I got my Marine Blue/Titanium Case-mate Tough Case (
http://www.case-mate.com//samsung-g...se-mate-samsung-galaxy-note-2-tough-cases.asp) today and so far very impressed with this case!!! Reading Slesh's review as well as other comments gives you an idea of what to expect, but you don't realize how light and slim this case is until you hold it in your own hands. You almost get fooled into thinking how such a slim case claims to be "tough" and offers you a protection? Make no mistake, it does! I always believe a picture is worth a thousand words, so I included a ton of those below, from every angle and inside-out. Also, want to add a few of my thoughts about the case.
Unlike a lot of other dual layer cases, case-mate came up with an original design of a inner rubber bumper (not the full shell) and outer plastic shell. Bumper is made out of hard TPU material that fits very snugly around the phone, and when assembled with a plastic shell - has zero pull around the edges. Inner plastic shell has an extra cushion lining in the middle which aligns perfectly with a bumper cutout which explains how they were able to make this case so thin. Plastic shell itself has a nice grip and a cool textured design. The textured diamonds are very subtle and the surface is easy to clean, as I found out within minutes after my 4 year old grabbed it with his pizza hands
The lip, as I tried taking a close up in a few of the pictures, is not as high as on some other cases with silicon lining, but due to TPU hard nature of the material it will serve its purpose on par, if not even better, than other cases with a higher lip made out of soft silicon that pulls away. Every cutout is precise and generous. S-pen is easy to access, headphone jack has wide enough opening to accommodate different options, micro-usb port is wide enough for any after-market plug, and mic and speaker openings wide enough for a clear sound going in and out. Volume and power buttons are clearly marked and very easy to locate just by feeling while sliding your finger along the edge. They also have a click feedback when you press on it. It's true these are not easy to press, but I personally don't mind that because in my previous case with silicone inner shell I had a lot of accidental power on hits. Camera and led flash opening has a slight raised edge which I not sure the purpose of, but it flattens out; I took a close up picture of that as well.
It's hard to say which case I would compare it to because I think it's in a class by itself. It's like a hybrid between Commuter and slim TPU case since it's that thin and yet offers a decent level of protection. Once I get my UAG case, I will do side-by-side comparison since in my book I consider these two cases to offer the best of both worlds between slim design and phone protection.
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EDIT. a few more comments. I would like to add that package it came in is actually very high quality and that shiny top is made out of real aluminum, not some cheap foil (I'm talking about the box this case was packaged in). Also, unlike other vendors, it didn't include any screen protector which is common with other higher quality cases. Not sure if its even necessary since those are typically not high quality sp anyway, just a bonus. But still wanted to point out because people asking me if it came with any other goodies lol! Furthermore, the phone is very balanced once on its back, no wobbling or rocking - important if you are using it on flat surface to type/browse. Also, it does offer some grip with a surface once you lay it down on the screen or the back - important detail so the phone will not slide freely if you bump it on the table.
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