which Case/skin do you use?

[johnriii]

I've had my Tbolt for a month, and intially, I thought the Trident Cyclops case was so cool, so I purchased one for myself and the wife. however, it adds serious bulk to an already not small device, and in/out of pocket action is quite the chore. so now I'm on the hunt for a smaller case that doesn't add too much bulk. any ideas?

 

[Unobtanium]

I am hard on phones, and wear them on a belt clip case. I won't wear them in my pockets normally. My work Blackberry is in an Otterbox case. For my TB, I had a Seidio convert, but the latch broke about 4 months in. Seidio did PM me about a warranty claim, but I also now have an extended battery, and currently use the Verizon Extended case, but it does not protect the corners enough for my tastes. I am leaning toward the Trident Electra, because it comes with an extended battery and a replacement back, so you can use the built-in kickstand.

For what you are talking about, I would look either at the stock VZW case, or if you want more corner protection, the Seidio Surface line.

 

[pingplayer01]

I've had my Tbolt for a month, and intially, I thought the Trident Cyclops case was so cool, so I purchased one for myself and the wife. however, it adds serious bulk to an already not small device, and in/out of pocket action is quite the chore. so now I'm on the hunt for a smaller case that doesn't add too much bulk. any ideas?

I use a Seidio Active case. It only adds 2.2 mm of thickness to the phone and still has the dual pieces like the Otterbock, but none of the bulk. It comes in a few different colors too. Best case I have ever had for my TB. seidioonline.com

 

[HiPower]

I've tried the oem silicone, Ringke, and OEM TPU and finally settled on the OEM TPU. Good grip, easy to remove from the pocket. The cover is easy to remove for use in the cradle, and car dock. Best of all, its less than $10 shipped.

 

[FrankXS]

I'm a minimalist when it comes to cases. Just enough to protect the edges from dings/bangs and a reasonable amount of drop protection, but with access to all ports on the phone. I've been using THIS ONE for over 6 months and I'm very happy with it. And I bought it when it was around $20, not $3 . It fits with either standard or extended battery. I like that because I have both. HERE'S another option for the Extended Battery only.

-Frank

 

[johnriii]

I went back to my Trident cyclops last night, until I can find a suitable/smaller replacement. don't get me wrong, the cyclops is a very protective case, and looks nice, but it's just too large. several of your ideas are worth looking into, thanks a lot!

 

[bjboucher]

Seidio Active should do what you want. It protects like a hard case but only adds the bulk of a soft case.

Order it from Amazon though, its like $35 from Seidio website and only $20 when I ordered mine a month or so ago from Amazon.

 

[DocFreud]

I am also looking for a case for my TB with extended battery an stumbled upon this TPU case from Trexcell. Anybody have any experience with Trexcell?

 

[FrankXS]

I am also looking for a case for my TB with extended battery an stumbled upon this TPU case from Trexcell. Anybody have any experience with Trexcell?

If you look at your phone from the back, on the top left, there are two tiny holes. My case has a cutout for these two holes. According to the pictures, the case you linked to does not. Not sure of the significance of that. My guess is ambient noise sensor or light sensor. Or, an antenna (this phone has 6 or 7 antennas ).

Mine...

The TPU Case...

-Frank

 

[DocFreud]

Thanks for pointing that out. The extended battery cover on my phone does not have those two holes and I can't remember if the cover for the standard battery has them. I wonder why some extended battery covers have the holes and others don't.

 

[bjboucher]

If you look at your phone from the back, on the top left, there are two tiny holes. My case has a cutout for these two holes. According to the pictures, the case you linked to does not. Not sure of the significance of that. My guess is ambient noise sensor or light sensor. Or, an antenna (this phone has 6 or 7 antennas ).

-Frank

The Seidio Active Extended case doesnt have that hole in it above the camera either. I used that case for about 6 months before I switched to the rezound battery. I now have the regular Seidio Active case with the hole above the camera and I haven't noticed any kind of difference. Not sure what those 2 little hole are for???

 

[808TBolt]

i'm using the Otterbox Defender

 

[FrankXS]

Thanks for pointing that out. The extended battery cover on my phone does not have those two holes and I can't remember if the cover for the standard battery has them. I wonder why some extended battery covers have the holes and others don't.

Okay, I have both standard and extended. I just looked at the back of the standard and the extended side by side. These holes appear to be no more than simply antenna contact mounting nipples produced by mounting the antenna contacts inside the standard case. The extended case uses a different method to mount the contacts and does not have these two holes!

I don't think you have to worry about 'em one way or another.

-Frank

 

[droid77]

I've had my Tbolt for a month, and intially, I thought the Trident Cyclops case was so cool, so I purchased one for myself and the wife. however, it adds serious bulk to an already not small device, and in/out of pocket action is quite the chore. so now I'm on the hunt for a smaller case that doesn't add too much bulk. any ideas?

I like the Trident Aegis and the Seidio Active cases.

 

[johnriii]

I like the Trident Aegis and the Seidio Active cases.

the Aegis is a bit smaller than the cyclops, I've been looking to find one locally...but no luck yet. might be cheaper to ebay or amazon it anyway.

 

[DocFreud]

Okay, I have both standard and extended. I just looked at the back of the standard and the extended side by side. These holes appear to be no more than simply antenna contact mounting nipples produced by mounting the antenna contacts inside the standard case. The extended case uses a different method to mount the contacts and does not have these two holes!

I don't think you have to worry about 'em one way or another.

-Frank

Thanks for double-checking the battery covers. I'll probably get Trexcell from Amazon. It's only about $10.

 

[tmijares95]

the Aegis is a bit smaller than the cyclops, I've been looking to find one locally...but no luck yet. might be cheaper to ebay or amazon it anyway.

I Just Bought Mine (Aegis) AtThe Actual Site Tridentcase.com
For 20 Bucks With Free Shipping
Use Holiday2011 As The Coupon Code Which Gives You 25% off And Free 2 day Shipping

 

[DocFreud]

I received the Trexcell yesterday. It was $9 shipped. Anyway, I really like it. It's flexible and doesn't seem to add a lot of bulk. Since this is my first case, I don't have much to compare with. It fits really well.

BUT... There's always a but. The hole for the USB port is too perfect. The hole in the case seems to be flush with the hole for the USB port. The USB plug is not able to fit all the way into the port. The prongs on the plug don't catch the inside of the port. As a sad result, the plug easily falls out of the port I have to remove the case every time I want to charge my phone. :'(

Unless this is normal for most cases, I'll probably return the Trexcell and keep looking.

 

[FrankXS]

Unless this is normal for most cases, I'll probably return the Trexcell and keep looking.

No, not normal. My case has plenty of leeway allowing for the potential of a bigger USB connector plastic base. Sorry for your inconvenience, but thanks for coming back and sharing this info. Hopefully it will help someone else considering that case.

[THIS] is the exact case I have. You can see by the pics in the larger view that the USB slot is plenty big enough. I was wrong in an earlier post when I provided a link to what I thought was my case. Turns out that other case is silicone and dull finished, not shiny hard rubber like this one. If you have any misgivings about the fact that this case does not cover the extended part of the back, don't worry. I've been using mine for about 10 months with nary a scratch on the back. For whatever reason, the back cover seems pretty much unscratchable. And... even it you did, VZW sells 'em for around $9.99 anyway. No big deal.

-Frank

 

[DocFreud]

No, not normal. My case has plenty of leeway allowing for the potential of a bigger USB connector plastic base. Sorry for your inconvenience, but thanks for coming back and sharing this info. Hopefully it will help someone else considering that case.
-Frank

I didn't think that was normal. Other than the hole for the USB port being too small, I really liked it. Thanks for providing the link to the one you have. I'll get that one.