Wednesday, August 25, 2010

N900 OtterBox - Hands on Review

Ever looked at your N900 and think "You know what this needs? It needs to be bigger!"

Yea... I didn't think so. I felt the same way, but I also knew that the $500.00 investment I had made in my N900 was worth protecting. Now, casing a sliding phone is not as easy as casing something that has no moving parts, such as an iPhone or the Nexus One. Because of this not all cases that are designed for the N900 are created equally, in fact prior to the OtterBox I had owned a soft rubber case for the N900 that was a very poor quality.

Thankfully the OtterBox was of a much higher caliber. Composed of two sturdy, hard plastic pieces the OtterBox clips firmly over the front and back of your N900.


The OtterBox has a good design to it. There are openings on either side of the casing so the speakers can be heard properly and the openings for the MicroUSB and 1/8in port are each covered by a rubber stopper. The latter of these two features is very useful if you are like myself and often leave your N900 rest in the cup holder of your car where condensation can build up. This water can leave rust damage over time on your hardware. The top part of the case also does not obscure the Nokia or N900 logos at the top of the screen


Over all the case does not lend that much more thickness to the phone and the small amount it does add I feel is well worth the extra protection the casing offers should my N900 take an unexpected tumble to the ground. There are only two minor draw backs to the case. First is if you use the kickstand on your N900 often the view angle is reduced by a fair amount due to the extra thickness.

Second, the hard plastic case around the 1/8in (audio/video out) port is kinda narrow. The default ear-buds that come with the N900 plug in just fine, but a fatter 1/8in connection does not fit (I often use my N900 for audio playback).

And finally - in case you hadn't picked one up yet, the OtterBox for the N900 also comes with a pair of screen protectors designed to fit the N900's screen. This way should you like to carry around your N900 in your pocket you don't have to worry about spare change or your keys damaging your hand held's screen. You can pick up an OtterBox designed for the N900 at the cost of $25.00 over on Amazon.com (More Amazon savings with these coupons). If you ask me the case is worth every penny, but in the end it is your device! So if you want to risk it taking a fall unprotected that is your choice ;)

~Jeff Hoogland

6 comments:

  1. Your phone is a very functional, very large brick.

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  2. Scott: This is not a phone, but an internet tablet (mini computer) with phone functionality built in.

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  3. Finally, a case that actually works?

    @Scott: I'm surprised you didn't call the iPad a mobile phone either XD

    I use my N900 as a netbook and have absolutely no regrets about buying it.

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  4. I wanted a n900, but was put off by the small screen - screen size on a smart phone is, for me, alfa omega.

    As soon as they make one with a 4 " screen, ill be on it like pepe le peu.
    I would imagine that there are many HTC users that would do the same.
    For now though I'm loving ny HTC desire.

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  5. Picked one of these up after my 3rd accident with my N900 and I love it. I have a Defender for my E71, but the rubber outing makes it a bit hard to slide into a tight pocket. The commuter with it's plastic cover is much nicer.

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  6. I'm thinking of buying this beauty but have some bad experience with the nokia mobiles in the past. But this seems to worth the money. I'm going to take decision after reading another 2-3 user experiences. Thanks for the review BTW.:)

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