I purchased the black and white ballistic case at the AT&T store. They only had the ballistic cases. At first I wasn't too hip on them as they're pretty bulky, and I really wanted something with a clip on it.
The downsides to this case is that it's not quite as easy to hit some of the side keys (p, q, and delete key mainly). And it's not as smooth to slide in your pocket since it's a rubbery plastic kinda material.
The upside is this provides a ton of protection. I had been joking with my students that the case provides a bounce back effect where if I drop the phone it will just bounce back into my hand. Well last night, my wife knocked my phone off the dinner table, it hits the chair, and bounces back up on the table. I found this funny since I had been making up the whole bounce back story to my students. Considering that it was a foot and a half to a 2 foot drop from the table to the chair, it could have done some nice damage including jacking up the screen.
Anyway, this is an excellent case and proved itself last night.
I just got mine in the mail a couple of days ago. I love the case for the protection but also for the fact that it has the raised rubber buttons on it. Makes hitting the power button a breeze now and also the volume rockers are easier to use. Great case. I like it alot better than the bulky Otter Box. Had it on my Captivate and it really obstructed the sides of the keyboard and the capacitive buttons on the bottom of the phone.
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I've been using the Otterbox Impact Series case for my phone for a couple of months now, and I'd just like to say that it is absolutely amazing. I certainly recommend it.
I love the design, it is rather sleek, and encompasses the buttons nicely. It isn't very bulky, and fits in a pocket well. There's holes for all the ports, and the mic too. It has a lip, lifting the case off the screen a little bit to protect against front impacts. It has raised bumps for the buttons, making them very easy to press. It also came with a good screen protector.
The material is still in great condition, with only a little tear at the bottom right, which is surprising, considering what this has been through.
I've dropped this phone accidentally many, many, many times, and each time the case has protected the phone. I've dropped this phone screen first on to concrete from a height of about 5 - 6 ft, and it came out unscathed. I've even dropped it screen first into a small puddle, with no incident. It's withstood many impacts, which makes sense.
Not a single ill effect on the phone, no damaged lights, touchscreen works fine, and all the buttons work.
A friend of mine bought a hard shell for his Vivid, and had to replace it twice in four months because of how easily damaged it got. I've been using my case for about seven months now.
The only downside is that it can get stuck when pulling it out of a pocket, but a small trade for an amazing case.
All in all, this is an incredibly tough case, and a great one for the Vivid. Considering I only paid $10, I'm glad I bought this versus the Defender, which is 2 to 3 times more expensive. The great protection coupled with how light and compact it is made it more than worth it.
Didn't see one of these for the Note 2, so here we go:
The Shellster comes out of the box looking nice, very nice. Looks like it cost way more than $15-20. The case itself snaps onto the phone very, very snugly. It's on there to the point that getting it off involves so much pressure that you feel like you're going to break the phone, and it will probably drag across the volume rocker as you go. Kind of scary to do to a new phone.
The holster itself lacks and kind of clip to keep the phone in, but that's not a huge issue because of how tight a fit the cased phone is in there. It feels very snug and secure against your waist. The belt clip on the holster has a metal slider inside that allows it to prop the case up as a holster in either landscape or portrait orientation. It's a very nice touch. The belt clip can be rotated along a 180-degree axis to fit the phone more comfortably to your waist--a big help when your phone has a 5.5-inch screen!
All that said, there are some very real problems with it. The case does not have any protection along the top of bottom of the phone. The holster does, as it extends slightly above the top and has a plastic loop on the bottom for the device to rest in, but not the case. The case does have a raised bezel, but not by much. Given all that, I do not believe that the Amzer Shellster offers much in the way of protection in a fall.
The second big issue, and the reason mine is being returned, is poor build quality. Earlier today, less then three days worth of use on the case, I bent over to pick something up. I am not a big guy; bending over shouldn't generate a ton of stress. The holster was aligned so that it rested horizontally along my side, as opposed to resting straight up and down. As I bent over, I heard a snap, and the holster had fallen off and hit the concrete floor of my garage, with the belt clip still on my waist. Luckily, my phone was out of the holster at the time, so there was no damage. All the same, a product breaking under normal conditions three days after getting your phone just stinks of terrible build quality to me. Because of that, I can't recommend the Amzer Shellster case to anyone. Poke around on eBay or Amazon, and you'll find other holster-style cases for considerably less money. They might be of similar quality, but at least you're only breaking $8-10 instead of $20, right?
Pictures attached:
1. Phone lying on its back, case attached. See the thin strips on the side? That's the case.
2. Back of phone, bottom. Access to the S Pen remains easy.
3. Back of phone, top. Nice, raised case protects the camera and LED.
4. Top of phone. Shows the complete lack of protection up there, as well as how little of the case is up front to keep the screen from being damaged while lying face-first.
5. Damage to the holster itself, with the belt clip that popped off.
Thanks for sharing. I thought about getting one of these, but I could see that it lacked protection for the top and bottom of the phone (based on YouTube videos for other phones). Plus, as you mentioned, the hard plastic cases have the tendency to scratch phones, especially when removing them. Thanks again.
I completely agree with you in your review. I have used only seidio cases and holsters on my past 5 devices. Unfortunately, they just were not ready and shipping and I did not trust this giant phone to being in my pocket bare. I ordered the amzer case and holster and was able to get it this past week.
First thing I noticed off the bat was how tight an initial fit it was getting the case onto the phone. Was afraid I was going to crack the case or damage the phone. I was very unimpressed with the back texture of the case. It is waaaay to slick for my taste. Compared to the bare plastic of the phone, it feels like it wants to slip out of my hand holding it one handed. As you stated, there is NO protection on the corners of the phone. Top or bottom. A fall from any height that lands on a corner will have nothing protecting it.
I also noticed a huge amount of flex in the belt holder. it is made of very thin/cheap plastic. Trying to quickly take the phone in and out of the holder is more of a two handed job. Sadly, I am returning it and getting the seidio. They are finally in stock.
My advice, avoid the case. While it is inexpensive, it just will not do a good job of protecting the phone and the belt clip is just about useless.
Damm I just ordered this from expansys 2 days ago.. waiting for it to come now.. Wish I would have seen this before.. To late now.. I had this case for my Galaxy Nexus and I was happy.. That is the reason I reordered it.. Well I guess I will see what happens when I get here
Edit: got the case yesterday. I like it.for 15 bucks you can't beat it
removing Amzer Shellster case
Can you explain describe how to remove this case frome Note 2
Good review and good info. Looks like one to pass up.
I have this case since a holster case is a MUST on my list. And I do agree with OP with his concern (my clip also comes off one time but I can re-attach it without problem). But the first issue could be resolve with using another case with the holster (I did the same thing with my Note 1). Currently, I am using this Cruzerlite case with the holster without problem (a bit tight but get the work done). Therefore, it's not that bad as a cheap solution until I found better alternative.
Double 0 7 said:
Can you explain describe how to remove this case frome Note 2
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Slide a fingernail between the case and the side of the phone at a corner (power button side is "easiest"), force the two apart. It honestly feels like you're going to break the phone in half.
I got my new Otterbox Defender case from AT&T today. Only paid $42 with shipping and tax so that wasn't too bad.
I weighed it against my Seidio Active case and holster and the Otterbox with holster weighs 12.5 ounces and the Active case with holster is 10.5 ounces if anybody was interested. Removing the clear plastic protective cover from the Otterbox lightens it by 0.15 ounces or about 4 grams.
I will say this thing feels like it will take a lot of abuse before the phone will break. That is of course, unless the screen is hit by a direct impact that the case can't deflect. Remember, there is a lot of screen area so anything protruding like a rock that makes initial contact with the screen will probably break the screen. No case will stop that.
Things I don't like about the Defender whether I knew about it when ordering or not......
yeah it adds a lot of bulk but not too bad. The volume up and down buttons are not very responsive but I suspect some electrical tape on the inside of the case over the phone buttons should help with that. The power button is actually a little too responsive for my taste. It is very easy to click the power button which sucks because the volume buttons have to be pressed hard and the thumb is usually over near the power button when operating the volume buttons. This leads to easy power button pressing.
The plastic case creaks like a wooden floor in a turn of the century house. What the hell is all of this about. Whether you squeeze the case side to side or twist the phone slightly. I suspect it is the outside case rubbing against the inner hard plastic case. I will try some baby powder on that. Still, the case does not have the rigidity that I was hoping for. If you manually twist the phone case at opposite corners the thing flexes way easily.
I called myself from my home phone, walked away and left the note 2 on the counter. I did not hear any echo from either phone as others have reported. This may show up later thought. If the phones are close together then echo can be present.
The plastic protective cover that comes with the case is garbage. Plain and simple. Yes there is a gap between the plastic and the phone screen. Very annoying. I took the plastic off within a few minutes. I have my own screen protector on it anyway.
I like the charging port and headphone port being covered with the rubber plugs.
When the case is put in the holster there is little leeway where the holster snaps into the detent in the phone edge. Several times I have found that the phone had to be adjusted a bit in order for the case to snap into the holster firmly. This may be a problem down the line or I might just modify it so that this makes a positive connection more easily.
This isn't really a comparison between the Active case and the Defender but I thought I would point out a few things.
I don't like having to use the Defender holster as a kickstand for the phone. The Active case has a built in stand in the case.
I do like the protective lip around the screen of the Defender which is made up of the softer outer shell and the hard plastic inner shell. The outside is not soft and gummy like silicone (like the Active) but a little harder. Kind of like a hard rubber but not as hard as a standard hard plastic if that makes any sense. It has a good feel to it. If the Defender is laid face down the hard lip does nothing to keep it from sliding. If laid on its back it resists sliding a little better depending on the surface. It is the opposite with the Active case. The Active has the silicone lip on the face and keeps the phone from sliding around if place face down. If the Active is placed on its back it will slide because the outside part is hard plastic.
The camera has a nice cutout with a lot of plastic protruding around it. The only way this camera lens is getting damages is if something goes right into the cutout and hits the lens directly. Getting to the stylus is very easy.
Ok, I did take the outer cover off and rubbed some baby powder to the inside. The creaking noise is diminished but still there.
I will try out the otterbox for a while and see how I like it. I work in a factory so it is highly plausible that this could fall off of a 12 foot ladder onto concrete. If I worked in an office I would not be using this case most likely.
I really like the look of the Active case in red much better than the otterbox. Fortunately, I place practicality over fashion generally.
Either way, I will hang on to the case and see what happens. Considering that both of these cases have similar MSRP (prices) the value is definitely in the Otterbox as far as material and engineering. The Active case needs to have a little more engineering and firmer material around the screen. in order to ask as much money as they do.
My biggest issue with the Defender is two fold:
1) Face it, this is an UGLY utilitarian looking case hiding our sexy thin phone. They did NOTHING to add any sex appeal to this case. It's like putting a bikini model in a full length raincoat and buttoning every snap.
2) The plastic screen protector feels cheap, scratchy and provides too much drag on the s-pen.
I got my commuter a few hours ago. It's pretty nice looking, the buttons aren't too hard to press, the cutouts are perfect, and it comes with a screen protector which I choose not to use. I couldn't ask for more from it. I also feel like it's very protective and would survive a 6 ft drop (even though im 5 ft).
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
Note_2 said:
I got my commuter a few hours ago. It's pretty nice looking, the buttons aren't too hard to press, the cutouts are perfect, and it comes with a screen protector which I choose not to use. I couldn't ask for more from it. I also feel like it's very protective and would survive a 6 ft drop (even though im 5 ft).
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
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I haven't had the opportunity to hold the commuter series for this phone. Most of the cases for this phone need to be ordered since nobody seems to have anything in stock for this phone, around where I live, and I live in a decent sized city.
I got the commuter for $35 shipped on amazon. 3-5 day shipping, ordered Wednesday and got it earlier today even though it was expected tomorrow to friday! I tried to buy one closest to me for a decent price and the seller accessory net did great.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
I too have the creaking issue with the Defender. Mine(two of them) also creak and crackle. The plastic part that snaps together does not snap tightly thus causing some play which in turn causes the feeling that there is movement underneath and the creaking sounds. I got a replacement on the first one for this and the second one they sent also does this.
Otter customer service is great but the product right now imo is subpar
It is probably going to creak because it is suppose to flex... that is the whole point of the case absorbing impacts.
My biggest gripe about the Defender case is that dust makes it way in between the case's plastic screen protector and the phone's glass screen. It enters at the Home button mostly and at the top opening for the sensors. I have to open the case at least once a week and wipe out the dust. It's mainly fabric debris from my jeans pocket so I don't think it's anything scratchy.
honestly i hate my commuter case,its to damned fat,but when i drop my 700$ phone ,im happy, strange how that works
oddly enough, the only time I have dropped my Note 2 is when I used the otterbox Defender holster. If the phone case is pushed back and down in the holster when inserting , then the holster tab doesn't fully lock into the notch in the case. I thought I had it snapped in and it fell about 42 inches, I have a 36 inch inseam, and hit the concrete floor. Of course, this is a walk in the park for the Defender case so naturally there was no damage or marks on the case at all, and I wasn't worried about it when I picked the phone up.
My Active case has a much better spring loaded latch design so it is impossible for this to happen.
I actually got my knife out and made a little adjustment on the case notch so this won't happen again.
Love this thing. Have had it since the Otterbox Defender case fell apart after less than a half a year; there's more than 10 months of bad use on the Ballistic case, or, enough to destroy 2 Otterbox Defender cases.
In the first week i used this case i dropped the fone six times onto tile and other hard hospital floors from hospital counter height. Observation: It bounces quite well.
It was an ill coordinated week. Fone was completely unscratched from all that abuse, and has remained unscratched ever since it's been in this case. It's suffered a whole lot more abuse since then. i drop stuff. You don't want me around your best china.
It's a two piece black case. Silicone case with huge corner bumpers around the fone, then a two-layer hard shell over the silicone. Buttons are protected tho connectors are not. Doesn't come with a screen protector. i have on a nice, squidgy one, can't remember the name.
In the hand the encased fone is big and bulky with a very nice, non slippy grip that's augmented by the big corner bumper protrusions: the bumpers help a lot in fone handling. When one is holding and using it there's no thot at all that it'll ever slip out of one's hand.
So those are the upsides. Fantastic protection (except for the exposed ports), survivability and safe, ergonomic handling.
Downsides are, it's super geeky. It's not a fashion item hand crafted out of the finest rare polished hardwoods trimmed with inlaid silver accents. It's black, non-slip, lumpy in the corners like speech balloons in a comic strip, and it's styled to fit into your kit next to the remote launch control for Thunderbird 3.
The materials this case's made from are very good quality, much better than what the Otterbox Defender was made of. After a year of constant use the silicone inner case is beginning to get stretchy and gummy like they all do, but i've used it so much all the corners and all the buttons have worn shiny, and the sides of the hard outer shell as well. Since i mess with the fone a lot i crash it all the time and keep having to take the case off to remove and put back the battery, and it's survived all that ill use fine.
It's fine in sub zero winter use, past the point where the touch screen goes flakey.
The big, non-slip silicone corners does mean it'll drag a bit going in and out of the pocket. Could be maddening, but i'm fine with it since my habit is to drop it on the ground after it leaves my pocket, and that's the part where this case shows its mettle.
So I needed a case for my S6 edge as I am rather active during the day and while I have never dropped a phone, I didnt want to have an oops moment adn drop this one and break it. Bought a case from Speigen which normally has good reviews... but the case seemed like it was made about 1mm to long and it constantly bugged me that my phone moved around in it a little. But me being cheap and realizing that the case while annoying protected my phone just fine, never replaced it.
Then I got my hands on the RooCase... First impression was seemed decent, about on par with my other case, but seriously how different could it be? Boy was I about to get an eye opener...
Installation: the fit was TIGHT! I actually used a micro screwdriver to help the edges over the phones power and volume buttons. I didn't really need to I found out but as I said this case fits good and tight and I hate putting a lot of side load on small switches and buttons. once on the phone the case is nice and firm. No wiggle at all. Much better than my old case. The only issue I had with installation was that the edge of the case pushed my film style screen protector up and caused it to bubble a bit in a couple spots. this was alleviated with my micro screwdriver gently lifting the edge of the case and using a guitar pick to smooth the bubble out before releasing the case edge back down. If you installed a screen protector and it is off center you may need to watch out for this. I don't blame the case for this, but just giving heads up.
Feel: I'm not going to get into the technical manes and such, and for that I apologize, but here are my impressions of the case in hand. the back of the case is a lightly textured hard plastic. the top and bottom edge of the back is a rubbery type material. the sides are the same plastic as the back of the case, but with rubber inserts down the middle. I found that the back is a little slick and slides a touch in my hand, but with the rubbery top and bottom it really isn't an issue. I would love to see some sort of rubbery addition or something to the back to aid in anti-slip if I could have everything I wanted... the rubber inserts on the sides, while rather thin, do a wonderful job of adding just enough grip to the device. In the hand the case feels great. No sharp edges, just enough tactile feel, nad good and solid.
Design: The case has small protrusions on the back so that when you lay it down the Camera and such is well protected. these protrusions are formed i the rubbery top and bottom parts and I found that they also do a wonderful job of keeping the device from sliding around on smooth surfaces. the top and bottom edges of the front are also protruding past the device protecting the screen and again keeping the device from sliding, albeit it will slide just a bit easier than the back.
the openings are all well shaped and cut out to perfectly line up with the phones charging, speaker,headphone jack and what ever the two openings on the top of the phone are... Cant remember what they are right now, Oh well...
on the outer edges of the corners there is a larger protrusion of rubber that will protect the phone if dropped on the corners. I don't feel like dropping my phone to test this, but they seem well designed and placed. large enough to add extra protection, but still small enough to flow with the case and phones lines perfectly.
My favorite part of the case design is the buttons. I really love the buttons on this case. Most cases have marks, or molded bumps for the buttons. This case has real, actual freaking metallic buttons! They actually feel better than the phones stock buttons. the power button has two vertical lines cut into the face of it and in the dark it is so easy to slide my finger down the side of the case until I feel that and I know instantly my finger is o the button to either turn on or off the screen or what ever Im trying to do. the volume button is a nicely prominent as well with a nice line cut in the middle to differentiate between up and down. again, very simple and easy to feel with your finger to adjust volume. the buttons are nice and prominent, but still low profile enough to not be a bother. the corner bumpers I mentioned earlier are just a touch wider than the buttons are, so again, everything flows very well.
Protection: well... the case is great. I work in Law Enforcement. we do all sorts of active training adn what not and because of my unit I am always on call so I have to keep my phone with me at all times. I had it in my pocket the other day and my phone took two hits from simunition... the screen was destroyed. instantly and catastrophically. so I figured why not, the phone was already destroyed and going to be replaced... So I set the phone up with the case facing out and hit it a few times with the simunition rounds. the marks on the case wiped right off, and when I puled the case off the phone was undamaged. the case protected the back glass perfectly.
Conclusion: I love this case. The color, fit, finish, details such as the buttons and the level of protection it affords without becoming obtrusive such as Otterbox or lifeproof are exactly what I want and expect in a case. It looks great on my phone, feels great in my hand, slides in and out of my pocket easily with out snagging. I would highly recommend looking into this case if your in the market for one.
Ill add pictures of it later, Im at work right now and cant post them from here.
schollianmj said:
So I needed a case for my S6 edge as I am rather active during the day and while I have never dropped a phone, I didnt want to have an oops moment adn drop this one and break it. Bought a case from Speigen which normally has good reviews... but the case seemed like it was made about 1mm to long and it constantly bugged me that my phone moved around in it a little. But me being cheap and realizing that the case while annoying protected my phone just fine, never replaced it.
Then I got my hands on the RooCase... First impression was seemed decent, about on par with my other case, but seriously how different could it be? Boy was I about to get an eye opener... .
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Click to collapse
Hey there schollianmj!
Thank you for your amazing and thorough review, we're happy to hear that you enjoyed our case! We definitely try to go for designs that are stylish all while withstanding getting hit with simunition. That's why we call it our Exec Tough case, because if it can't withstand getting shot at then what is a case good for, am I right? We're eager to see pictures, let us know when you have them up and once again, thank you for the review!
Bev
Roocase Representative