Let me first off say that this case is well worth the money. It provides minimal and stylish protection and does not get in your way, but is there when you need it.
This case was pretty easy to install, but the corners were kind of hard to press in. once i got it in, there were no more downsides to this case. It fit very snugly on the Moto X and did not wear off. The cutouts were very precise and I did not have any problems accessing the headphone jack, Microphones, charging port, power buttons, and volume buttons. The dimple is covered, but that did not bother me at all. The case has a matte, meaning that it does not make the phone feel cheap. The sides, however are glossy and attract some fingerprints, but by NO means are a fingerprint magnet. The raised edges of the case (lay on the table design) protect the screen when you are putting your phone on the table face down, I do that a lot and was always afraid it would scratch my screen before using this case. You can still see the accents on the phone and this makes every Moto X unique, so I am glad Cruzerlite paid attention to detail and made it like that. I love the accents on my custom Moto X and would never want to cover them up. The style and looks are AMAZING and I cannot stress this enough. both the Bugdroid circuit case and the experience cases provide excellent style and is one of the reasons I like this case so much. The case does not add lots of bulk to the phone and is very minimal.
Summary:
Minimal, stylish protection. There when you need it, not when you don't. Best bang for your buck.
I have a review on YouTube at my youtube channel called "Antonalog"
I like it as well and my co-workers all picked it over the BearMotion sandstone case I also have. I think this one will be a good all around case for most of the year, but the sandstone type might still be better in winter when my hands get all dried out.
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
Just wanted to mention this case.
In the description it said hard outer shell and soft rubber interior so I thought it would be a two piece case, but in the event its not.
I have a silver One, so I bought the white candyshell.
Its mostly glossy white outershell with some grey rubber bits.
The interior is a soft rubber which is very important for me as I noticed many of the cheap cases on ebay were hard and this is a phone that is easy to scratch.
I thought it would be difficult to fit but actually there is some slight flex in the outshell and as the inner shell is a few milimetres thick this makes it quite easy to snap on, without any risk of damaging the phone.
The protection is excellent, and despite the layers it is actually quite thin. Something that put me off an otterbox or other protection case is the bulk they add.
The headphone, charge port and on button are easily accessable but recessed for protection. The screen is also recessed and protected by the thin grey rubber border.
the volume controls are covered by grey rubber buttons. They need to be pressed firmly but I have encountered no issues with using them.
This really is an excellent hard shell case and is a great compromise between a "barely-there" type case (not enough protection) and an "armor" type which completely obliterates the beauty of the phone and adds bulk.
I also like the name of the case but not sure why
Highly recommended
I have the same case, it's really nice, not too bulky and offers great protection!
Sent from my Black HTC One running Maximus7
I have this case and I like it better than the Otterbox Commuter.
However recently the top lip of my case right where the volume has started to come off.
I can literally lift it up and it is really annoying me.
The concept of the case is great but the build quality can use some work.
From videos they say this thing is very hard to get off. I believe someone even damaged their phone.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
colonel said:
Just wanted to mention this case.
In the description it said hard outer shell and soft rubber interior so I thought it would be a two piece case, but in the event its not.
I have a silver One, so I bought the white candyshell.
Its mostly glossy white outershell with some grey rubber bits.
The interior is a soft rubber which is very important for me as I noticed many of the cheap cases on ebay were hard and this is a phone that is easy to scratch.
I thought it would be difficult to fit but actually there is some slight flex in the outshell and as the inner shell is a few milimetres thick this makes it quite easy to snap on, without any risk of damaging the phone.
The protection is excellent, and despite the layers it is actually quite thin. Something that put me off an otterbox or other protection case is the bulk they add.
The headphone, charge port and on button are easily accessable but recessed for protection. The screen is also recessed and protected by the thin grey rubber border.
the volume controls are covered by grey rubber buttons. They need to be pressed firmly but I have encountered no issues with using them.
This really is an excellent hard shell case and is a great compromise between a "barely-there" type case (not enough protection) and an "armor" type which completely obliterates the beauty of the phone and adds bulk.
I also like the name of the case but not sure why
Highly recommended
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you still liking your case? I'm thinking about getting it. Im looking for something like this with the two layers of protection but not too bulky.
I also have the silver HTC One but I can't decide on the white or black speck case.
SlimJ87D said:
From videos they say this thing is very hard to get off. I believe someone even damaged their phone.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you've damaged your phone removing a case, I'd be far more likely to believe it was user error than manufacturer error. We have similar cases for my father and mother's iPhones and the family's iPad Mini, and looking at the way they've designed these cases (and photos of the same case for the One), I really don't see any more difficulty with this than you'd have with say, the Otterbox Commuter.
Of course, I submit that they could have designed it freakishly badly in a way that doesn't show in photos, but I doubt it.
Rirere said:
If you've damaged your phone removing a case, I'd be far more likely to believe it was user error than manufacturer error. We have similar cases for my father and mother's iPhones and the family's iPad Mini, and looking at the way they've designed these cases (and photos of the same case for the One), I really don't see any more difficulty with this than you'd have with say, the Otterbox Commuter.
Of course, I submit that they could have designed it freakishly badly in a way that doesn't show in photos, but I doubt it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've owned a Speck case for the HTC One X and it was hard as hell to take off. Sure a part of it is user error but that doesn't mean there isn't a design error either. They could have done something to make the rubber slightly more ductile for an easier installation and removal.
I like Speck Candyshell cases over all. Not too bulky, easy to put on take off (with most phones), good protection and looks.
What I don't like is the glossy back will get scratched very quickly and not look so nice after a relatively short time.
The Speck grip series pretty much fixes this but beware if you keep the phone in your pants pocket getting it out while sitting down is really hard to do!
My favorite would be the black grip, it's also the hardest to find especially locally.
I did break one of these cases by removing it in a hurry from an originally Galaxy Note. The rubber part near the stylus is thin enough that if stretched from hurried removal it will snap. They were great about replacing it at the ATT store where I bought it. I believe they will replace any case at the local store up to a year out from purchase for most any reason except normal wear and tear. For these brand name cases that alone is worth paying closer to retail price but I don't see Speck cases discounted very much even on line.
I just want to share my experince from two different but similar cases for the HTC One.
This is what I was looking for
Cover to prevent scratches in metal/color
As little annoying as possible
Elegancy
A lid to cover screen while inside my pocket
So I ordered two different kinds and colors.
The first one to arrive
Poetic FlipBook Case for HTC One M7 White
Price: £16.95 (sale, normal £29.95)
From: Amazon (LINK)
The second to arrive
Ultra Slim PU Leather Flip Case Hybrid Translucent Plastic Cover for HTC One M7 ES-K (M7-ES-K)
Price: US$6.49
From: Spider-Foot.com (LINK)
I've been using the white Potetic FlipBook for about 2 weeks now and can say it's really neat and quite good to hold it in my hand. The backside has a hard plastic material with a little touch of rubber, but its still hard. This rubbery surface gives it a good grip and you can tell the quality of the plastic is great. Its not that hard kind of plastic that easily cracks.
The downside is it easily gets a bit dirty from daily use because of the surface material, and the bottom edge of the lid has gotten a bit soft and "flaggy", but not much.
Im happy with the lid because it's quite heavy and therefore closes easily with a small clunk. It also covers like 1 mm outside the screen and therefore it becomes easy to flip it open with your thumb.
Now, the other one. It's black or a dark tone of grey, which suits my black HTC One.
This case arrived today and after the first fitting i could really feel the cheaper quality of the plastic. It's bendable but on a longterm this will not hold as long as the Poetic's plastic. It also covers all the frame sides of the phone whilst the Poetic case only covered the corners. The framing makes it also a bit difficult to use the volume control, the buttons becomes a bit submerged.
The lid has a really nice microfiber surface which makes the screen clean from spotts. And it has an opening for the speaker that lets you hear when the lid is closed during a call. On the downside, the lid is a bit loose and therefore it doesnt cover all the way across the screen. It kind of slides back because the attachment is a bit stiff, and it doesnt want to close completely by its own weight. But that can maybe loosen up after being used for a while.
My favourite
Poetic FlipBook Case for HTC One M7 White
It's quite expensive but really worth it considering I will use it everyday for a long time.
You can also get it in different colors.
But if you don't want to spend so much and the casing is just for protection rather than look and feeling, you should go for the second one. It's more luxurious than other cheap cases.
Pictures
Imageschack album
LINK
Hi, few days ago I was happy Z3c owner. Phone is great but it's one of the most fragile phones on market so I'm looking for a case.
I bough Ringke Fusion but seems also not so protective comparing to cases I had before for older phones like Ballistic or Trident.
So, if You would like to help me choose right. Except one I have (Ringke) I found Cruzerlite - looks nice cause on left side only magnetic port is opened so not so many weak spots but it also like Ringke seems like tuned regular TPU for 2$.
Case Mate from Z1c after adding few cutouts looks promising and people are saying it's best protection case. I also found Incipio Dual Layer case but I heard that rubber part is stretching and I hate it when it does.
There are many other cases on eBay for 2-10$ but I would like not to buy another case like this Ringke which is not best choice for me for it's price.
Cruzerlite Bugdroid.
Bought 14 months ago. Great cover
I use the Case-Mate Barely There clear plastic case (edit: for the z3c, not the modified z1c in the poll). It's hard plastic, not TPU, but I like it because it has a very slim profile.
Thank You, but unlike all I prefer something more "bulky". I used that my phone can hit on the street when I'm running and get out of this without a scratch. Pity that there is no such case for Z3c.
Hama Crystal Case for Z3C, fits perfect(without plastic adapters)
This thread should include the Devilcase. It can take hits to concrete, leaves the USB flap and magnetic port exposed, and adds minimal bulk.
I never saw any crash tests with Devilcase but I don't think those tiny parts of foam or sponge between phone and bumper can absorb damage.
I know it looks great but without it phone also looks great and I think with and without this case screen is as well exposed as without it. If I depend only on scratch protection I would take any 0.3mm transparent case.
Anyway thank You for mention.
The sides of the bumper come up about 2mm,so that with a glass screen protector (that you should get no matter which case you buy) there is still about 1mm separating the protector from the offending surface.
And like I said, I've dropped it multiple times onto concrete to absolutely 0 ill effect. It's not like other slim cases, aluminum behaves much differently than silicone.
I'm working in a repair service center and I saw many iPhones after they hit the ground in a alu bumper and they looks same as phones without any protection. Thats why I conclude that all hard cases and bumpers acts the same in contact with the floor.
Of course I'm using tempered glass but it can help in case of direct impact on the screen but it wont help with pressure formed from the side impact.
Still I'd go for something more flexible cause I'd rather not to test aluminum shock absorption.
I think if I wont find anything decent I will order Cruzerlite and after comparing it with Ringke I'll stay with better one.
It sad there is no really rugged case for Z3c.
You can laugh but after reading some reviews I ordered Devilcase.
I didn't want to argue with you, as we had contradictory personal experience. I won't laugh, you made a good choice.
I once had the original Sony case.
Plus: The magnet that opens the screen when opening the case
Minus: The window that is positioned in a different place than the clock widget. One cannot change the position of this clock widget on the lock screen.
Minus: The book-wise opening which makes the front flap being a hindrance for easy handling
Now I bought a cheap one, opening from the top side:
Plus: Easy handling
Plus: Self installed magnet in the flap for automagic opening of the screen when opening the flap.
Plus: Good protection
I have some pictures.
The Sony Cover pictures are taken with original locked phone.
The other pictures with unlocked Marshmallow and destroyed DRM keyes.
It's easy to see the bad picture quality after unlocking. :crying: :crying:
The best by far is the Case-Mate Tough for the Z3 Compact.
It's dual layered with an inner rubber layer and a solid plastic outer layer.
It has cut outs so you can use it with the official Dock DK48 and leaves the usb and sd card flap accessible.
http://www.case-mate.com/products/black-sony-xperia-z3-compact-tough-case
Do You have or tested one??
I have one and it's awesome. Good grip too.
I skipped this one cause most reviews I found was negative. Mostly because like half of the phone is unprotected.
Only a portion of one side is uncovered, all the corners are protected and even if you dropped it sideways the case sticks out.so the phone isn't touched. Try it out you will see how tough it feels.
Make no mistake, the phone is very safe.
devilcase all the way
I dropped my Z3c several times already, sometimes on a pavement. not even a scratch on the phone itself, Barely There protects it really well.
I recently recieved my second SPECK CandyShell Clear for my HTC 10 (I broke the first one by trying to mod it but that's a different story), so I took the chance to take some photos and give you a short review. Disclaimer: This review is neither sponsored, nor did I recieve any discount in order to write this review.
Pricing
I paid ~30 USDs at an online Android accessories retailer (used some available-to-all coupon that reduced the price by ~5 USDs).
The price is pretty hefty when compared to other HTC 10 cases except the original ice view ones.
Retail box
This case comes in the standard SPECK retail box, which looks nice IMHO and is very easy to open.
Build quality / Durability / Looks
Although it is made of plastic, this case definitely screams premium. The way it shimmers and feels in hand sets it apart from its competition.
Unlike the (now retired) Gem Shell I had for my One M9 and similar to the original CandyShells, this one has a two-layered construction: The outer layer is sturdy plastic while the inner one is soft rubber. Both layers are completely transparent (although the rubber has a very slight frozen look only notably when the case is not yet put on the phone).
SPECK promises that this case would resist UV yellowing and I can mostly confirm this: My first CandyShell Clear did not yellow for two month except the buttons. The buttons did yellow indeed but this did not affect the overall looks too much since the rest of the case stayed perfectly clear.
I had some CandyShell/GemShell/CandyShell Grip cases before and one of the very few downsides is that they were quite prone to scratches and looked worn after a couple of days. I was really astonished to see that SPECK made some serious improvements here: The first case had very few scratches after two month, none of 'em were obvious. No comparison to the elder cases where the gloss disappeared quickly due to the surface being covered by scratches all-over.
One nice detail is the SPECK logo. It is placed quite nicely to complement the HTC logo and not to interfere with it. But what it really makes it a stunner is how it is done. It is embossed in the rubber layer of the case in such way. that it appears to be embossed in the metal body of the phone. Nice idea, SPECK!
The only downside in this department is that this case adds some bulk. Not too much and nothing like UAG-like cases, but those who like their device as slim as possible might find it too bulky.
Protection
Protection is where this case really shines. The sturdy outer shell combined with the cushioning inner rubber layer keeps you covered in most drop situations. The front-side lip does not only protect the screen when putting it face to the table but is also thick enough to protect the screen while dropping on almost flat surfaces.
Fitting / Cutouts
This case sits like a glove. It is manufactured to fit the contours of the 10 like a perfect ten (pun intended). All cutouts are surrounded by rubber that will keep dust out of the case.
The small cutouts for the bottom-side and back-side microphone fit perfectly. The headphone jack cutout is big enough so that most headphones should fit into it. The camera cutout is quite big but this way, the flash should not interfere with the case (although I have not tested this). The bottom speaker cutout fits also well, same goes for the USB port cutout.
But the USB port cutout may be the biggest downside of this case: It is so tight that some cables won't fit. The original HTC charger cable, which comes with the 10 does. But my 3rd party cables with metal plugs did not fit and so won't any cables whose plugs are significantly bulkier than the rather slim plug of the original cable.
Remember that I told you, it was a different story that this is already my second CandyShell Clear? I broke the first one while extending the USB port cutout with a drill. Unfortunately, I did not spend enough attention and damaged the inner rubber layer which looked pretty ugly. So I replaced the damaged case with this new one and also replaced my cables with ones that provide slicker plugs. Quite some hassle but this case is definetly worth it.
In case you wonder which cables I was talking about: Aukey CB-CMD5 (pack of 5) will fit while Aukey CB-CMD2 (pack of 5) won't.
Liked this review? Do not forget to push the "thx" button!
Does the tpu on the front fit properly? The lip would get pushed in and down when I put the phone one and I couldn't get it to actually be a lip on the screen. I sent mine back. On the bright side speck has a very easy return process.
if you take a picture with the flash on, does the light bleed through the case?
aer0zer0 said:
if you take a picture with the flash on, does the light bleed through the case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At least the flashlight does. Have not yet checked whether this affects photos. I'd assume so but I remember having read otherwise somewhere. As soon as I tested it, I will let you know.
TotallyAnxious said:
Does the tpu on the front fit properly? The lip would get pushed in and down when I put the phone one and I couldn't get it to actually be a lip on the screen. I sent mine back. On the bright side speck has a very easy return process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This case is a tight fit indeed. It took me some patience to get the phone in while keeping the lid in place. Once the phone is in, it takes some force to remove it. Great for being sure that the phone won't slide out accidentally on drops. Not so great if you want to remove your phone frequently.