Tech Talk with Terence

Background:

A couple months ago I got the Blackberry Bold 9700.  It was a massive upgrade from the Blackberry Curve 8330 I was using before.  Previously I was using a leather pocket to keep my Blackberry protected, but I wanted a change.  I was willing to sacrifice the magnet in the pocket that puts the Blackberry into standby for a more protected sleeve/case.  I noticed that the Bold 9700 was a bit thinner and more slippery due to the sides being made of a smooth plastic and chrome finish so I also wanted a bit of grip too.

Otterbox:

I looked at several different cases, Case-Mate, Seidio, and Incipio were some of the names that came up along side Otterbox.  At first I dismissed the Otterbox brand.  The last time I had seen a picture of an Otterbox case I was looking for the Bold 9000 and at the Defender Case and it was a beast.  Something like that would be good for construction workers or if you’re just prone to dropping things.  But after looking at the other brands and not liking any of them for certain reasons (plastic bar that divides the keyboard and the screen, looks, no grip, cheap plastic, too thick) I went back to Otterbox for a different case.  The Commuter Case.

The reason I went with this case is because I liked the look of the case and it didn’t make the Blackberry overly bulky.  I was hesitant on ordering since I didn’t have the opportunity to see one first hand, but after reading a bunch of great reviews on the Crackberry forums, I took the plunge.

Fit:

Even now I am super pleased with the quality of this case.  The case comes in two pieces and includes a screen protector.  The first piece is a quality silicone sleeve.  It fits the Blackberry perfectly and also has cutout flaps for the headphone jack and adapter plug.  The left and right convenience keys are covered along with the volume control keys on the side and the mute and keyboard lock keys at the top.  There is also a hole cutout for the microphone on the bottom.  After sliding the sleeve onto the Blackberry (which feels higher quality than the Blackberry branded silicone sleeve) the second piece is placed over it and fit into precut grooves.  The second piece is made of hard plastic but is thin enough so that when it is placed over the silicone sleeve it sits flush and doesn’t add bulk.  Once the entire case is put on, it adds the perfect amount of protection without making it awkward to carry.  It’s easier to grip now and I don’t have to be extra careful with it.  It slides easily in and out of my jeans/pants/shorts pocket, and I can drop it or toss it on my desk without worrying.

In Action:

There have been too many times to count where I’ve dropped something and out of habit tried to catch it with my foot.  This always ends up being bad since 1. I’ve never caught anything this way and 2. I always end up kicking the thing I’ve dropped farther and with more force that just dropping it.  So the story goes, I was golfing with my Blackberry and using it as a GPS.  I usually put the Blackberry in the cup holder of the golf cart to keep it from bouncing around.  At one of the tees, I took it out to check the distance to a water hazard.  My hands were wet from the beer I was drinking and I grabbed the top of the Blackberry using my thumb and my index finger.  Well turns out it slipped out of my hands and I proceeded to boot it across the cart path with it landing face down.  At that moment I froze and then slowly went to pick it up expecting to see all sorts of scratches on the case and screen.  It had nothing on it!  A bit of dust but that was it.  I wiped it on my pant leg and put it back into the cup holder.  Amazing!  The case actually has a slight lip and it raised the screen and keyboard off the ground so it didn’t get scratched.  I would highly recommend this case for anyone looking for a bit of protection without the bulk.  They sell cases for all kinds of phones, even the iPad.

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