Develop Bugs

Case Mate Barely There review

Photos at the bottom of the post for those looking to get straight to the phone p0rn
When I got my DINC2 the VZW rep was "nice" enough to throw in a silicone case for free. I say "nice" because silicone is made for bakeware and o-rings, not phone cases. I was pulling the case off the phone as I walked out the door and it got ditched in the first trash can I saw.
I set out to find a case based on some specific requirements:
Thin and light
Grippy exterior
Excellet camera lens protection
The last one is really important and I'm surprised more folks don't highlight it in case reviews, especially for HTC phones. As anyone who owned the original DINC will tell you, HTC loves to leave their camera lenses flapping in the breeze where any hard object passing by can scratch/crack/smudge it.
My DINC wore a Seidio Surface case from day one and it was phenominal but with the DINC2 being slightly larger the Surface seemed to add more bulk than I was willing to stick in my pocket. I had read about the Incipio Feather case here on the forums and ordered one based on other's experiences. I was extremely disappointed when it arrived already broken still inside it's packaging. I returned it but the seller took six weeks to send the replacement, so in the meantime I got the Case Mate.
Once I had both of them in hand I was surprised at how different they were. It's the same basic design, a super thin case that wraps around the two sides and the four corners leaving the top and bottom exposed. What struck me was the difference in materials. The Case Mate was noticeably more rigid, fit more tightly and the "soft touch" surface was more grippy. The Incipio was certainly a quality case but the Case Mate just felt better.
Lastly, to the point of protecting the camera, the Case Mate takes the cake. The Incipio adds pretty much nothing in terms of shielding the camera but the Case Mate has a deliberate lip which gives the camera 2-3mm of setback. When you put the phone down in the Incipio case the lens still touches the table which means if you put it down on something less forgiving you're just asking for lens damage. The Case Mate's lip puts some distance between the lens and whatever you put it down on. When you take into account that your phone spends a great deal of time in your pocket, along with change/keys/etc the Incipio offers pretty much no protection to what I would call a design flaw on HTC's part.
In the end I'm glad I didn't pay for the Incipio (the seller refunded my money and let me keep the case to avoid negative feedback for the six week return delay). The Case Mate is a fantastic minimal case for the DINC2 that adds very little bulk, makes the phone easier to grip, protects the camera really well and feels much more durable than a 1mm thick piece of plastic.
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Cool review thanks. Still just waiting for my red or white battery cover so I can show it through my Griffin Reveal look alike case
Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk

I got the Innocase Surface, I really like it. Viewing from the pictures it looks like the casemate is abit thinner but not by much. I was considering the Casemate but I wasn't too sure how much I wanted a case that doesn't really protect the bottom or the top faceplate. Glad you enjoy the case though!

After spending some more time with the Case Mate I've discovered what might be it's only flaw and frankly I don't think I completely blame the case for this one.
The power button on top of the phone is already pretty minimal but with the case it's just slightly harder to actuate. The case comes up close to the button and stands off from the phone about the same distance. That means the button is pretty much flush with the case.
Now Case Mate didn't design the phone to have a slightly-too-small power button (I don't care for it even without the case) but they might have considered leaving a bit more clearance to make it a little easier to press.

Cool review. Incipio Red feather user here. I posted my review on Amazon.com, mine is the only review that's posted there. I've been very happy with my Red case as it is my favorite color and it is the thinnest out there(1mm).
I have to disagree with your comment on camera protection, the incipio feather has an ample lip which covers the camera. The only thing you can expect from these thin case is to have just a tiny lift off from surfaces and the feather gives the lift. I honestly do not see the point of thicker lip because it literally does nothing more than just a slightest lift off.
However since I've never touched the Case Mate Barely There, I have to take your words on the material. I wish they make more bright colors.

Very nice review! I went with the CaseMate as well and I really like it for easy pocket carry. I had the same concern with reduced ease of access to the power button, so I did a quick mod on mine with a Dremel wheel. I will probably go back and clean it up so it doesn't look so angry-beaver-ish but it is really nice to use with this tiny modification and with the change it truly lives up to the "Barely There" name.

If rooted I can MOD your ROM to make it so you can pull the phone out of sleep with the volume keys, that seems to be working for me.

nice review. I am catching this thread a little late I know but the aspect I dont like about this case is I dont see much protection for the screen in the event of a drop. I would never think that would be an issue but two days ago my Dinc2 feel out of my bag as I was putting it in my car and landed face down flat on its screen and shattered the screen. Had to dish out the deductible for a replacement. Now I am using a TPU case as is has just enough lip to protect the screen if it happened again.

I want a case similar to this, but it just doesn't protect the screen enough.

[REVIEW] Incipio DualPro Case For HTC One

I will slowly but surely start posting the reviews for the cases I received last week after using them in the real world and here is the next one up. Let me know if you have any questions about it and if you want to see it installed on the Black HTC One as well since I do have it available.
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I've spent the last week and a half putting the DualPro case by Incipio through the paces and finally feel I've gathered my thoughts enough for this in-depth review. If you haven't already seen my unboxing and intial impression video check it out below.
DESIGN
If you saw our review of the Incipio Feather SHINE case consider the DualPro the absolute opposite of it. By far the DualPro is the highest level of protection offered by Incipio for the HTC One and our initial reactions were a pretty accurate depiction of what we would experience during our extended use of it. The case design and execution are beautiful. It looks fresh and futuristic, very reminiscent of Tron especially with the neon color offerings.
I highly appreciate the attention to detail regarding the power button grove as well as ample lay on the table lip to protect your screen. Installation is pretty straight forward with these dual layer cases having the silicon portion wrap around your device first then snapping it into the hard shell for optimal protection. The camera is recessed it the case a good 3mm so no matter which side it lays flat on, it won't sustain any damage.
You get access to every port and phone feature with only the volume rocker being covered by the silicon portion. With a phone as beautiful as the HTC One there comes a point where protecting it has to be balanced with still making it look good and the DualPro offers the most amount of protection while staying aesthetically pleasing. Sure it may be one level below an Otterbox case for example but you also have to remember that those are some ridiculously ugly cases and the DualPro is not.
BUILD QUALITY
The two piece case fits together sort of like a puzzle to ensure that installation is done properly. The Incipio logo on the back acts as a visual cue to whether everything is lining up or needs some adjustment. The silicon is extremely rigid and feels more like TPU in the hand. It definitely doesn't collapse as easily as the insert in the DualPro CF case we also reviewed leading me to believe the level of protection is increased substantially. I briefly made a comment in the video above that having the case on my phone made me want to chunk it at the wall out of pure confidence and I'm glad to report that it has survived a few drops since receiving it.
I have a very smart little 2 year old who knows her way around daddy's device fairly well and loves to grab it when I'm not looking only to drop it inadvertently after she's been caught. The silicon portion absorbs the shock while the hard shell plastic ensures your device doesn't receive any dents. or scratches on its surface. Overall I am extremely pleased with the DualPro case. There is more than enough grip on the sides of the device thanks to a soft touch coating that feels awesome in the hands and does its job of providing friction very well.
I did experience some very minor frustrations while texting that are worth noting and they are primarily caused by the thick lip around the screen. I found myself having to angle my thumbs a certain way in order to press the letters around the edge of the keyboard such as A or L. There is a slight learning curve but once you get the hang of it you'll be just fine.
CONCLUSION
Its certainly worth having a heavy hitter in your line up of cases as its important to protect your investment and if you require a tough case that maintains great aesthetics then the Incipio DualPro is the one for you. Its dual layer protection ensures your HTC One won't suffer damage from those inevitable drops on its side and back while the 2.79mm lip on the front will provide some of the best lay on the table protection I have ever seen.
There's a nice selection of available color options including the following:
Charcoal Grey/Neon Yellow (As seen above)
Black/Neon Pink
Grey/Charcoal Grey
Black/Black
The case is available for pre-order now at a reasonable price of $29.99 and should start shipping in about 1-2 weeks as of this writing.
Check out the images below for a closer look.

Well done. Thank you for the review
Sent from The One

Excellent review. I purchased the Black/Black variant of the Incipio DualPro case, and after a few weeks of owning it, I was about to post a review for it before I found yours. This case is most definitely sturdy and provides great protection. I have purchased an Incipio DualPro case for my previous phone, and while it felt pretty durable, it has nothing on this phone's DualPro case. Similarly to how you said in your video, I feel as though I could throw the phone against the wall and the wall lose, while the phone wouldn't have a scratch. My old phone had many confrontations with concrete after falling out of my lap after getting out of the car, and it survived without a problem, and I feel as this one will be able to do the same with even more ease.
On another note, after applying this case to my phone, I found it extremely difficult to remove. It took several minutes to pry it off, which I suppose attests to the durability of it. It shouldn't take that long to remove a case. I had no problems removing my old phone's DualPro case in less than 10 seconds, and the quick removal time of it didn't appear to affect durability, so I see no reason why this case is so hard to remove.
Did you have any difficulty removing the case from the phone? You had a small issue removing the plastic and paper from it, but those weren't the phone.

I have the DualPro Shine, wich has the same dual-layer principle, but feels quite different. It is much less bulky, the front lip is about 1mm tall, but it protects the phone really well (i've dropped it a couple times). Plus, the Shine has a nice brushed aluminium finish or a carbon fiber option. pretty happy with it

How durable is the finish on the shine?

[REVIEW] DualPro CF Case For HTC One

Hey everyone, back again with another case review for you guys. Let me know if you have any questions or if you've already bought it I'd like to hear your take on it as well. I've posted a ton of pics but none of them are with my Black HTC One installed so if you want those just hit me up and I'll set aside some time for picture taking.
The retail packaging is thoughtfully considered. It prominently displays the case front and center while offering a detailed description of the features and functionality on the back. I'm not entirely sure of every brick and mortar store they can be found in but when I walked into my local Sprint store a couple of weeks ago, the Incipio retail package for the Note 2 immediately caught my eye.
DESIGN
I'm going to just come out and say it, the DualPro CF is my absolute favorite case by Incipio. Immediately after unboxing it, there was something different about the way it felt in the hand, it felt right. It reminded me of the first time I picked up the HTC One and I like that a lot. It combines the necessary protection with a side of rugged fashion that I have yet to see on any other case. It's as if they decided to shave off as much bulk as possible from the DualPro while still retaining everything that made it great.
The silicon core provides a soft shock absorbant layer of protection which clings to the front side of your device not allowing any dust, sand or other particles from sneaking in and scratching the HTC One. I went to the park with my daughter and although originally concerned that one of the sides would lift and let in a grain of sand, I found that it wasn't the case. The reason I mention that is because I've tried out tons of cases and they all have their own execution of what we call the "lip". The DualPro CF is distinguished by what I like to call a wedge design instead of the rounded edges which gradually rise and give an almost flat look to the top of the case.
Every port is adequately accessible with only the volume rocker fully sealed off which believe it or not actually makes them easier to distinguish and press. No need to wonder if the power button/IR blaster is hindered as it is nicely recessed and easy to press. Cutouts for both microphone ports, 3.5mm headphone jack and most importantly the Ultrapixel camera on the back are nothing short of perfect.
There is a beautiful Carbon Fiber pattern on the back side of the case which I've found makes small scratches almost impossible to detect but the same can't be said for the transparent smoke sides which have picked up a few visible knicks but nothing that would compromise the construction of the product. The Carbon Fiber pattern is smooth and undetectable by running your finger over it which seems a bit strange but it looks fantastic and has not flaked off or rubbed off despite my constant use on hard surfaces.
BUILD QUALITY
The two part protection offered by the DualPro CF above average. I've dropped it a few times, nothing major but enough that it has protected my HTC One from some scratches and possible dents and for that I am thankful. The silicon core is extremely flexible and thin except in the exposed areas which are reinforced. These areas include the top and bottom where the ports are located and no hard shell is present.
The case is compatible with most dry installation screen protectors but I don't think it would fit any of the tempered glass ones although I didn't actually have a chance to try that out myself. The specific color depicted in the images above is the Silver one but now that I also have the Black HTC One I kind of wish I knew what it looked like outfitted with tone on tone. If you wish to know the exact measurements please refer to the following:
Length: 5.57 in (141.48 mm)
Thickness: 0.11 in (2.79 mm)
Width: 2.87 in (72.90 mm)
Depth: 0.51 in (12.95 mm)
Weight: 1.4 oz
CONCLUSION
At first glance the DualPro CF gives off a sophisticated look with dual layers of protection and a beautiful carbon fiber finish which make it perfect for the workplace. It fits right in on your desk at work, a day at the park or on a night out on the town. It retails for $34.99 and is available in either Silver/Black (as seen above) or Black/Black although I'm sure you could find a deal or two if you look around Amazon.
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Nice review! Got same exact case yesterday and fully agree with you.
My only dilemma is: should I use case at all? This phone is too beautiful to hide. I pay for the design and now it's hidden under (beautiful) case.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

I take the case off while at work to randomly hold it and just stare at it lol but when I get up to go somewhere I never forget to put it back on and it's saved it a few times already.

What is that stand ? I want one...

It's called a Podprop comes in different colors and I LOVE it especially when I take my case off, the material is soft so I'm not afraid of it getting scratches

Have you noticed any Speed or connection issues with WIFI or Mobile Data with this case on? I recently got the Dual Pro Shine case, which is basically the same as this case but not carbon fiber, its a fake plastic brushed aluminum. I have noticed a lot of problems with WiFi and Mobile Data with the case on, most of the time it wont even connect to LTE! I just wonder if I exchanged mine for the CF one if I would have the same issue.

No sir I am getting the same signal strength with and without the case on. Could be do to having a silicon layer in between that helps with that, who know.

Ok, thanks a lot for the quick reply. I got the Dual Pro Shine Silver. So its basically the same as this, but not CF, its like brushed aluminum. Its this case: http://www.amazon.com/Incipio-HT-355-DualPro-Shine-Case/dp/B00BJH1DRW
I read a few people had issues with WiFi, but not mobile data. It's almost like night and day with case on and case off. Lets hope they will exchange it for sometime else!
Thanks again man!

Oh gotcha, wow yeah that sucks not sure why the SHINE case would cause that big of a problem. Let me know what they end up saying.

Just picked up the black Dual Pro, so far so good, I've been using the Incipio Feather as my daily case with the Otterbox Commuter as my protection case. I however had a problem with the Otterbox due to poor cutting on the rubber (leaving jagged and frayed rubber sections around the case) as well as the rubber pushing out on the sides to give a warped look. The Incipio Dual Pro has a much better build quality feel to it and looks to offer nearly the same amount of protection. (The obvious exception being to the port covers that are part of the Otterbox). Long story short I'm very happy with this case and haven't noticed any wifi issues so far.

Dual Pro case fits macro and fisheye lens.
Hey guys I just ordered these lenses off of amazon, called Skina 3 in 1 lenses, and found out that they will fit perfectly in the rubber circle around the camera on the phone, the alignment is only marginally off, and the lenses take great pictures if you are looking for effects.

Good review! Thank you
Just ordered the same case

amadablam said:
Good review! Thank you
Just ordered the same case
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine arrived today and I have to say, it is my current favorite case, closely followed by the Tetded one
The CF case is a beautiful thing and a great fit.
Really cant see myself changing it too often as its an every day case with class and protection.

I just bought one of these Incipio duo pro shine cases and I LOVE it.
Thanks for the review!

Review of Spigen Slim Armor case for S4 w/pics!!!

This is a review of Spigen Slim Armor Case for Samsung Galaxy S4: http://www.spigen.com/cell-phone/samsung/galaxy-s4-cases/galaxy-s4-case-slim-armor.html
When it comes to slim and light weight cases, Spigen never disappoints with their unique and rich styles. But in the past they weren't exactly known for their rugged touch. With their Slim Armor case it looks like they decide to turn the table around. So let's see if they were able to add extra "armor" protection while still maintaining their typical slim design.
Slim Armor is actually consists of two layers. Inner TPU layer surrounds the phone with extra cushion to absorb shock impact and adds extra thickness at the top/bottom bumper beyond the boundaries of Outer PC layer which bounds the sides and the back of the case with hard plastic material. Still, even with two separate layer, case feels very thin. The fitment of both layers is seamless and almost feels like one piece. Every port opening is precisely cutout and perfectly aligned between inner/outer layers and with a phone. What I found especially amazing is that case is actually easier to fit in with a phone while two layers are together. This was a pleasant surprise since I know that a lot of people like to take their cases on and off and when you are dealing with two layers it becomes a hassle to constant align two together. For the purpose of pictures, I demonstrated how the phone looks with inner layer without outer shell, but in everyday use I would recommend keeping both of them together when taking phone out.
One of the details that keeps both interlocked perfectly together are the power and volume buttons. Those are part of TPU inner layer, but made to feel and to perform like hardware buttons. A separate cutout around sides of these buttons makes them very easy to push with a nice tactile feedback, and while aligned with outer PC shell cutout it keeps both layers together. There is not too much to complain about Slim Armor except for the lip around the display. Typically those are designed to keep your phone off the surface when faced down. To my personal taste I found this lip to be very shallow. Actually, it's more shallow around the side edges while a bit more thicker around top/bottom part of the case's bumper cushion. So in theory it will protect your phone screen down from touching a surface, but you will not get as much clearance thus I highly recommend having a decent screen protector when you use this case. For those familiar with Spigen, you know that quality screen protectors is one of their signature products. Another thing to mention, which was actually a pleasant surprise, is a bonus of 3 home button stickers labeled as "jelly bean" buttons. Those come in assortment of 3 colors and will help you personalize your phone even further. The case itself comes in a selection of 5 different colors for the hard outer shell. The one I got was in black, and somewhat a fingerprint magnet. For those who are bothered by this, probably a good idea to go with a lighter color PC shell
Overall, this is a very impressive and high quality case (made in Korea, which I find lately to be of a higher quality than HK built cases). You will still get a slim and light weight design while maintaining a piece of mind in case if you drop your phone. Even so I wish the lip would be thicker to offer a better "armor", bundled with a good screen protector you should be OK.
Here are the pictures of black Slim Armor case I tested with my S4 display model of the phone (thus a slight misalignment of mic port next to micro-usb connector):
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How's the case as far as drop protection go, is the lip high enough that dropping it face first won't crack the screen?

koraun said:
How's the case as far as drop protection go, is the lip high enough that dropping it face first won't crack the screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Judging from the last pic posted, screen would be hit first.. ._.

SilentRazor said:
Judging from the last pic posted, screen would be hit first.. ._.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did feel friction when case is placed down which suggests there is some minimum clearance. Also, in theory if you drop your phone and it lands flat face down, a bigger lip will only help you on a perfectly flat surface. Any uneven surface will come in contact even with a rugged case. I'm always paranoid about this stuff and have tempered glass on my phone (N2). I would definitely suggest that a screen protector is a must for this case. For example if you place it face down and you have some crumbs or whatever on a table and slide it across - you need extra screen protection to keep display from being scratched. I can also imagine that with tempered glass you will not have any margin at all.
I do want to mention again, I have a display model of S4, not the real phone. But its 1:1 scale and I also read other online reviews suggesting lip is on a shallow side. I would appreciate if more people who have this case will chime in to offer their feedback about Slim Armor. There are a few threads about this case so we gotta have more users with a real S4 and this case. Keep in mind, Spigen is reading these reviews and any feedback will be valuable for them as well.

How about sound? Does the case muffle the speakers at all?

Does it get scratched? I want to get the white one but afraid it would get scratches and black marks/lines easily. Can you post pictures of its current status? Scratched or not and how many days used?

It looks like it might.

This is the best case I've ever had. So perfect
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Review] Tuff-Luv Western Leather In-Genius Flip Case

The leather case can be bought directly from the manufacturer's website with FREE worldwide shipping and currently costs £29.99. For an extra £5 they'll use a laser to engrave a custom line of text of your choice.
The pictures on their website are accurate so you get what you see in the pictures.
I won't post high res pictures because I'm not planning on going around the forums making 10 irrelevant posts just be allowed to post external links.
The case comes in a simple plain plastic box, nothing fancy there. The box includes the case, a screen protector, a micro-fiber cloth, a Tuff-Luv plastic card (credit card size) and instruction manuals.
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The case is quite large and bulky so it might not suite everybody. It's size is 15x7.5x2 cm (it's thickness grows to 2.5 cm if you have credit card in it). In inches that would be 6x3x0.7 (or 1 inch with cards). In comparison I measured the HTC Double Dip Flip (DDF from here on) which came out to be 14x7x1 cm.
The case has a good feel to it. Everything is soft, the leather is cushioned; you can't stop pushing it and rubbing your hands all over the nice exterior. It's really high quality, the stitching is perfect, it's not heavy, feels comfortable in the hands, and I can confidently say that this will protect your phone like a champ. It comes with two separate holes, one for the back camera (obviously) and one for the noise cancelling mic which while not exactly in the centre of it, was not covered by the case. It doesn't have a hole for the micro-USB port and the stereo jack-in isn't covered at all.
Going on to the interior, we have the hard plastic case that holds the phone in place and on the other side three slots for CC, driver's licence, money etc. The interior is not leather, but cloth.
Everything in the there is a tight fit. It's really hard to push in and pull out credit cards. I put one into each and there wasn't really any room left to squeeze in anything else. Tuff-Luv specifically state that you should only put in three things, one into each slot. While the tight fit can be an inconvenience if you are in a hurry to pull out or put in something, it's necessary as this is the side that will be hanging downwards when you open the flip case. As a bonus you can pull on the strap which in turn pulls out for you the top most slot (essentially the same as how phone pouches work).
The plastic case holding the phone is sturdy and hard. It feels like soft rubber to the touch. Inserting the phone isn't so bad, but getting it out takes some force. I'm willing to bet that the phone would never pop out of this if dropped, which I can't say about the DDF. Especially if you close the flip cover, this becomes a fortress.
You'll lose some practicality here compared to the DDF since it takes more effort to answer the phone and you can't close the flip case while talking on the phone as there are no holes for the front grills. But hey if you're getting a flip case you pretty much expect this anyway.
One IMPORTANT thing that is worth mentioning and which is also recommended by Tuff-Luv is that you should apply the screen protector. The plastic credit card touches the screen and the flip cover has a lot of room to move around which will get your screen scratched over time Gorilla Glass or no Gorilla Glass. That would suck. I didn't apply the screen protector as I'm sure I'd screw it up, the card that Tuff-Luv gives you is included because you'll need it (or your CC is good as well) to apply it.
Another sort of negative thing is that the plastic case holding the phone seems to be too hard and every time I remove the phone I fear that the edges might carve a piece out of the plastic on the phone as the aluminium doesn't exactly overlap it where the two materials meet (and it would suck to scratch the metal part as well), although I'm sure this is just me worrying too much.
Reaching the power button with one hand also got a bit trickier. The phone is big enough as it is, many people complained and we have a tutorial on how to reach the button right here in the forum. Now you have to put your finger over the edge of the cover too, just use your left hand since you have to open the case with it anyway. Pushing the volume buttons got harder as well. You have to apply way more pressure to push them. The problem is that the edge of the plastic case will get in the way; in fact it almost covers the buttons which would be bad. So I'd say this is a minor issue that you should be aware of.
A more serious problem is that it interferes with the camera flash. The case doesn't get in the way of the camera, however when using flash, it affects the photo. I included two photos of a wall, both taken with default camera settings (I reset to default), same light conditions and flash ON. One, where the phone was in the Tuff-Luv flip case and one where there was no case on the phone. As you'll be able to see, one of the pictures has some halos on it. I can't say for sure whether this a design flaw or whether there' s something wrong with the one I received, but I suspect it's the former.
So to summarise, the case is really high quality and offers excellent protection, but has a problem with the flash.
I personally won't use it. This was my first time using a flip case that opens vertically, before this I was either running naked or had a rubber bumper on and I realised this isn't meant for me. Despite the impressive quality, craftsmanship and the added protection, I found the Double Dip Flip to be more practical since it's slimmer, smaller and faster to open. I'm way too lazy . I'm sure I'll regret it once I drop my phone on concrete and DDF fails to protect it, but I'm willing to take the chance.
However if you like vertical flip cases and can look past the issue with the flash, this case is an excellent choice and I can't say this enough, I'm impressed by how well it is crafted.