I originally bought my HTC Evo at Best Buy and decided to just go with a "starter kit" they had there (case, screen protector, charger). The case it came with was a Pt brand case (which is apparently a rebranded Seidio Innocase II). It was a simple 2 peice slip-on hard case that had the generic open holes on the back for the camera/flash/mic and on the top and bottom, etc.
Ok so I have heard a lot of the guys I work with who are iPhone owners say how much they love their Otterbox Defenders...which made me wonder if they made Otterbox cases for the Evo. Long story short I ordered the Commuter from Amazon for $29 which seemed like a pretty fair price.
I wanted a case that would "seal" the phone and cover areas I felt would be vulnerable to dust and debris (like the connections on the bottom, volume rockers, etc.) and the Commuter's silicone was an answer for that.
Ok so after about a month or so of using this case here is my .02:
I went back to my Pt case thingy and am now looking for a new case...
Here's why:
The silicone lining it comes with *does* cover everything like you'd want it to but it isn't "sealed" by any means. I completely took my cover off 2-3 times during the time I had it on the phone and each time there was a thick coating of dust on the top and sides of the phone. The hard plastic fits over the silicone well, but the bottom flap is a pain to keep "shut", as it catches on things and pops open very easly. Also, there's a VERY thin piece of silicon running along the bottom of the phone where it meets the hard plastic, and if you go to clean your screen with a cloth or something and you hit that thin piece...it pulls away from the phone very easy. Just over the short month I had this case that thin piece stretched out and stopped fitting snugly.
Also, all of the silicone caught dust and debris like nobody's business, and was a pain to keep looking nice. Overall I was very disappointed in this case and have gone back to the one I got originally until I can find another case that does a better job. I will say that the one time I did drop my phone while using the Commuter...it did a good job of protecting it. It put a "ding" in the case but the phone was undamaged.
Anywho...if anybody has a tip for a good quality case that seals the phone, button, etc. and doesn't just have open holes for the camera and such...let me know