Commuter Case for Samsung Galaxy Note II

SHORTER VERSION: Pros: 1. Strong, ridgid, stays put; fits device form perfectly 2. Relatively easy to put on device 3. Port covers stay shut like they should 4. Rubber button-extensions work well (improved design: the buttons no longer have to be matched through the holes of the polycarbonate part of the case) 5. Stylus is still easily accessible 6. Corugated/Ridged design in back of polycarbonate for grip (see also: Cons) 7. Nice touch: Black plastic ring around the inner edge of the hole for the camera helps prevent light reflection that may otherwise washout photos 8. Nice touch: Ridge around loudspeaker hole is slightly raised to prevent muting the sound when lying back-down Cons: A. Nail-biters will have a hard time with the headphone port cover (less so with the USB port cover) B. Adds a fair bit of bulk to the already-large phone (though not as much as a Defender) C. Case may actually be _more_ slippery than the device itself (if, like me, your hands are normally quite dry) D. Stiffer silicone (than previous OBCs) provides less deformity, but may provide less shock/drop protection E. USB port hole is too small for some devices (namely the Samsung MHL adapter) F. Silicone inner edge may bump larger thumbs into contacting the digitizer (touchscreen) while pressing Home button LONGER VERSION: I'm basically going to expand on each of the points above, in order. 1. I've had a few OtterBox and Trident Aegis cases in the past for my devices, and they've been steadily improving in terms of their rigidity and ability to stay in place on the device. I had an OB Commuter on my Evo 4G that had a fairly flimsy silicone sleeve - the charging port cover would randomly fall open and such. The Trident Aegis I had on my Epic 4G Touch was better; the charging port stayed shut properly, and the silicone sleeve had enough suppleness to absorb a decent impact. This OtterBox Commuter is even more rigid - there's no threat of the port covers coming open on their own at all. My only concern is that the silicone may be too stiff to properly absorb an impact. On the plus side, the silicone sleeve is formed perfectly - there's no extra space anywhere between it and the device. 2. My OBC for my Evo and the TA for my Epic Touch both popped on the devices relatively easily as long as you had a system down. For this particular OBC, you don't need a system - put the device in the sleeve, and the shell over the sleeve. Done. Because the silicone buttons are "exposed" and don't need to be aligned with a hole in the polycarbonate shell, it's much easier to put the case together on the device, but without it freely popping off. 3. See #1. 4. The silicone buttons are a bit stiff - you kinda have to work at them to press the buttons until you get used to it. But I don't view this as a bad thing. The stiffness keeps them properly aligned with the keys on the devices, and prevents your pocket from having fun with your phone. 5. Plenty of space is left around the stylus area so as to not make it difficult to remove. Even a nail-biter (like myself) can still get in and easily remove the stylus. 6. The corrugated grip on the back is a nice touch. The plastic shell is pretty slippery on its own, so this feature is a must-have. The darn phone would be like holding a slab of ice otherwise. 7. People complained about the white version of the iPhone 4 taking too long to be released. The reason it took them so long, was that they were trying to find a way to keep the white around the rear camera from affecting the performance of it, since the white reflected more light into the lens. To avoid that being an issue with this case, the inner edge of the plastic surrounding the rear camera of the device has been colored black. Though this probably isn't the first case to have that extra bit of thought put in, it's still a nice touch. 8. You'll notice there's a slight ridge around the speaker port, but not the camera port. As far as I can tell, this is to help prevent whatever surface your phone is resting on from muting the sound. Again, another nice touch. Cons: A. Shorter nails will still be able to open the charging port cover relatively easily, provided you DO have a little nail edge left (I've known some people that obliterate their finger nails and would never be able to open it). The headphone port cover will provide those with shorter nails a more difficult time of opening it. B. The phone is already pretty large for most people. When I first held it, I thought it was huge. A day later, this case showed up and I put it on the device. Every so often, I take it off so I can see what the phone is like without it. The phone feels almost tiny at that point, which is a weird feeling (holding my Epic Touch, a 4.6" screen, feels like holding a baby's toy at this point). The OBC case will make an already huge phone even larger, but again, it's something you'll get used to so long as you have relatively large hands. If you buy gloves that are at _least_ Large, you'll be okay with the phone and should be with the device itself. If you buy your gloves in XL (as I do), you'll do fine with the phone and case. C. I'm not a lotion-user, and I work in retail. My hands are normally really dry, and the plastic shell of this case does not get along well with them. It really can be quite slippery. One way to change that: paint the plastic part. I used a metallic blue Testors-brand spray enamel paint on the plastic shell of my Trident Aegis case for my Epic 4G Touch. Used it like that for at least nine months without it wearing off at all, and it improved the feel of that case. I intend to do the same with this one once the weather warms up (I live in Minnesota). Bonus: Get this white one if you want to change the color of your case. My Trident case was black, and while you could see the blue, it wasn't as vibrant as it should've been. D. Basically, see #1 of the Pros list explanation. E. I purchased two accessories for use with my Galaxy Note II - the Samsung MHL Adapter, and the Samsung USB Host Adapter. I also have a variety of chargers around the apartment (probably four or five different ones, with different plug styles and shapes). All of my chargers fit without a problem, and the USB Host Adapter fits, but the MHL one does not. If you're planning to use the MHL adapter with the device, be ready to take off this case each time you do. F. The silicone sleeve maintains the same ridge around the inner edge on the front of the device. I've found, in some situations, this ridge kind of pushes my thumb in further towards the touch surface of the screen when I'm trying to press the home key. This occasionally results in unintended input on the screen. Doesn't happen all the time for me, but often enough that I've taken note of it, and you might, too.