I'll begin by stating that I have owned four other cases prior to this one (yes, I'm one of those who needs to get a better case as soon as it comes along), but I believe this to be the last one I'll want to get for a while. This case OtterBox 77-21392 Commuter Case for Samsung Galaxy S III 1 Pack Carrying Case Retail Packaging Glacier is by far the best for protection, looks, feel and size in my opinion.First off, all ports are easily accessible. The charging and headphone ports have larger square cutouts with rubber flaps, leaving the easy to get into with the OEM mini-USB plug and pretty much even the L-shaped headphone jacks. The flaps won't open in my pocket so they're very well measured. I say this because my Translucent Teal Androidified CruzerLite TPU CaseFor Samsung Galaxy S III will not fit the OEM charging plug. The cutout for the charging port is very small and requires much pushing, repositioning each time. Also, that particular TPU case would push in on all four sides of my Zagg HD shield I bought when first getting my phone. The TPU case is a good one IF you have no shield or buy the shields that only cover the screen and not the bezel. A small notice is that air pockets are created under the Android logo design and the back of the phone comes off when removing it. None of these issues occur with the Commuter case.
The materials are high quality. The rubber fits around the phone perfectly and the volume and power buttons align with the rubber casing as if it came from Samsung themselves. The hard plastic seals the deal (as well as the rubber around the phone). It keeps everything snug and in place the way a protective case should. It needs to be mentioned, however, that the lips of the rubber case overlap with my Zagg HD shield, but in a good way (maybe 2-3mm) such that it keeps the edges flat, NOT pushing in like the TPU case did. So to me, this is the perfect case.
If you think this makes the phone too thick (there are very helpful picture uploaded by someone already), let me show you another one I ordered and never use: White and Black Kickstand Hybrid Case Hard Gel Cover w/ Stand for Samsung Galaxy S3 I9300, I747 (Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T). It's much cheaper and the only plus is that it has a kickstand, but it is HUGE! This case maintains the sleek form and offers the protection needed. I haven't thrown my case, but I have dropped it a couple of times leaving my car and while doing laundry and no problems so far (knock on wood). I will never fully trust any case, but I believe this to be the best there is, so far.
The lips around the phone don't cover up the touch-sensitive back/menu buttons and the ugly (yes, I think the Galaxy S2 was nicer) physical button is also easy to access.
If this is too big and you'd like a smaller case, then the only one I have that I can recommend to anyone is the elago G5 Slim Fit Case for Galaxy S3 (Fits Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and other Carriers) Soft Feeling Dark Gray ECO PACK. It's expensive and minimalistic. But if that's what you're looking for then go for it. The Commuter, however, is what I keep on my phone at all times. Removing it for a replaceable battery on longer trips shouldn't be an issue. Just don't count on the included screen protector being anything special. I use a Zagg and it's one of the best around. If there are any questions, I'd be more than happy to help as I can.
To describe this item, you need to realize that there are 3 parts to this case. The first part is a soft rubbery cover for the entore backside and sides of your phone. This is going to provide the cushining during falls. The second part is the hard plastic shell that snaps on over the rubber. This gives the phone a little "heft" and makes it easy to slide in and out of your pocket. It also is one more good layer of protection from hard falls or something falling onto it.
The third part is the scratch resistant cover for your phone. I can't remark on this yet because I havent used it. I am waiting for my new phone to arrive. My phone fell out of my backpack to the concrete and cracked the glass pretty good. This is why I decided to get this case. From the look and feel of this case I am absoultely positive that my phone would not be cracked right now if it had this case on it when it fell. I feel like an idiot for not having it protected, but you live and learn, right?
Now, about the "hard-to-press-the-buttons-issue". It't true that the buttons are harder to push. I don't think it's outrageously difficult but if you know anything about this phone its buttons are WAY too easy to press. Everytime I pull something up on my phone and try to hand it to someone to look at, one of the buttons almost always gets pressed (either the volume or he phone lock button) extremely annoying. This case will prevent that from happening. But it surely doesn't prohibit normal button pressing.
Anyways, I recommend you buy this case TODAY if you need a case. It is all you would hope for it to be.
Buy OtterBox Commuter Case for Samsung Galaxy S III (Glacier) Now
Don't worry, I'm not completely insane, I bought my wife an S3 and ordered this OtterBox for hers as well.Anyway, it's a great case, and the only reason I can't give it five stars is the power button issue that reviewer LLBean mentioned. It is really, really stiff, and that takes some getting used to. Considering all the positives about the case, though, it's a relatively minor concern.
Despite the amount of protection that the case affords, it doesn't add an enormous amount of heft. It does mitigate some of the phone's sleekness (one of its main selling points), but that's the trade-off. If you want to preserve that sleekness, go for a thinner case (either gel or hard plastic), but keep in mind that those will protect against scratches, but not drops.
It fits beautifully on the phone. There are no gaps. Quite the opposite, in fact getting the hard plastic over the underlying rubber sleeve can be kind of difficult, especially getting it over the volume and power buttons. If you think you'll want to take the case off regularly, don't get this one. Go with something like the Seidio Surface or Active, which are much easier to put on and take off.
Read Best Reviews of OtterBox Commuter Case for Samsung Galaxy S III (Glacier) Here
It is very good like all the other reviews have been mentioned. I just want to say something about the buttons. I was hesitate to buy this OtterBox after reading all the reviews about the power button. But I like the color combination in the design of this case. I decide to give it a try. After I got the case I put it on and try the power button immediately. It worked very well. I thought I might just got a good one. Then I took it off and put the screen protector on. This time after I put the case on again, the power button did not work unless you push really really hard. So I realized that there might be some tricks.After tried several times, I found this: the power button on the phone and the case, they are a little miss match.
I am not sure if this is my individual case, but hope it will help
After you put the soft cover on, when you need to put on the hard cover, insert the volume button part(left side of the phone) first and then push the power button side in to the hard cover, this help a lot in my case. I got all the buttons work very well.
If you really like the case, buy it and give it a try.
Want OtterBox Commuter Case for Samsung Galaxy S III (Glacier) Discount?
When looking for a case for my new s3 I spent a great amount of time reading reviews for different cases. I had always heard great things about OtterBox, so I was surprised to read all of the negative reviews for it. I went ahead and bought the case, and I'm so glad I did!One of the things I kept reading is how hard the case is to put on. Well I'm here to tell you, the case is NOT that hard to put on (maybe these people need to work on their hand and arm muscles). I put the case on while I was still in the store waiting for my family to finish up and it took me literally 2 minutes to put on. I had to take it off and put it on twice once I got home (once to put the screen protector on and once to put in the microSD card because I forgot it the first time DUH...). Again, took me no time to put on. The hardest part was getting the hard cover over the buttons that stick out, but it definitely didn't take any extra tools to put on.
The buttons on the side of the phone are harder to push when the case is on, but that hasn't really bothered me that much. For one, it doesn't take that much effort to push the buttons and you also don't need to push the button on the side of the phone to make it wake up, the home button does that as well. Again, serious exaggeration on the difficulty of pressing the buttons.
The screen protector that comes with the phone is a little wacky. It does have a cut out for the home key (normal) and also for the front facing camera (I'm assuming so it doesn't make the picture blurry). The screen protector doesn't quite go all the way out to the edges of the phone, which kind of looks funny if you are looking at something to critique.
Something that is hard to tell by the pictures of the case is that the phone case is raised up around the screen. For me, this is a good thing, because I didn't want my phone resting on the screen if I turned it over to allow for music to be played through the speaker. The speaker does get covered up if the phone is on it's back, which I guess some people could get irritated with.
Overall, if you want a great case for your phone that will protect it and not add a ton of size to your phone, this is it! I'm glad I didn't take the reviews I read of this case to heart!
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