Phantasmix Stock Blog

A product review! I haven’t done one of these since 2005 or so. Not changing the focus of my blog, but as I like to say “nothing is ever off-topic here”.

I got 2 Otterbox cases – one for my Nokia E71 and one for the Apple iPod Touch. They are so amazing that I was compelled to say “They’re awesome! I’ll write a review about them”. I didn’t just say it out loud to myself I actually promised it to an Otterbox representative.

Both of my Otterbox cases are in black.

Nokia E71 Commuter Case

I had a case for the Nokia before and thought it was pretty nice – smokey grey, translucent and very thin.

I don’t like the bulky look of most smartphones so it was a major issue for me. The phone itself is very thin and I didn’t want the case to conceal that. Here’s E71 in Commuter Otterbox case:

Click to enlarge

I like it much better than the no-name generic one I got off Ebay for $10. I thought I’d miss the thinness… But it’s still thin and the grip is much improved. The phone is very well protected – I haven’t tried it with mine, but the test units at the show were dropped to the floor hard and they bounced!

The housing is made up of 2 layers. The inner layer is some sort of wonderful material, rubber soft as mink (!) and it’s the part that bounces the phone if you drop it. (I cheated, looked it up – it’s actually silicone). That rubber material is exposed around the frame. The outside is a hard shell with an Otterbox logo. The logo isn’t tacky, only visible at an angle.

All input jacks, memory card slot, USB slot and buttons are accessible while the phone is “dressed up”. When I hold an Otterbox case in my hand, I think “Wow, what a nice piece of a… thingamajigger!”

The case comes with a clear screen protector, very easy to put on. I don’t think the screen protector is unique, but it’s a nice little extra. The case itself is “where it’s at.”

iPod Touch Defender

As for the Defender for iPod Touch, it’s of the same excellent quality, but not as thin which is a good thing in this case. iPods and iPhones always get broken, crushed and cracked, so you need something as rugged as the Defender.

Click to enlarge

My only regret is that I got the ‘box too late. It’s literally impossible to handle iPod without ruining the chrome finish on the back (unlike Nokia, by the way). Mine is all scratched but at least it’s now protected in case I drop it.

Conclusion:
Unless you’re going for leather, Otterbox is the only choice for beautiful, ergonomic and rugged cases. I’ve looked at and compared a lot of cases at the store, and have to say – ALL the others at Best Buy, Futureshop, etc. are cheap imports like the one I got off Ebay. I don’t know if Otterbox even have a high quality competitor.

Company site: Otterbox

Now overload yourself on cute!