[valorfive]

I've been looking recently at the Otterbox and deciding if I should get one in the first place and secondly if I should get the Impact or Defender series.

Any personal experiences / advice would be appreciated.

[DolfanCole#CB]

Don't have personal experience yet. But, my main issues were that I liked having a holster or some method of carrying the phone, plus I wanted some protection on the phone when it's not in the holster. This really drove me towards the Defender. The cost is very high, but I was able to find a coupon to use on OtterBox.com to bring the cost down a little. It's been shipped and I should receive it on Monday.

[Mblalock]

Hey there. I have had an OtterBox for my 9530 since I got it in February and I absolutely love it. The hard plastic screen and camera covers are easy to clean and the outer plastic shell and silicone skin have saved my storm for many many not so survivable situations.

I am a Peterbilt customizer and do everything from overhauls to custom body work and painting and the OtterBox is a dream for someone that does a lot of physical work. Now with almost any blackberry, battery pulls are inevitable and this does make for a few minute process to strip the phone down and do a physical pull, but this is not such a bad trade off.

The belt case is form fitted and I have worn mine upside down, sideways, etc. and never had one incident where the exact fit of the OtterBox to case fit ever failed. If I have to wash oil, grease, paint, or dirt off my OtterBox skin, all is needed is a little soapy rag or maybe a little gojo product and viola, it is clean and my picture quality at min-max is the same as no cover at all. I recommend taking it apart at least once a week and clean the dust from the inside but other than that maintenance is almost nil.

The only mods I did on my case itself is to increase the size of the microphone hole, the earpiece hole and ringer hole and I sealed these back up with a little piece of pantyhose with some 3M-77 spray lightly coating the material then just put them back in place for dust protection with just a quick shot of ScotchGuard. The tyvek type material they used in creation made hearing by you and the call receiver a little hard to understand as well as dulled the ringer volume just a bit. So the mods are worth it if you plan on protecting a fairly expensive piece of technology.

You can operate the device, make calls, text, e-mail, surf, scroll, facebook or whatever you want with this case and your phone will still look new. I love my case and it has kept my storm looking better than anyone else's that I know that doesn't use one when I do clean up for shows and take my phone with me "naked" in it's pretty little leather case.

Good luck with yours and I know I'm not exactly phone to phone specific with your model but the people at OtterBox seem to put a lot of design and close tolerances with their products so I do not think you will be disappointed.

Regards,
Mike

[DolfanCole#CB]

Does the Otterbox Defender case cover the entire phone? Does it protect the screen as well as the keypad?

Yes. My understanding is that there's a hard plastic clear cover for the screen, and the "form-fitted" soft plastic cover for the keypad.

[Eltaco71]

Shouldn't be a need to strip the box off

I think Alt + R-Shift + Del will reboot the phone similar to a battery pull.

[wth1973]

Thanks mike that was some great info I too have been look at the otter box

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[valorfive]

I've also read about people complaining how "bulky" the phone becomes and it has been described as "a tank". Do people find that bulky and is it still possible to fit into a pocket?

[Grafixx01#AC]

Yes. My understanding is that there's a hard plastic clear cover for the screen, and the "form-fitted" soft plastic cover for the keypad.

There is no actual hard-plastic that covers the screen. It's just a soft plastic membrane that they make for the cover. It still works and I swear by the OtterBox. I've had 3 already, one of which is close to 4 years old and it's still going strong. The ONLY thing that I've noticed is that if you continually take the device apart, the soft rubber will eventually stretch out.

Shouldn't be a need to strip the box off

I think Alt + R-Shift + Del will reboot the phone similar to a battery pull.

Yes it does, but its kind of like a 'quick fix'. Pulling out the battery at least once a week will still fix some issues that a soft reset won't.

Look, my personal opinion, if you have the money, get the OtterBox. They are the best protection for the BlackBerry, and really anything, that you can get. The company is EXCELLENT in working with their customers for exchanges and everything. I've broken the belt clip, they sent a new one 2nd day air to me at no charge, which means to me, they want customers coming back rather than trying to get a different case for their device. I'm sure I could do the same with the soft rubber but its a device that is going to my daughter so I'm not too worried.

The difference between the Defender and the Impact is this. The Defender has hard plastic and soft rubber which adds a fair amount of size to the phone but offers the greatest amount of protection to the device.

The Impact case is similar to a silicon skin but has more shock protection from dropping in the essential areas AND includes a clear membrane to put over your screen and keyboard. This is a case that could be for the users who do not want a big, bulky box on their hip. Its about 1/4" smaller in all directions than the standard Defender case so it should easily fit in your pocket, if that's where you carry your phone.

Mine will be here today, delievered UPS 2day Air. I'm going to put it on, take pictures, write a review and hopefully take a video of it being dropped down the stairs in my house.

Hopefully Kevin will let me or take it and post a blog on it so that people can see the great cases they make. But either way, I'll post the review here in the Tour forums.

[Grafixx01#AC]

I've also read about people complaining how "bulky" the phone becomes and it has been described as "a tank". Do people find that bulky and is it still possible to fit into a pocket?

It is bulky but YES, you can fit it in your pocket without the clip though. Unless you are wearing some really tight pants, you shouldn't have any problems.

[DrewDT]

I found for my Pearl ( I just switched to the Tour also) it did add some bulk but didn't prohibit me from placing it in my pocket. I would imagine it is the same for the tour unless you like to wear tight pants
One thing of note is although the Defender did protect my BB from numerous drops, it did not and will not protect you BB from sharp objects (i.e. keys, coins, etc.) in your pocket. If you carry it in your pocket, you are bound to scratch your screen at some point if you have those items in the same pocket. I am a little torn now whether to buy another Otterbox Defender or go with a case that has a flip top to protect the screen like Sena Cases.

[DolfanCole#CB]

There is no actual hard-plastic that covers the screen. It's just a soft plastic membrane that they make for the cover. It still works and I swear by the OtterBox. I've had 3 already, one of which is close to 4 years old and it's still going strong. The ONLY thing that I've noticed is that if you continually take the device apart, the soft rubber will eventually stretch out.

Thanks for the clarification! Mine is getting delivered on Monday. This will be my first OtterBox case. Can't wait! Also, looking forward to reviews, pictures, etc. when you get a chance.

[Grafixx01#AC]

I found for my Pearl ( I just switched to the Tour also) it did add some bulk but didn't prohibit me from placing it in my pocket. I would imagine it is the same for the tour unless you like to wear tight pants
One thing of note is although the Defender did protect my BB from numerous drops, it did not and will not protect you BB from sharp objects (i.e. keys, coins, etc.) in your pocket. If you carry it in your pocket, you are bound to scratch your screen at some point if you have those items in the same pocket. I am a little torn now whether to buy another Otterbox Defender or go with a case that has a flip top to protect the screen like Sena Cases.

If you put the plastic membrane over the screen and keyboard it will scratch that instead of your screen.

Then again, people, be a little smart. If your phone is so important to you, which we all know it is, then don't put your keys or sharp objects in the same pocket. Put them in with your wallet or something. It's not that difficult to figure that one out.

[Grafixx01#AC]

Thanks for the clarification! Mine is getting delivered on Monday. This will be my first OtterBox case. Can't wait! Also, looking forward to reviews, pictures, etc. when you get a chance.

No problem. I'll try to make it as in-depth as possible with as many pictures as possible.

[jeepzilla]

i want one!

[redneck6497]

The plastic case that Verizon sells is quite nice and protective, AND it fits in the case!

[redneck6497]

BTW...I purchased the clear plastic

[stb10115]

does anyone know how the otterboxes compare to the seidio innocases? thanks.

[marctronixx]

does the phone go to sleep in the otterbox?

[wolfee48]

I have the defender series Otterbox. I highly recommend it. I'm a firefighter and the case has been put through some abuse and keeps my BB safe.

When you put the phone in the holster, it goes into standby mode. Everything alert is functional as long as you doubel check and edit your profiles accordingly.