Best Case/Cover/Shell

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HannaBlu

Member
Jul 28, 2012
48
1
Huntsville
I have the Monoprice case. It's very thin & light, does not add any bulk at all. On sale at BesBuy right now for like $4. Probably wouldn't protect it from a fall very much... I don't usually drop my phone so that's not an issue for me.
As far as screen protectors go, I've got the Nuglass off of ebay for like $8. It's pretty good.
 

sej7278

Senior Member
May 24, 2011
139
39
I got an Otterbox Communter, first one i sent back to the retailer as the screen protector (just a regular one not a hard one like the Defender) was dented, took almost 2 weeks for a refund. second one from another retailer the screen protector was scratched really badly so i tweeted to otterbox and they fedex'ed me a whole new case, so the moral of the story is don't bother getting support from your retailer, go straight to the manufacturer.

other than pretty naff screen protector quality control, i'm happy with the commuter. cheapest i could find in the uk was £18, which does seem a lot for a glorified gel case with a plastic back, but i couldn't find another case that had consistently good reviews. most of the ebay ones looked like they wouldn't even stop the screen getting broken if it landed face down, let alone chipping the corners of the case.

its less bulky than the defender but not by much i don't think, and does spoil the look of the phone. bloody hard to find stock in the uk though.

does anyone else find the usb port very fiddly to get a cable into, my heart skips a beat every time i try it. much finnickier than the zte blade/nexus4.
 

odrslump

Member
Jul 9, 2015
13
1
Will a rubber bumper protect against a drop (say, from table height)? Will the S-view cover protect against a drop?

I wouldn't be bothered by scratch or bumps on the plastic housing. Mainly looking for protection against the screen/digitizer/glass breaking from a fall.

I have been using a FlexiFrame bumper for year and half, and after several drops, even from higher than a table, phone is OK and bumper transparent plastic is broken at tree points (thin areas with connectors), but still doing his work due to black rubber remains in perfect condition.
 

ScarberiaDude

New member
Jan 20, 2016
4
1
Toronto, ON Canada
Samsung Protective Cover +

I have the official Samsung case. Its a perfect fit and good protection from falls (dropped it from about 2, 5mtr onto steel deck the other day and all good) but it does add quite some bulk. A thus use the phone "naked" under normal circumstances and snap on the case when im working...

Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

+1 for the official Samsung Protective Cover +. I purchased one in Light Blue. My phone has survived two tabletop drops unscathed. My take is that is gives the phone a more substantive feel, some protection, and looks good!

ScarberiaDude
 
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JimmyRay

Senior Member
Jul 4, 2014
228
68
Hamamatsu
Leather pouch for S4 Mini

Hello folks,

I recently purchased a refurbished S4 Mini from an AliExpress store, bought some tempered glass, and swapped the cheap, slippery batter door with a classier matte black version. The rom was flashed to the latest CM13 snapshot, and so far I am very happy with the device overall.

Up until now I have been using a Sony Xperia Ray, which I firmly believe is one of the best designed phones of all time. The Ray has run CM11, CM12.1, and now even CM13, however, despite my affection for this phone, the limited ram and cpu specs are really showing their age.

I therefore bought an Xperia SX (Docomo Japan only model), which many believe was the natural successor to the Ray. It's also a very compact, lightweight phone, but with more modern specs. Unfortunately, the rarity of this phone means there is almost zero third party development, although similar, larger, international devices based on the same hardware are running CM13. The stock Jelly Bean Sony rom isn't terrible, but It's a long way from the frequently developed CM running on my Ray.

So, I decided to give the S4 Mimi a try. It's a little larger than I'd like, however I appreciate it's probably the best 'compact' phone available, other than the Sony Z compacts.

I try to look after my phones, and have purchased leather pouches from Alin.jp to keep them clean and protected. A new pouch arrived for the S4 Mini this afternoon, so like a true mini phone otaku, I snapped some pictures of all the devices and their respective pouches together.

Enjoy!

21own48.jpg

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hukk89.jpg


Cheers,
James
x
 
Last edited:

DarkJoker360

Recognized Developer / Recognized Contributor
Oct 20, 2015
2,740
4,207
21
Aradeo
Hello folks,

I recently purchased a refurbished S4 Mini from an AliExpress store, bought some tempered glass, and swapped the cheap, slippery batter door with a classier matte black version. The rom was flashed to the latest CM13 snapshot, and so far I am very happy with the device overall.

Up until now I have been using a Sony Xperia Ray, which I firmly believe is one of the best designed phones of all time. The Ray has run CM11, CM12.1, and now even CM13, however, despite my affection for this phone, the limited ram and cpu specs are really showing their age.

I therefore bought an Xperia SX (Docomo Japan only model), which many believe was the natural successor to the Ray. It's also a very compact, lightweight phone, but with more modern specs. Unfortunately, the rarity of this phone means there is almost zero third party development, although similar, larger, international devices based on the same hardware are running CM13. The stock Jelly Bean Sony rom isn't terrible, but It's a long way from the frequently developed CM running on my Ray.

So, I decided to give the S4 Mimi a try. It's a little larger than I'd like, however I appreciate it's probably the best 'compact' phone available, other than the Sony Z compacts.

I try to look after my phones, and have purchased leather pouches to keep them clean and protected. A new pouch arrived for the S4 Mini this afternoon, so like a true mini phone otaku, I snapped some pictures of all the devices and their respective pouches together.

Enjoy!

Cheers,
James
x
I have bought a tempered glass and me too I' m very happy with new snapshot of cm 13 with pitchblack theme
I use ever tempered glass and I love my polished screen

Inviato dal mio GT-I9195 utilizzando Tapatalk
 

Dead-end. E

Member
Apr 7, 2016
33
2
I've got the Otterbox Commuter. It's not the cheapest, but it beats buying insurance, and is very very durable. I've dropped my phone plenty of times, even to demonstrate and it's been fine.
 

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  • 3
    I recently got a casemate tough case for my sgs4 mini and I am very pleased with it, both handling-wise and in terms of general ruggedness.

    Did anyone get a screen protector? I loved the exim ultraprotect on my old nokia, but the s4 mini is my first phone with a capacitive touch screen and I am unsure if a screen protector will hurt its responsiveness.
    2
    I ordered the following in blue/black. It looks somewhat...different! I hope it's not too much when I put it on the phone. It came to six euros which is reasonable. I'll post my impressions when it arrives.

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=171080302080&ssPageName=ADME:L:eek:C:US:3160

    It came in but it's too kitsch for my taste!
    1
    If you are on a high budget, you could look at the Impact-absorbing Tech21 cases.

    Those are of high build quality.
    1
    I got a screen protector applied the moment I unpackaged my phone at the shop. They applied a Screenguard branded clear (non-matte) screen protector and responsiveness hasn't been an issue in the 4 weeks I've had the phone.

    This screen protector ($4) is a fingerprint magnet though, but it has perfect cut-outs for the light, proximity sensors and front - facing camera as well as the home button.
    1
    Does the S-View cover also protect the edges?
    After almost 2 months I notice that I already have a couple of bumps right on the edge of the screen. I don't want to buy a thick shell since I bought the Mini exactly because of the sleaziness and the S-view looks quite nice..

    No. The S-View cover replaces your back cover of the phone. Thus it only protects the back. The sides are exposed except for the left side of the phone where the cover flips over the phone.