Best case for note 2?

Thomas S · Feb 20, 2013

ceva321 said:
i think my case is perfect

.

Me too! I got that same case from the local Verizon store when I bought my phone. I love how thin it is and the texture gives you a good grip on the phone. Plus the kickstand built-in is nice.

dpeagle · Feb 22, 2013

for those out there that lust after the Sweet Armor billet aluminum case but like me refused to pay almost $80usd plus shipping , good news. Sweet Armor is currently having a 30% off sale sitewide. that has the GN2 case going for between $49 and $54usd plus $7 for usa shipping. (Sweet armor gNote2 - Samsung galaxy note2 | premium aluminum metal bumper case - Sweet armor | Premium Aluminum Bumper - Samsung Galaxy Series, iPhone 5 and Accessories) you tube assembly vid (Sweet Armor Case Galaxy Note 2 - YouTube).

twister6 · Feb 22, 2013

dpeagle said:
for those out there that lust after the Sweet Armor billet aluminum case but like me refused to pay almost $80usd plus shipping , good news. Sweet Armor is currently having a 30% off sale sitewide. that has the GN2 case going for between $49 and $54usd plus $7 for usa shipping. (Sweet armor gNote2 - Samsung galaxy note2 | premium aluminum metal bumper case - Sweet armor | Premium Aluminum Bumper - Samsung Galaxy Series, iPhone 5 and Accessories) you tube assembly vid (Sweet Armor Case Galaxy Note 2 - YouTube).

Those are definitely unique, but I personally never understood level of protection of having aluminum bumper without any inner layer cushion (if I'm not mistaken with these cases?). TPU, plastic, rubber, silicon will absorb the shock, while metal bumper like this will transfer the shock and because you are adding more weight and making it slick to hold - more chances to drop it? Plus, you lose on average (if not at least) a bar of antenna power due to signal blocking.

dpeagle · Feb 22, 2013

i do believe at the corners it is supported by either foam or rubber to absorb impact. i was concerned about possible signal loss but they advertise that this design does not mess with the signal, and in watching that you tube video it appears this individual did not see any change in signal strength. i will have one in a couple of weeks so i will report back.

dpeagle · Feb 22, 2013

UPDATE: i could be wrong but i don't see rubber in the corners in that you tube video. it appears they have cut clearance for the device at the corners and let the sides top and bottom actually support the phone. this design is very clever as a corner strike on the ground by the phone is most often the cause of shattering screens. with this design it appears the corners in a drop would not take the impact. the impact of a corner strike would be transferd to the sides top and bottom.

Johnny Doomzday · Feb 22, 2013

I just got my Urban Armor gear case in today and its sooooo beast.

It fits perfectly and its light yet makes the Note feel so sturdy and secure.

I also have the flip Samsung case i bought from verizon in titanium Grey but will prolly just use it when i go to like church or dinner.

This UAG case is gonna be my street case.

Oh i have the black one cuz my phone is grey.

twister6 · Feb 23, 2013

dpeagle said:
UPDATE: i could be wrong but i don't see rubber in the corners in that you tube video. it appears they have cut clearance for the device at the corners and let the sides top and bottom actually support the phone. this design is very clever as a corner strike on the ground by the phone is most often the cause of shattering screens. with this design it appears the corners in a drop would not take the impact. the impact of a corner strike would be transferd to the sides top and bottom.

I didn't see any rubber lining either, that's why I made that comment. Are you getting one of these?

twister6 · Feb 23, 2013

I discovered a new place for N2 accessories

At least from pictures on their website look like a quality knock-offs. Just ordered and should have it in 20 days. Will review once I get it, although I'm not holding my breath it will be of any high quality

Otterbox Defender knock off: http://www.tvc-mall.com/details/Ott...te-2-II-N7100-White-Grey-Black-MHC-N7100-93C/

Griffin Survivor knock off (and they didn't even release this case for Note 2 yet!!!): Wholesale Survivor Military Duty Belt Clip Case for Samsung Galaxy Note 2 / II N7100 - Black / Grey - Samsung Hard Cases

Both supposed to have built-in plastic screen protectors, and I will laugh my arse off if these knock off actually got the design to work better than Defender

dpeagle · Feb 24, 2013

twister6 said:
I didn't see any rubber lining either, that's why I made that comment. Are you getting one of these?

yes, it has been shipped so i should have it in a couple of weeks. i will give my impression then. if you watch that you tube video you cant see a rubber lining but the reviewer specifically says it is rubber lined. we shall see.

drexappeal · Feb 25, 2013

Okay, so my update on the extra battery case is that it charges the phone battery to around 70 percent without heavy activity. That's not bad at all and works perfect when I anticipate being out and not near a charger. Worth the 20 bux I spent

Posted from my G-Note II.

twister6 · Feb 25, 2013

Charges to 70% starting from what %? Do you know approximate how long does it takes to reach that level?

hanbalfrek · Feb 27, 2013

Hey twister6,

Thanks for all the in-depth reviews.

With the various brands out there, you've helped me narrow down to 3 cases.

I hope with a more direct question you can guide me to one (since you seem to have all 3)

As the Note 2 is already a massive phone, I do not want an even more massive case as I still want it to be pocketable.

That said, I've read numerous posts about how fragile this phone is.

Between the three I'm listing below, which will have the best size to protection ratio?

I guess if you answer they're all about the same size, it comes down to which offers the most protection.
Or if protection is about the same, which one is least bulky.

The three are:
UAG
Aegis
Case Mate Tough

Thanks again for the great reviews!

twister6 · Feb 27, 2013

Good question. In addition to this AF forum, I also post in XDA (under "vectron") forum and been asked exactly the same question many times already. I even promised to do a Face OFF between all three cases lol!!!

Here is a comparison, left (best) to right (worst):

Drop protection: UAG > Aegis > Tough
Slim form factor: Tough < UAG = Aegis (last two tie)
Comfortable to hold: Aegis > Tough > UAG
Cool looking (subjective): UAG > Tough > Aegis
Quality: Tough > UAG > Aegis

With all that said, a lot of it is a matter of a personal opinion, of course. All 3 are great cases, but nothing is perfect and each one has it's positive and negative sides, and even those might be different depending on your taste.

I personally didn't get these cases because I will be changing them depending on my mood. I honestly got all of them so I can review and post it on-line to share with you guys. I also have Ballistic and Seidio coming my way for review in a week.

Hopefully I didn't confuse you more, and you and everybody else reading this find it useful. If you are really breaking your head over which one to get, at least narrow down to two, get it from Amazon and test it out to see which one is a keeper.

drexappeal · Feb 27, 2013

twister6 said:
Charges to 70% starting from what %? Do you know approximate how long does it takes to reach that level?

Oops...sorry, should've mentioned that. It was starting at 5%. Took a while to get to that point, but the good news is that, you can still use the phone doing normal functions (text, phone, etc.) without worrying about it draining the battery.

Playing a game definitely continued to drain the battery, even while the charging function was on. I'd imagine it'd be the same situation with watching a movie. Not sure about playing music (if the screen is off).

chrissyd · Feb 28, 2013

jack58 said:
I had the flip cover on my Note I & Note II until one day it fell out of my pocket and put some scratches on the chrome bezel on the corner.
The flip looks great and does protect the screen, but does NOT protect the rest of the phone, especially the chrome around the outer edge. That really ruined my day scratching it like that. So off came the flip and on went this rubber & plastic cover made by "Cube" I got at the local mall that protects it better. has a lip around the screen and I have a screen cover on it too. Look nice too!

Is there any retailers online that have this case listed? I'm slightly interested.

PyroSporker · Feb 28, 2013

chrissyd said:
[Pic]
Is there any retailers online that have this case listed? I'm slightly interested.

Thanks to Jack and MissDiva for the pics and info in their prior posts above and link below.
I asked them shortly after their posts about that case since I know someone that would like it. The best, easiest, link we ended up with was this one on ebay stores.ebay.com

twister6 · Feb 28, 2013

This case above maybe looks good, but its the worst out of all I have (black/white version in the picture with all of my cases here: http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-note-2/691846-uag-case.html#post5584367).

Silicon inner lining is thin and VERY stretchy, and will pull from every side where plastic shell is not holding it down. The case will not offer a good protection, plastic shell is not holding it securely, and will most likely separate if phone dropped on the ground. I'm not saying it offers zero protection, you might get lucky. Just my opinion since I handled all of them; it's just an eye candy of the plastic colored shell, but the case itself is junk.

OneGoodKnock · Mar 1, 2013

I initially bought the Otterbox Commuter, bought in white but really didn't like it. I then bought the official Samsung flip case, and the official Samsung Bumper (both cheap from Amazon) I have taken a craft knife to the edge of the bumper and cut a strip out of it to accommodate the flap of the flip case. I really like the setup.

twister6 · Mar 1, 2013

OneGoodKnock said:
I initially bought the Otterbox Commuter, bought in white but really didn't like it. I then bought the official Samsung flip case, and the official Samsung Bumper (both cheap from Amazon) I have taken a craft knife to the edge of the bumper and cut a strip out of it to accommodate the flap of the flip case. I really like the setup.

Now you get the best of both worlds, flip cover and bumper protection, although official Samsung Note 2 bumper Cover+ is a bit on a slippery side

Btw, you can enhance it even further by drilling a little hole to see notification light when cover is closed.

drexappeal · Mar 5, 2013

Even though I don't like using cases often, I recently felt how my co-worker's case was on his note 2, so I figured I'd give a slim case a shot. Even better, I found a place to do a custom case that didn't cost uber expensive:

http://www.artscow.com/photo-gifts/hardcase/samsung-galaxy-note-hardshell-case-1010

You can get Matte finish for 19.99, but I suggest getting a couple cases, so you can get free shipping. Luckily, I needed to get a gift for a co-worker (who just got the S3), so perfect timing.

Notetwo · Mar 6, 2013

Its all about the Otterbox Commuter along with a decent screen protector.

twister6 · Mar 6, 2013

Notetwo said:
Its all about the Otterbox Commuter along with a decent screen protector.

If it works for you - that's great! But actually, its all about choices with so many other great cases out there available for Note 2 where you no longer stuck with Commuter (bland) or Defender (huge design failure) and can personalize your experience of using one of the greatest phones at the current moment in style and with protection that equals and/or surpasses Otterbox

But at the end of the day, whatever gives you a piece of mind to protect your $700 investment - that's what you should go for. I lost a count of all the posts and people I read about or talked to (both AndroidForums and XDA Dev forums) where they went for the flashiest or slimmest solution and ended with something that works OK when you drop it at home on a carpet or hardwood floor, but then they stepped outside and it slipped from their pocket on a concrete and their case got separated during the drop, phone body got scratched/dinged, and/or glass got cracked - their heart stopped and thought flashed through their mind about not putting that other case with extra corner protection or bigger lip

hbrocks · Mar 6, 2013

I purchased the black UAG based on twister's post and pictures!
lil pricey but good quality and serves it's purpose well.

only glitch is for me is:
my one set of large headphones (that require a jack adapter) won't fit with the UAG case on.......not a deal breaker as I'm ok with removing phone from case when sittin at my work desk listening to music!

Thanks for the recommendation Twister! :thumb:

twister6 · Mar 6, 2013

hbrocks said:
I purchased the black UAG based on twister's post and pictures!
lil pricey but good quality and serves it's purpose well.

only glitch is for me is:
my one set of large headphones (that require a jack adapter) won't fit with the UAG case on.......not a deal breaker as I'm ok with removing phone from case when sittin at my work desk listening to music!

Thanks for the recommendation Twister! :thumb:

With every case I have now, UAG is still my case of choice

Plus, i even added Seidio CONVERT holster to it and seriously thinking about carrying it on belt clip once it gets warmer outside and winter jacket is off. Unlike Defender brick, this is probably the only combo of case/holster that will look cool

Regarding headphone opening, its huge to begin with, but there is a chance you might find a pair of quality cans with a connector that won't fit. Why don't you just dremel it bigger, or just take a tip of a sharp knife and scrape a layer off from inside of the opening? It's hard TPU, should be OK. Just be careful with a side facing the front of the phone since it's a bit thinner.

twister6 · Mar 6, 2013

I didn't want to make a double-post for this particular topic which I have already created over at XDA Dev forum (unfortunately, I have registered in there awhile ago under "vectron" and forgot about it, so now post under different names across two forums). But I thought you guys might find it useful and definitely would appreciate it considering it's not just something you see in the picture or take someone else word for it. I got both of these cases in my hands, and its identical to original Defender, while Survivor wasn't even released for N2 and they just made a scaled up copy based on S3 - but I can compare it to my original Survivor for iPod Touch and confirm the quality to be identical as well. Both cases are of a very impressive quality, and it will be almost next to impossible to tell Defender apart

So, enjoy the reading/review and as usual - a lot of pictures

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2174889

Best case for note 2?

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