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I am in love with Otterbox cases. I was happy to find this thread because for some reason everyone I encourage to buy one of these cases just refuses to listen to me about how exceptional they are! They settle for cheap cases and then I get be smug when they whine about how their phone got wet or dropped and now they have to buy a new one. Sometimes it's nice to be able to say, "I told you so!"
I got my first BlackBerry a couple years ago and because I'm so hard on my gadgets I immediately searched for the best possible case I could find. I was a little leery when I discovered Otterbox because the Defender case was $50. I went ahead and took the leap, though, because it just looked like an exceptionally good case and because I knew from long experience as a tech what very high quality Otterbox products consistently are. My purchase was well justified. The inner silicone membrane was an essential must-have because I HAD to have the keyboard protected. I know how careless I can be, and I could just envision my phone getting splashed (which happened a number of times) and just going belly-up on me. The case protected the phone brilliantly well.
My old BlackBerry is still in pristine condition despite being dropped hundreds of times, splashed, sat upon, slept on, knocked around, and dropped down the side of a mountain while I was hiking in the High Sierras (and boy, was it interesting having to get down that slope to retrieve it!
). The phone was perfectly protected at all times.
When I got my new 9700 I immediately contacted Otterbox to find out when they'd be releasing their cases for it, and here we are just a month later and two out of the three are available. I'm terrified of taking my Berry out in public because I'm such a klutz, and it already has the tiny minute signs of wear you get when you use your phone naked. I'm a bit upset about that because the 9700 is a really beautiful phone, but at least I have a screen protector and a cheesy little hardshell case until I can order the Defender!
For anyone who is really hard on their phone or who does a lot of outdoor activities or sports and would like to take their phone with them and still be free of concern, I could not recommend the Defender case more highly. Fifty bucks is nearly a giveaway.
Now if I can just fix the irritating infinite reboot loop that my phone started out of the blue last night (it was just sitting there and suddenly, kapow, endless reboot started) everything will be perfect!
The italicized, bolded bit of your post is very strange to me. On two separate occasions when I needed replacement parts for the Defender case on my 8100, I contacted Otterbox and was ready and willing to pay for them, and not only did I receive immediate replies from their customer service, but the replacements were shipped free of charge and I had them within just a few days.
They told me that there is a lifetime warranty on the case and that replacement parts are always free. Perhaps this was just for the Defender series, though. I jokingly said, "So I can get a brand new case for free, in essence?" and she said "Yup."
Perhaps if you havent already, you should contact them and ask them about a replacement screen protector.
I just checked - these are back in stock. I might order my Defender from this source if they carry it, unless Amazon has it for the same price. Thanks for the heads up on this site! The Commuter case is so inexpensive I might buy one just to have it.
Happy holidays, everyone!12-20-09 09:52 AM
