There are so many debates over whether to adorn your precious phone with a protector or a case.
In my view, the only right answer is the one that works for you.
For me I like to have my phone with both a protector and a case. My phone gets carted in a backpack during my daily commutes to work by bike. A backpack offers very little protection against the knocks and bumps made by contact with various bike paraphernalia stored in my backpack.
I’ve always had a case for my phones, well more precisely, a pouch.
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| That’s the line up. L – R Mark’s SIII, my SIII, my SII and Mark’s S (my hand-me-down). Clearly I’m struggling with letting go of the older model Galaxy phones. |
I had been looking for some weeks for an appropriate leather case for the SIII. I hadn’t seen anything that took my fancy. I was waiting for SENA to bring our their case. They were taking too long for me.
One day I was searching through the XDA Accessories page when someone made mention of these custom-made leather cases. That sparked my interest.
So I toddled off to eBay to see what was on offer, and
I liked what I saw. Well I liked what I read. You can choose the colour and grain of your liking, the colour of the lining, whether you wanted any embossing, and the type of clip/closure that suited you.
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| Very tidy work |
Of course so many options didn’t make it that easy to decide on the overall look of the case.
I have to admit that when I first saw a picture of the case I assumed it was a photo from an iPhone case. The sides were square. That didn’t seem to gel to me with the SIII with it’s lovely slim lines and curves.
When the cases arrived, sure enough the sides were square. I really wasn’t sure the phone would fit. I felt the gap was too wide. So to my surprise it was a tight fit. And coaxing the phone out wasn’t as straight forward as you’d think.
You have to turn the case upside down. And use the same sort of motion as trying to get a pack of cards out of their pack. Except with quite a bit more force.
Mark’s case was tighter than mine. In the end he left the I9000 in there, a bit like wearing socks inside a pair of shoes to help stretch them. Okay, that doesn’t make sense to blokes, but for women, wearing a pair of socks inside a pair of ladies dress shoes is a really common way to get the leather to “give” quicker.
After several days Mark tried the case again. I think he over stretched it. His phone was slip right out when the case was held upside down. But a few more days later the case has eased back a little and it’s pretty much perfect now. I still have to give mine a little more ooph to get the phone to ease out to the point I can then use my fingers on the side to slip it all the way out.
Unfortunately Mark’s case has a few little marks on it, you might be able to pick them up from here. It’s about where the microphone is at the top of the phone. I have contacted the seller about this, and mentioned too how Mark’s case was much tighter than my own. I said I’d be in touch if things didn’t come right in a day or two. I’ve not contacted them back, and they’ve made not further comment.
These cases aren’t cheap. They converted to around NZ$62. I felt that the blemish on Mark’s case wasn’t really the sort of thing I would expect to see on a case in this price bracket. Of course part of the cost is due to the total customisation of the case.
So what about the quality? I think the quality of the case is really good. The stitching is even, the lining sits nicely on the inside. The embossing is neat and even.
If it weren’t for that blemish in Mark’s case I’d have given these cases a 10/10. But I feel for the price, there shouldn’t be any defects.
The case itself is really sturdy. I haven’t tried sitting on it or anything. That would just be silly. But you wont be bending these out of shape. I can try squeezing the sides, and while there’s some flex, the case is too strong for the sides to meet.
I actually feel like there’s more protection in this type of case. I’m less concerned about what the phone might come into contact with in my backpack because there’s a little more peace of mind with how these cases are constructed.
Would I recommend this case? Yes. It’s great knowing you’ve got a one-of-a-kind.
What I would suggest, if you’re brave enough to admit to having little or no fashion sense, let someone else give an opinion on what will look smart with the phone. I bit my tongue with Mark’s choice, but it’s definitely not what I’d have put with a Pebble Blue phone.
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| Don't we look fetching together? |
