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[Case][Review] TPU-Cases Matte back black

cds0699

Android Expert
May 22, 2010
1,545
347
Shenandoah Jct WV
This is a review of a case made by TPU-cases.com of their Matte back black case.

TPU-cases.com: http://tpu-cases.com/index.php?main_...roducts_id=147

1st impression:

I received the case prior to getting my Epic 4G Touch, and after opening it up and taking a brief look, I was rather impressed by the case. The materials used are good quality and it looks well made. Initially I did notice that the surface of the case is a little slippery, but its nothing too bad. Overall I had a very good 1st impression of the case.

There was a screen protector included but I fail pretty badly trying to put those on. I normally don't use a screen protector on my phones, but I wanted to give it a try for the sake of review purposes and I was unable to get it installed correctly. This may be user error, but it looks like it may be a combo of an error of mine and the screen protector... it was addressed here by the owner of TPU-cases, OneStepAhead.

After I got the phone:

I received my Epic 4G Touch at 10am on the 16th, launch day. After getting everything set up and activated through Sprint, I installed the case before leaving the store. I was very impressed at how well the case fit, it was a perfect fit. Installation was very easy as well, I had zero trouble getting the case on properly.

One thing I noticed about the phone is that the camera on the back was going to come in contact with whatever surface you lay the phone on. I noticed that right away and was instantly hoping the case would solve that issue, and it did. When you install the case, it sets the camera back in a little so that the lens of the camera doesn't make contact with the surface, which I loved. Also on the front of the phone, the case provides a small lip around the whole phone, which provides a little protection for your screen if you were to set it on a table with the screen down. Overall this helps protect your phone and TPU-cases did a good job.

When I was trying to decide on getting a case for this phone, I was worried about the case taking away the benefit of the thinness of the device, which was a main selling point of the phone for me. I was pleasantly surprised that this case doesn't add much thickness at all, its only very minor and it still preserves the overall slim profile of the device, which is great.

I was also wondering about use of the ports and buttons on the phone with the case being there. The headphone jack, power button, micro usb port, and microphone are all easily accessible and unaffected. I did plug a Samsung headphone into the 3.5mm headphone jack without a problem. The power button is easy to press and is uncovered. There is no problem plugging the micro usb in to charge... the speaker and microphone is uncovered as well.

The only small downside to this case is the volume rocker. When I press the volume rocker to adjust the volume, you definitely have to press it a little harder than normal, and there is a cover over top of the buttons. You can still control the volume, it just is not as easy as I would like it to be. This is not anything that is going to stop me from purchasing the case, and as a whole it's pretty minor to me.

Pictures:

I took 4 pictures to hopefully show the points I've made in this review for you all. I apologize is the quality of the pictures isn't great, it was taken with another cell phone camera as I was taking pictures of the new phone. If anyone would like additional pictures of the case I'd be happy to take them.

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Conclusion:

As a whole, this case I got from TPU-cases.com is great, and I'd highly recommend taking a look. The value you get for a very small price is awesome and I will be buying more cases from them (I like to change cases from time to time). Thank you TPU-cases for providing a great product. I give TPU-cases a 9/10 and the only point taken away is for the volume rocker.

If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer.
 
How fast does TPU-cases.com ship? I ordered this case yesterday in the matte smoke since the matte black is out of stock. (I don't like gloss cases.) I got my phone today so I am really hoping to get this case fast! My first Touch Pro 2 got dropped in a parking lot and dinged up the very 1st day I had it. I am very hard on phones!

Mine got here pretty quickly, I think it took 2 days?
 
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I just got mine as well and I guess I'm not as pleased as everyone else. Its a bit longer on each side so that the bottom corners of the case aren't flush with the corners of the phone. If you press up on the corner, the side bows out a bit. Other than that I like the matte feel. I hope it shrinks down a little.
 
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