First off, let me say that I still have not found the perfect case. Hence the title “Pursuit..” =)
I have tried all of the cases in this review. Some of the pictures are the stock photos because I have already returned the cases. I must add in my journey for the perfect case, I was actually looking for 2: a good belt clip case (preferably horizontal), and a skin case (preferably hard case). Let’s get started!
1. Leather Swivel Holster (AT&T default case)
This default case from AT&T was pretty good. It was really easy to put in and take out the phone. No struggling. The only thing is that with the swivel clip, it made the case feel “bigger.” Since the clip extended the case out from your body about ½ inch, versus the more flush feel of some of the other cases. This extension making the case feel bigger, and it bugged me enough to try something different. This case did support the sleeper function. Both with phone facing in or out. It also had grooves cut into the inside of the phone to protect the track ball. I like that both sides (phone facing in or out) had grooves cut out.
2. Blackberry OEM Black Leather Horizontal Pouch Case
Being the OEM horizontal pouch case, I was certain this was a sure winner. However, it was way too tight!! You had to push real hard to squeeze the phone in the case, and taking the phone out of the case was really hard. Taking the phone out of a case should be a 1 second ordeal. It often took 3 or more seconds, and sometimes I had to use 2 hands to get it out and hope that the force I was pulling it out with didn’t just fling the phone on the floor. I thought maybe after a few weeks the leather would loosen up, but this type of leather seemed that it would not give any. This was immediately returned with only 1 day of use. Sleeper function worked on this phone as well. I forgot if it worked both in and out facing…
3. PDair Leader Case – Horizontal Pouch Type
Material was perfect on this phone. It had great elastic expanders on the side that made taking the phone out and putting it in perfectly simple. The only negative was the magnetic closure! You see the closure tab is a thin tab, and the magnetic closure has a “button” type closure. Closing the case always added a few seconds to make sure the button was it its right position. Because of this, this case was returned as well. It was the perfect material and perfect tight/looseness. Everything was great except the closure tab. Sleeper function worked.
4. Generic Black Skin Rubber Case Cover (Hard case)
I found this off of ebay. The thing with the hard cases is that I’ve heard many of them scratch up the bezel. Additionally, some are really hard to take apart. And many of the hard cases offered at the shop here are really expensive. The case I found on ebay was $4.95 total (free shipping). The biggest draw was “rubber” hard case. I’ve actually used a “rubber” hard holster before for one of my old phones. I remember the material and knew exactly what it was. This is soft, yet hard. So I knew it would not scratch the phone, but still offer the hard protection. When I got this case, to my disappointment, only the outside of the case was the “rubber” part. The inside part (the part that actually touches the phone) was regular plastic. I still gave this a shot. It was easy to put on, but extremely hard to take off. I thought I was going to break the case. And of course because it was the regular plastic on the inside instead of being full rubber, it left a little scratch on the bezel—not happy about that. This one was nixed also. And of course, no sleeper function on this one. If only the case both inside and out were rubber, and it was easier to take a part.
5. Smartphone Experts (SPE) Side Pouch for Blackberry Bold
I thought this case was the winner. It was a little tight fit at first, but after a week of using, it was a perfect fit. The magnetic closure was great as well—a thicker tab than the PDair. My only gripe about this case was that the sides were too tall and encompassing. To pull the phone out, you almost had to lift the phone straight up from the pouch. It had to travel a longer distance too. Cases that have shorter sides allow you to pull the phone up at an angle versus straight up. The next case I have has the “angle pull out” vs. this case with the “straight pull out.” Look at the pictures on this case vs. the HTC case later on in this review. Sleeper function worked both in and out facing. But this case was built for out facing phone. You can tell by the groove cutout for the trackball. Personally, I prefer to put my phone facing in.
So there was nothing terrible about this case. The only 2 issues were the “straight pull out” eventually started to bug me. It did not feel natural taking out the phone. And also having the phone face out—all my past phones, I have put them face inward. So that was a little unnatural for me too. This case is going back to the store.
6. Blackberry Skin Case for Bold
I wanted the hard skin case because it’s smoother to take in and out of your pocket. But with all the good reviews of the BB skin case, I decided to try it. Taking this skin off and back on is such a breeze. It is hard taking out of your pocket though, especially if you are wearing jeans. The rubber grips onto the inside of your pocket. So I am fumbling a lot trying to get the phone out of my pocket. But, I really like the ease of putting the case on and taking it off. I use the holster for my day to day, and I only use the skin case when I’m going out with friends and I don’t want to have a bulky case hanging on my side. Basically a weekday case and a weekend case. Since I use the skin case less than the holster case, I can live with the ‘hard to take out of my pocket.’ Obviously no sleeper function.
I am keeping this one. It serves its purpose as the “weekend” case.
7. HTC 82024 Black Matte Leather Case
Finally, thanks to djohnson1810’s review, I came to the HTC case. I actually had this case before when I bought my HTC TYTN back in the day. I remember it being a good case. What I like most about it is the strong magnetic closure. Very secure. Also, it has the elastic bands on the sides and bottoms. So it gives a lot and can be easily stretched. djohnson1810 did have a skin on his bold and it fit perfectly into this case. The naked Bold has a looser fit in this case, but not too bad. It does not fly around when you are walking or anything like that. As djohnson1810 mentioned too, the magnets happen to be in the perfect spot so sleeper function is available!! You can also put the phone in or out—both support the sleeper function. Obviously no grooves cut out for the trackball, but the loose fit helps in that regard. Also, the sides are not as encompassing as the SPE case. In a comparison picture below, you can see the sides are lower on the HTC than on the SPE. That allows for the “angle pull out” I mentioned before. Personally, this is a more natural pull out of the phone. All my past phones, TYTN, Treo, iPhone, etc.. all those cases has this lower side, therefore, I got use to the “angle pull out.”
For now, this is the winning case. I remember when I had it for the TYTN, this case felt big. Mostly because the TYTN was a big phone. After trying all these cases, they all feel big too, so the size of the case is almost a non-issue. But the perfect case in my opinion would be a little smaller, but still have all these attributes. I have not found that case yet. Still on the pursuit! But I’m in a happy place right now with these last 2 cases.
I’ve never gone through this many cases for one phone before. Must be the
crackberry in me. =) Or the fact that I am hooked on this Bold and I know I’ll have it for a while! So I need the perfect case.
Hope you guys enjoyed the review. There were so many cases so I tried to give the good/bad points quickly. Feel free to leave comments and questions. I’ll try to answer them the best I can!
Thanks to
djohnson1810 for reintroducing me to the HTC case. And thanks to
JReel for his great video reviews that have helped me decide on some of these cases.
I didn't realize there was a 10 pic max upload. I don't have a hosting site... So I'm posting 10 pics first, then the rest in a second post.
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Pursuit of the Perfect BOLD Case: 7 Reviews!!! 
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