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Belkin Hard Leather Case (aka Leather Laminate)

A

aphexii

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 22, 2006
349
0
Saw this at the apple store, curious if anyone here has it and what your thoughts were...

I was about to buy the boomwave, but I like the look of this one as well.

$29.99

Link to Belkin
Link to Apple


TS556


TS556_AV1


TS556_AV2
 
Here are my thoughts on this case:

Pros:
1) Very nice design
2) Small footprint
3) Doesn't get stuck inside pants pockets
4) Doesn't seem to collect "fuzzies" (from pockets) like plastic & silicon/rubber based covers do
5) Compliments the "Power Support Crystal" film nicely
6) Doesn't slip easily from car's center console

Cons:
1) Slight mfg imperfections (inside/outside case); my iPhone sat with a slight "tilt" and a small gap (we're talking millimeters here) at the bottom front side.
2) Very very very snug! As in holy crap this thing is annoyingly too snug. I had fun trying to get it out! I'm guessing over time (like months) it would become less snug, but 7 days using it and still way too snug.
3) Crappiest screen protector included I've ever seen to date (only covers a portion of the screen)
4) A slight concern on the top corners, since they're left sort of unprotected (most phones hit their corners first)


Pics to come when I have a chance... :cool:
 
This looks similiar to the Case-Mate case I ordered yesterday. I like the way this one covers the camera section and top section better than the one I ordered though.

Hopefully, the Case-Mate one doesn't have the super-snug fit as this one does (according to vrflyer)
 
not a bad case

I have this case, I didnt use the screen saver or whatever you call it. I got the ones that apple sells in the green package.

I like the case, looks good feels good a bit open at the top, and tight.

Like the other guy said TIGHT! Tighter than tight wont slip at all.

Im not disappointed with it, I will still buy another case cause I like to dress-up my iphone for tea parties and whatnot.
 
vrflyer said:
Here are my thoughts on this case:

Pros:
1) Very nice design
2) Small footprint
3) Doesn't get stuck inside pants pockets
4) Doesn't seem to collect "fuzzies" (from pockets) like plastic & silicon/rubber based covers do

Cons:
1) Slight mfg imperfections (inside/outside case); my iPhone sat with a slight "tilt" and a small gap (we're talking millimeters here) at the bottom front side.
2) Very very very snug! As in holy crap this thing is annoyingly too snug. I had fun trying to get it out! I'm guessing over time (like months) it would become less snug, but 7 days using it and still way too snug.
3) Crappiest screen protector included I've ever seen to date (only covers a portion of the screen)
4) A slight concern on the top corners, since they're left sort of unprotected (most phones hit their corners first)
Click to expand...

Same here. Don't use the worthless screen protector it comes with. Essentially impossible to get out of the case (which sucks for docking). Other than that its a good buy, although I might consider the nearly-identical one from Griffin that has the removable bottom for docking if I could do it again
 
schubes said:
Anyone want to discuss this Griffin case some more? I've read that it can scratch the phone up a bit. How is the removal of the bottom?
Click to expand...

It's not too bad, but it does require a little force to get over the hold that the case has on the phone. When I first pulled the case out of the packaging, the top and bottom didn't stay together at all, which confused me. If you grabbed the case by the top, the bottom piece would slide off of it.

However, the two pieces closed around the phone form a nice seal that keeps everything together, but also makes it slightly difficult to get the bottom off. It's a little easier if you seesaw the pulling from one side to the other, then it comes off without much trouble.

I don't see anything that would be causing scratches, but I haven't been able to get my hands on a dock yet so I haven't been taking the bottom off and on very much.

I only remember one other case that had a removable bottom part for dock accessibility - it was a plastic case where the bottom part folded backwards for dock access. It may have been a bit easier for docking, but the case felt extremely cheap to me. For the record, it was a thin white plastic, but supposedly they also made a black version.

I've messed with several cases at the store and seen a few my friend had gotten, and this one is my favorite so far.
 
XianPalin said:
It's not too bad, but it does require a little force to get over the hold that the case has on the phone. When I first pulled the case out of the packaging, the top and bottom didn't stay together at all, which confused me. If you grabbed the case by the top, the bottom piece would slide off of it.

However, the two pieces closed around the phone form a nice seal that keeps everything together, but also makes it slightly difficult to get the bottom off. It's a little easier if you seesaw the pulling from one side to the other, then it comes off without much trouble.

I don't see anything that would be causing scratches, but I haven't been able to get my hands on a dock yet so I haven't been taking the bottom off and on very much.

I only remember one other case that had a removable bottom part for dock accessibility - it was a plastic case where the bottom part folded backwards for dock access. It may have been a bit easier for docking, but the case felt extremely cheap to me. For the record, it was a thin white plastic, but supposedly they also made a black version.

I've messed with several cases at the store and seen a few my friend had gotten, and this one is my favorite so far.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I may get this one if the Vaja dockable for 3G takes too long...
 
schubes said:
Same here. Don't use the worthless screen protector it comes with. Essentially impossible to get out of the case (which sucks for docking). Other than that its a good buy, although I might consider the nearly-identical one from Griffin that has the removable bottom for docking if I could do it again
Click to expand...


My Griffin "Nu Form" came in last week, it's a better deal esp. when I have to dock Basically I'm happier now. :)
 
I got the Belkin case when I bought the iPhone as I didn't see the Griffin Elan in the store at the time. It's got a great feel to it and is slim relative to the fact that it's both a hard case and leather coated.

It's a minor annoyance that the phone won't slide all the way into it so the bottom edge of the bezel shows, and the camera hole is way off center (but not enough to get in the way of taking a photo).

The screen cover it came with was useless. Just from being in my pocket it's peeled several times and now has bubbles under it while I wait for a PS Crystal to arrive in the mail.

So far, there are no scratches although I never take it out of the case (it's no exaggeration that it's hard to take out!). My ILO flip case for my iPod has a similar lining and it managed to collect dust/dirt and scratch the heck out of the iPod backing over the years (granted I lived on the cusp of the Sahara with it).

Not bad, but really for $30, the Belkin case should be manufactured to a higher quality spec that wouldn't have these minor flaws. I won't be buying any more Belkin cases. I think I'll eventually replace it with the Griffin or similar, but only after I see with my own eyes that it fits well.

--Chris
 
A lot of dust settled around the openings of this case for me, so I wanted to clean it up. Just took mine out of the case for the first time. It was extremely difficult. Holding my phone in my hand without the case for only the second time is a lot nicer than having it stuck in this clamp of a case.
 
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