spigen slim armor. as you can see the only difference is the way the pads for the keys are attached. The one with only one connection on the top side have a very big ce "clicky" feedback, the other one is very difficult to press. So you could try to cut the bottom connection and see if it gets better.
I also got the Acase case. One thing that bothers me is that the inner silicon layer is too soft, I wish it was tpu instead. The bottom lift of the phone is not reinforced high enough by the hard plastic shell, making the inner layer too loose.
I'd love to see an owner's picture of the Acase. ☺
derju said:
I've got 2 different revisions of the spigen slim armor. as you can see the only difference is the way the pads for the keys are attached. The one with only one connection on the top side have a very big ce "clicky" feedback, the other one is very difficult to press. So you could try to cut the bottom connection and see if it gets better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for pointing that this out. I'll consider trying this and report back if it works.
Can someone post a picture of the acase? Considering getting one
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
[/URL][/IMG] Here's a pic. I'll try to upload some more, with the nexus 5 in it.
Great review... But holy hell that was a lot of Comic Sans! That font always make me think of this picture.
Just got my Acase today and it is much thicker than I imagined it would be... But the bulkiness is kind of nice and the phone still feels great in hand so far. I ordered mine from CTCstore on Amazon and it was listed as Slim Superleggera PRO but my packaging only says Superleggera PRO... I emailed the vendor for clarification but am wondering if the op is referencing the slim version or regular, or if they are actually the sane thing.
Here's a picture of mine.
http://i.imgur.com/JnMmuwm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/QjUjN3M.jpg
That white Superleggera case looks great! Thanks for posting the pictures. :thumbup:
ktamondo said:
Here's a pic. I'll try to upload some more, with the nexus 5 in it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Broken picture.
GHOSTIVVI said:
Can someone post a picture of the acase? Considering getting one
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you seen the amazon pictures?
To me I thought that the spigen slim armor felt like a dollar store product. Its fits OK but is just hard and cheap feeling. The volume buttons were sorta hard to push. I absolutely love my acase.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Fixed the broken picture.
Terrible. The only place that carries this is Amazon.com and they won't ship to Canada.
Brutal. Just brutal.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
derju said:
I've got 2 different revisions of the spigen slim armor. as you can see the only difference is the way the pads for the keys are attached. The one with only one connection on the top side have a very big ce "clicky" feedback, the other one is very difficult to press. So you could try to cut the bottom connection and see if it gets better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the power button the same design (only connected on one side) on the new revision? Spigen allegedly sent me the revised TPU but my buttons look the same as the original design. I actually cannot tell the difference between my original one and the new one. I think Spigen might have messed up and sent me the original revision as a replacement.
To keep this on topic, I also have both cases as well. I actually liked the functionality of the Superleggera best (clicky buttons, corner coverage, etc) but to me the look and quality of materials of the spigen were significantly better than the superleggera. See I would have said the superleggera was the generic cheepo case and the spigen was the high end case. Just shows how widely peoples opinions can vary on two identical items.
Waiting for more pics from you!
---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:57 AM ----------
ktamondo said:
[/URL][/IMG] Here's a pic. I'll try to upload some more, with the nexus 5 in it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Waiting for more pics of this red case!
After seeing no choices for a regular bumper style case with a pen holder, I decided to get creative and made one for myself. I used this Poetic Turtle Skin case (I have it on all the tables in my house). Then I got these pen holder tabs.
Using an exacto knife I made a tiny cut in the top edge of the case, just barely long enough to equal the width of the pen holder loop. I had to do it slowly and repeatedly cut away until I made it through the thick rubbery material. I think this case will work the best for this because of the durable rubber material should continue to split. Then I pushed the loop through on the inside. I didn't try to adhere the inside tape to the case because the tablet will hold the tab in place, plus the snug fit of the loop through the rubber is pretty tight.
It's been working well and holding up great for me for the past 2 months. I've included some pictures so you can see what it looks like.
Hope this helps someone else out.
How does the tablet sit in the case with the mod? I tried the same thing with a more slim fit case and it prevented the edges of the case from covering the tablet at that spot due to the thickness of the sticky pad.
irieblue said:
How does the tablet sit in the case with the mod? I tried the same thing with a more slim fit case and it prevented the edges of the case from covering the tablet at that spot due to the thickness of the sticky pad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has worked out very well and there's no chance it will come out. There is a slight bump along the top edge but it's really negligible and doesn't bother me or my use of the tablet. It still covers the entire device and protects the edges.
Ok see
thats a nifty pen holder
I was in search of the best case for the fold 2 but like you all know, the form factor is very limiting when it comes to finding a good and functional case. I finally bought the spigen slim Armor case. It's a bit bulky for sure but the protection is really good. But there were 2 issues for me, one: the material is just a soft touch plastic, which I felt didn't do justice to the premium feel of the phone. Second: when closed, the hinge protection piece is tensioned by a spring mechanism, so it covers the hinge when closed (you could search the case in youtube to see how it works). But it's not very strong and is very easy to lift it up. Few days back I was in a hurry, I tried to lift the phone off of a table (in closed position), my fingers accidently pushed on the hinge flap and it opened, I couldn't grab the phone and it slid off of my hand onto the floor (well that's how I knew it provided good protection any ways).
So I set to solve these 2 issues and here is what I came up with.
I cut a thin sheet of leather to the diamentions of the back of the case and extended it all the way over the hinge flap. So luxury material is "Done" and because the leather covers the separation (back and front pieces into one) there is no gap when closed. When opened the leather just rolls under the flap. You would think it must have become too thick to hold, well I chose the thinnest leather so it doesn't really add that much bulk, but the feel in hand is amazing and its really grippy. Also its a MUST for the leather to be thin enough for it to roll under the flap as there isn't much room under there when the phone is opened.
I really don't know if I explained it well. Take a look at the pics attached and Let me know if you have questions.