[rkess]

I, like many of you, love the size of my Z10. I have never used a case for any phone that I've had before but because this is such a beautiful little device I decided it needed protection. But I needed form with this protection and went on the search for a case that would be minimal and preserve the classy lines of my Z10. I went through 3 before I found one that I can stick with. Here is a small of review of what I found to get me to my goal and in the order I got them.

Enter the Competitors: Poetic Borderline, Walnut Bumper Trio, and Bumper Case by Case-ology.

Poetic Borderline $8 ebay: This was my first choice as it looked exactly how I wanted it. It is a minimal case that adds little size and maintains the lines of the phone. When the case arrived I was very pleased with the case. It looked good and fit and finish seemed well done. Unfortunately, the first time a tried to put the Z10 into the case the soft rubber edge in the top left corner separated from the hard plastic. I was disappointed but not dismayed as it was still functional and it did not affect my DBrand Skins in any way. There were minimal issues with the connections with only the power connection being an issue sometimes. The buttons were very difficult to press but I cut some slits with an exacto and cleared that issue up quickly. So for one month I utilized this case. It continued to slowly separate as I pocketed it and un-pocketed my phone until it completely destroyed itself. I took it off my Z10 and it collapsed into a pile of hard plastic and rubbery senew. It was dead. But for $8, whatever. The search continued...

Walnut Bumper Trio $24 Amazon: I decided the Walnut would be my next choice due to the solid reviews it was receiving on the CB forums. As far as cases go I would rate this on the upper end of what I'm willing to spend. This case arrived and was immediately noticeable that this case was more substantial then the Poetic. I had hopes. Getting this sucker on the Z10 took considerably more effort than the Poetic. After I finished install I had to question my manhood due to my poor sore finger tips. Once in, the phone is completely secure and feels very protected from corner drops etc. The finish is of high quality however the fit seemed slightly off as it bulged out slightly on the connector side giving the phone a "fat" look. The case also does add quite a but of size and makes it feel closer into the Samsung S3 range. Because there is hard plastic around the connecting ports I was only able to use the stock charger so charging in my car became impossible, which proved to be an issue with the Z10 battery life. The buttons were all very easy to press. I was not sold on the multi-color approach on this case but the most offensive part of the case was that it ruined my DBrand Skins' back and front top. Ouch. The search continued...

Bumper Case by Case-ology $8 ebay: I purchased this one because it was the size I was looking for again seemed to have a different build than the Poetic so I was hopeful that it wouldn't be a repeat of the first disaster. The case arrived and it was a little rough around the edges as there were pieces of hard plastic shavings still hanging from it. I pulled these off and installed my Z10. It was an easy install and thankfully there was no damage to the case during install and my finger tips were still happy afterwards. It looks like the skins would have been OK if the Walnut had not already wrinkled them like soggy fingers. The buttons are all easy to press and there is soft rubber around the connectors so it is able to handle all of my charging wires. The protection does not seem as strong as the Walnut as there is less bulk but it does handle short corner drops and has enough lip to lay the phone face down without worry. Plus it still looks like a Z10.

Conclusion:
1. Bumper Case By Case-ology: + Size, fit, easy button press, accepts all connections, has not died after a month
- random plastic shavings/edgings hanging off.
2. Walnut Bumper Trio: + Fit and finish, Protection, easy button press
- Bulky, only accepts stock or smaller connectors, hard to get on and off (pulled of the battery door), will ruin skins
**Note: This is a great option for someone that wants a solid bumper case with good protection that will last and does not care about skins**
3. Poetic Borderline: Well, it was cheap.

Thanks for reading.

[jamesharmeling]

I just ordered 2 bumper style case from Ebay myself this past Friday.

1. BlackBerry Laguna Z10 TPU PC Bumper Style (Black and red) from accessories4less.
2. TPU PC Bumper Black Gel Skin Case from emilyandlily.

They look like they might be the same exact bumper case in different colors, but I don't know. I just hope they work well. If not, I'll have fun giving them away. (One was $3 and the other was $9.)

Posted via Zeppelin!