@ibill1 the back cover is self explanatory... it adds back surface protection against rough surfaces from scrapes, scratches etc... personally i dont like "full" coverage cases... i had an otterbox on my old photon for almost 2 years and the screen protection it offered while mediocre at best was annoying.. it wasnt true to form in the sense that i found myself constantly pulling the case apart to dust and clean the phone screen from dirt and dust buildup.
Im very intrigued by these tempered glass screen shields ive been hearing about on here... so the setup im looking for is a minimalist case that offers some sort of good shock absortion protection and then a tempered glass shield for the front for fingerprinting, scratches and dust.
But obviously if your phone is constantly exposed to a rough and tumble, hazardous lifestyle then a more premium protection such as an otterbox is def the way to go.
Im ultimately hoping lifeproof cases makes something for us as that seems to be the happy medium between premium protection and minimalism.