Thinnest TPU case you know of...

**James Changstein** · 12-26-2012, 01:10 PM

I couldn't find a definitive answer from my search.. hence the post here...

I enjoyed my Mobi TPU case for my Samsung Galaxy S3, love the "grippy surface" but am not too fond of its thick wall ..

I bought another super slim case but only to find it closer to being hard plastic, making it rather slippery to hold. I have dropped my phone a couple of times with that case and had to come back to the Mobi TPU.

Does anyone know of a very, very thin TPU case (compared to the Mobi case) offering a good gripping surface for the Galaxy S3? I know the OEM Samsung case is ideal but it looks to have the same hard-plastic, slippery surface to me.

Your input is greatly appreciated...

cheers,

James

**Rockbeast** · 12-27-2012, 02:12 PM

I too would be interested in this. I have ordered a Samsung modded back with a Touchstone (think Palm, webOS) coil for wireless charging on the Palm Touchstone (of which I have 3). I would like to find a case that would allow the Touchstone to charge without taking it off. I will have 3 cases soon (Otterbox Defender, which will be too thick for sure) to test and see, but none of them are TPU...at least not yet!

**kloos** · 12-30-2012, 07:32 AM

The Incipio NGP is only 1.2mm thick. I highly recommend it.

**James Changstein** · 12-30-2012, 04:33 PM

Thanks for the link - do you know if the case is slippery? One of the issues I encountered with other slim TPU cases is that they felt like ordinary plastic, and the matted surface actually made it slippery... I dropped my phone on one of those cases...

cheers,

**kloos** · 12-30-2012, 07:23 PM

Much less slippery than the glossy battery door. Doesn't feel like ordinary plastic--there's a little give and grip. But it's also not as grippy as rubber or silicone.

**James Changstein** · 12-30-2012, 07:33 PM

Thanks for the input... Will look into it.. Cheers

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

**meyerweb** · 12-31-2012, 03:31 PM

i got this case: Amazon.com: BoxWave Arctic Frost Samsung i9300 Galaxy S3 Crystal Slip - Colorful Slim Fit Frosted Samsung Galaxy S3 TPU Gel Skin Case for Durable Anti-Slip Protection - Samsung Galaxy S3 Cases and Covers (Frosted Clear): Cell Phones & Accessories

Can't compare to any others, but it seems quite thin to me, and it's much grippier than the phone itself. It's available in other colors, too.

**russraff32** · 01-05-2013, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by Rockbeast

I too would be interested in this. I have ordered a Samsung modded back with a Touchstone (think Palm, webOS) coil for wireless charging on the Palm Touchstone (of which I have 3). I would like to find a case that would allow the Touchstone to charge without taking it off. I will have 3 cases soon (Otterbox Defender, which will be too thick for sure) to test and see, but none of them are TPU...at least not yet!

Hi

Sorry - just saw this now.

I've been using the Ringke Slim cases with my Touchstone-enable back cover. I also just posted some more details about magnets & things - my phone is charging just fine on the touchstone through the Ringke cases. Enjoying the phone almost as much as I did my Pre's (!).

russ

**Rockbeast** · 01-08-2013, 10:09 PM

Nice case, that Ringke. I might have to try it out too! I'll wait and see what the other two cases do on the touchstone...of course, I need to get the touchstone back first, that is due by the 15th...the other two cases might take as long as February 10th.

**Rockbeast** · 01-09-2013, 08:14 AM

I just got my Galaxy S3 Tochstone capable back! I installed it and it works on my touchstone. I'm very excited. It does not work with the Otterbox Defender inner case only. I took off the rubber outer case and tried with just the inner hard case. If I pressed down on the S3 the wireless charging dialog box would pop up but then disappear immediately...then on, then off...so no dice there. The S3 back is a little rounded, so it doesn't sit as snugly on the touchstone as did my Pre+ or Pre2. But those backs were of the 'grippy' feel, and probably a little flatter. I recall that people with Pre3 phones said it didn't sit as well on the old style touchstone puck as the earlier (Pre though Pre2) models...some even put some foam tape or some material along the side edges of the puck to create a more cradling effect.

Well, I will report back when I have another case to try out with the Touchstone.

**Rockbeast** · 01-15-2013, 04:51 PM

I got the other two cases a few days early, and posted about them on this thread
Wireless Charging on S3
Post number 18 if you are interested.

Since these didn't work with the Touchstone, I might try the Incipio case Roos mentioned, and the Ringke case RussRaff32 mentioned...or I might have a donut....dooohhhnnnuuuttt.

**eugino** · 01-30-2013, 01:41 AM

Didn't compare to many others, but this one from dsstyles is quite thin to my satisfaction. You can go to have a look.

**Ticojpunk** · 02-02-2013, 11:43 AM

Kay's Case Slim soft case on Amazon is pretty slim. And in true TPU fashion it sticks to your palm/fingers really well. Buttons are nice as well, not hard to press like some I've tried.

**jiwengang** · 02-10-2013, 10:44 PM

I came across. I thought this is the slimmest... and it came with a free screen protector and a mini stylus too for only 5.99 (I bought the black one... if you buy blue one, it is only 3.99 for all of those goodies....)

**xKrNMBoYx** · 02-19-2013, 11:20 PM

I thought samsung's oem case were the thinnest. not sure if they are tpu.

**AnAndroidDroid** · 03-09-2013, 03:50 PM

Not sure exactly what TPU is (google image search seems to suggest silicone maybe), but I use Elago G5 slim case on mine. It's very similar to the Incipio case that was mentioned earlier in the thread. The material has rubbery texture, maybe rubberized plastic. There is some grip, but obviously not as much as silicone, though it is very thin, in fact, the thinnest I ever came across (other than Samsung flip case that replaces the battery cover, ofc). I picked the Elago over Incipio just because the cutouts on the back (for camera, flash, speaker) was much more aesthetically pleasing (and probably offers more protection).

Elago lists for 25, but you can find the same model on Amazon for under 10 dollars I believe. I went with black, but a ton of colours, and they have "breathe" cases as well.

That's a very good video review that helped me make my decision.

**Rockbeast** · 06-06-2013, 10:55 AM

Well I thought I would revisit this thread to mention a new case I got that is the best I've tried so far at being somewhat useable with my Palm Touchstone induction charger.

I got the black one and is very nice. Very slim, decent grip (not too gummy, not too hard), slides in and out of pocket reasonably well. It goes on easy and comes off easy. I've had it for about 3 weeks and it is my favorite case so far. The Otterbox Defender (OBD) gives more protection, but is very bulky and the buttons are harder to press...also, the OBD has it's own built in screen protector (glossy) that I don't like and reduces the touch sensitivity of the screen.

So the big news is that with the ZooGue case I can set my phone on the touchstone and get a charge! This is one of the main things I wanted to try and achieve. It isn't perfect...it takes precise placement, and sometimes a "bumper" to keep the phone from slipping off the sloped Touchstone surface (the magnetic grip is not enough to always keep the phone securely snug on the Touchstone).

I expect I will someday move to the Qi charging system, there is a charging coil you can buy to put inside the S3 battery cover that works with the Qi chargers. From what I've read, the distance between the coils (the one in the phone and the one in the charger) for the Qi standard can be up to 5mm, while for the Touchstone standard it is only 3mm, so if I can often get a charge through this case on the Touchstone, I'll bet it will be even better with the Qi...and maybe other cases will work on the Qi style...I hope.