I was lucky enough to be allowed to review the current cases that Artech 21 currently offers for the Galaxy S7. I'll be reviewing the Artech 21 Vivid Arkansas in the Champagne Gold/Black color, the Artech Jelly in Champagne/Clear, the Artech Little Rock rugged case in Black, and the Artech Dallas Lazer in Champagne Gold/Black.
This post is just going to be my brief first impressions. I will have complete, detailed reviews of all 4 cases up in the next day or 2.
First. Not that it directly involves the cases' performance, I still feel this is important. My communication with the company was fantastic. We communicated through Facebook Messenger and their responses were always quick, polite, and to the point. I think customer service is very important, who knows what could happen, mailman delivers to the wrong address, you got the wrong case by mistake, you have a question, or you're just plain not happy with it. It's good to know that the company will be there to promptly answer your questions and resolve your issue.
Now the packaging. It was the same for all 4 cases and very similar to the type of packaging you'd find on the name brand cases at Best Buy. Nothing really stands out. It protects the cases, is simple to open and doesn't have anything unnecessary.
Now on to the cases themselves...
(photo in attachment at bottom)
I'll start with the Jelly Series. It's pretty basic. A clear TPU shell with a Gold, harder plastic trim. The clear TPU, though smooth, is manufactured in a way that it provides a lot of grip. Probably the most grip of any of their cases. And the Gold trim feels sturdy enough to provide good protection against edge drops, it has a loop of gold at the bottom that gives it a unique design compared to other similar style cases. The phone fits very well. It's easy to install, fits snugly, and doesn't feel like there's any chance of it popping out accidentally. So, initial impressions are great. It seems like it will provide solid protection and grip in a low profile package that shows off this gorgeous phone instead of changing the look completely.
Next we'll go with the Lazer Dallas Series. It's got a black TPU shell with a vertically brushed finish on it with a more rugged gold trim similar to the one on the Jelly Series with the same extra bit of gold kinda looping up from the bottom that gives it a cool unique look that brings more gold to the overall design that goes great with my Gold Platinum S7. It's easy to install and fits snugly. It feels like it provides a good deal of protection while keeping a low profile. I keep my phone in my pocket, so it's important to me to keep it low profile. This definitely fits the bill for me. Just like the first. It doesn't have the grip of the Jelly, but still has good grip provided by the brushed finish. Solid case with a unique look
Third, my likely favorite of the four, is the Vivid Arkansas Series. It has a black TPU shell with horizontal ribs that provide great grip. It's a different kind of grip from the Jelly though, Like the other 2 cases, it has a more rugged TPU in gold. However this ones has a thich horizontal stripe, as well as the the loop thing at the bottom also found on the other. Like the other 2, installation is very easy. The phone fits snugly and securely. My phone definitely feels protected and it fits very comfortably in my pocket. It's a low profile case that feels like it could withstand some damage and has a very unique look that I haven't seen anywhere before that I absolutely love. I expected the Jelly to be my clear favorite (no pun intended lol), as it really just shows the original phone but provides good protection for it, but this Vivid Arkansas case looks incredible. I think it's my favorite looking. Not just of these 4 that I'm reviewing, but of any case currently available for the GS7.
Lastly, we have the Little Rock Series. It is BY FAR the most rugged of all the cases. Based on ititial impressions, I would say this case can withstand as much abuse as the hardcore Otterbox cases. I've had friends that give clumsy a new meaning (honestly. Broke 5 Galaxy S5s within one month) that would only use the most expensive Otterbox cases afterwards. He lost the front bezel on one somehow, bought a new one, then found the bezel and gave me his old one. So I had one for a decent amount of time to form an opinion on it. My initial impression of the Little Rock case is that it would have no problem providing that same level of hardcore protection. I'm a complete idiot and didn't know it came with a glass screen protector and broke it poking out the phone papers that were inside the cases in the packaging. Absolutely my fault. I have no excuse. I'll do my best to review it as if it had the glass as well. It has a front bezel that pops out and then back in for the installation. It snaps in VERY securely. To where it takes some effort to install, but feels like I could roll it down the worlds largest flight of stairs without the bezel popping off, let alone the phone coming out. Put simply, this case is obviously designed to take a ton of abuse while keeping the phone from incurring any damage. And my initial impression is that this phone can do that.
So far I really like them. But that may change for my final in-depth reviews. But the initial impression is very good. Though the designs and the looks are entirely subjective, I really like the looks of these cases
This post is just going to be my brief first impressions. I will have complete, detailed reviews of all 4 cases up in the next day or 2.
First. Not that it directly involves the cases' performance, I still feel this is important. My communication with the company was fantastic. We communicated through Facebook Messenger and their responses were always quick, polite, and to the point. I think customer service is very important, who knows what could happen, mailman delivers to the wrong address, you got the wrong case by mistake, you have a question, or you're just plain not happy with it. It's good to know that the company will be there to promptly answer your questions and resolve your issue.
Now the packaging. It was the same for all 4 cases and very similar to the type of packaging you'd find on the name brand cases at Best Buy. Nothing really stands out. It protects the cases, is simple to open and doesn't have anything unnecessary.
Now on to the cases themselves...
(photo in attachment at bottom)
I'll start with the Jelly Series. It's pretty basic. A clear TPU shell with a Gold, harder plastic trim. The clear TPU, though smooth, is manufactured in a way that it provides a lot of grip. Probably the most grip of any of their cases. And the Gold trim feels sturdy enough to provide good protection against edge drops, it has a loop of gold at the bottom that gives it a unique design compared to other similar style cases. The phone fits very well. It's easy to install, fits snugly, and doesn't feel like there's any chance of it popping out accidentally. So, initial impressions are great. It seems like it will provide solid protection and grip in a low profile package that shows off this gorgeous phone instead of changing the look completely.
Next we'll go with the Lazer Dallas Series. It's got a black TPU shell with a vertically brushed finish on it with a more rugged gold trim similar to the one on the Jelly Series with the same extra bit of gold kinda looping up from the bottom that gives it a cool unique look that brings more gold to the overall design that goes great with my Gold Platinum S7. It's easy to install and fits snugly. It feels like it provides a good deal of protection while keeping a low profile. I keep my phone in my pocket, so it's important to me to keep it low profile. This definitely fits the bill for me. Just like the first. It doesn't have the grip of the Jelly, but still has good grip provided by the brushed finish. Solid case with a unique look
Third, my likely favorite of the four, is the Vivid Arkansas Series. It has a black TPU shell with horizontal ribs that provide great grip. It's a different kind of grip from the Jelly though, Like the other 2 cases, it has a more rugged TPU in gold. However this ones has a thich horizontal stripe, as well as the the loop thing at the bottom also found on the other. Like the other 2, installation is very easy. The phone fits snugly and securely. My phone definitely feels protected and it fits very comfortably in my pocket. It's a low profile case that feels like it could withstand some damage and has a very unique look that I haven't seen anywhere before that I absolutely love. I expected the Jelly to be my clear favorite (no pun intended lol), as it really just shows the original phone but provides good protection for it, but this Vivid Arkansas case looks incredible. I think it's my favorite looking. Not just of these 4 that I'm reviewing, but of any case currently available for the GS7.
Lastly, we have the Little Rock Series. It is BY FAR the most rugged of all the cases. Based on ititial impressions, I would say this case can withstand as much abuse as the hardcore Otterbox cases. I've had friends that give clumsy a new meaning (honestly. Broke 5 Galaxy S5s within one month) that would only use the most expensive Otterbox cases afterwards. He lost the front bezel on one somehow, bought a new one, then found the bezel and gave me his old one. So I had one for a decent amount of time to form an opinion on it. My initial impression of the Little Rock case is that it would have no problem providing that same level of hardcore protection. I'm a complete idiot and didn't know it came with a glass screen protector and broke it poking out the phone papers that were inside the cases in the packaging. Absolutely my fault. I have no excuse. I'll do my best to review it as if it had the glass as well. It has a front bezel that pops out and then back in for the installation. It snaps in VERY securely. To where it takes some effort to install, but feels like I could roll it down the worlds largest flight of stairs without the bezel popping off, let alone the phone coming out. Put simply, this case is obviously designed to take a ton of abuse while keeping the phone from incurring any damage. And my initial impression is that this phone can do that.
So far I really like them. But that may change for my final in-depth reviews. But the initial impression is very good. Though the designs and the looks are entirely subjective, I really like the looks of these cases
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