It arrived today (1 day early)
OK, so my electron case arrived today (light grey polished with black screws) and here are my thoughts on it:
Overall impression: Great. I also ordered the natural stainless screws but much prefer the black ones (my opinion only). The light grey case is a great match for the naked phone antenna colour and I think it looks fantastic (again, my opinion only). The photos posted earlier on p2 of this thread show the light grey case off very well but if anyone would like more pics posted I am happy to do so.
Details:-
Pros: I actually prefer the way the phone feels with this case on. It feels more comfortable in the hand and I feel that I am less likely to drop it. I have a polished case on and don't have any concerns about "grippyness" it feels very good in the hand and very secure.
As for my reception there are a couple of things I wanted to say (not based on exhaustive testing as I've only just received it). I was getting 3-4 bars, mostly 3 about my house without the case and with it I am getting 3 bars consistently, though I did see it drop to 2 bars on a couple of occasions but this went quickly back up to 3 bars with slight movement in space. WiFi doesn't appear affected at all. Full bars when close to my router and drops to two when I move away. The same happened without the case. GPS, not sure at this stage. Tried once and it came close but not very precise and seemed to take a little while, but the second time it was spot on. I haven't used it on the move so can't comment on that yet.
Having said all that about reception there's one thing I'd like to say that no-one else has said yet (not that I've seen anyway). I did get issues with the the reception in death grip and my reception consistently dropped to 1 bar from 3-4. With the case on this does not happen so as far as I'm concerned this case has actually improved my reception..in a manner of speaking.
The other thing I wanted to say that I've not seen elsewhere is that the case does not impinge at all on the touch screen, there is clear and easy access to the keyboard when I use it and the entire screen area is accessible as the entire black screen surround is still visible with the case on. I guess this was sort of covered in other posts where they said screen shields won't be an issue with this case but wanted to spell it out as I thought it was important.
Cons: The plastic inserts didn't sit in well for me. I have watched all the online videos that I could find about these cases and installing them and all of those videos showed the plastic inserts sitting down very easily into the case halves. I had to push mine down and they bowed out in a couple of places making it difficult to fit the phone in properly. Before anyone says it, I did have the liners in the correct way (ie the thin side to the volume and silent cut-outs). Now I have listed this as a con as I was concerned about the plastic liners possibly snapping under the pressure as they are very slender. However, what this does mean is that when the phone is finally inserted into the liners the fit is very snug, and I am happy with that. Just thought I should mention this as I have not seen anyone else with this "problem".
Other: I can't comment on the 30pin connector access or headphones jack use with third party products as I don't have any third party products yet but the apple ones seem to work fine. I was also supplied with a free matte blue top plate (as international shipping was so expensive) and I know that I had a hard time deciding between the polished and matte finishes and they are both nice but I feel that the polished just shades it. Matte definitely is more "grippy" but I just prefer the polished.
Buttons are all accessible for me, the volume rockers are a little deep but I can still access them without any inconvenience and the sleep/wake is very good.
I would say here (I don't consider it a con) that the finish is very good but not excellent. Don't get me wrong, I am not unhappy but there are a couple of edges that seem a "little" rough, especially where the two halves go together and on my model I can detect the slightest of lips between the two cases when I go looking for it. If I am using the phone as I normally would it is undetectable. As I said, this is not a complaint, I am not unhappy and I am being very picky but thought I should mention it as everyone else seems to have had flawless cases.
So that's my opinion on what I think is a great case though this is really just my first impressions but I would be surprised if it didn't last the distance. I do think it is value for money as I was looking for something a little different (mind you half of Macrumors now has one
), elegant and that protected my phone without impacting too much on its function or aesthetic. As said elsewhere e13ctron's customer service is very good too. Prompt email responses and very accommodating. A big thank you to Jacob and Matt Bier. I do not work for e13ctron and have had no contact with them apart from for the purposes of ordering this case.
