My impressions of the Aeris Rail (green) after about a week of use.
The finish on the case is beautiful.The feel in the hand is also better than I was expecting. All the edges of the case have a nice chamfer and there is no area where the case feels sharp against my fingers.
The case is pretty straightforward when it comes to installing. I am using a Lucky Labs Spectra Wrap and had no problem getting the case on or off. The black piece fits around the case and snaps on and then the aluminum piece is slid over it. Once the aluminum part of the case snaps into place it feels extremely snug and I am very confident that it will not come off when dropped.
Although I notice a slight increase in weight with the case on, it is not enough to worry about. I honestly like a little weight to my phones anyways. The case also has a lip on both the front and back. Its large enough to provide a nice lay on table design and small enough to not bother your fingers when you are using the far sides of the screen.
The power button feels perfect on this case. It provides great feedback and has a very pleasant feel. The volume buttons, however, are recessed a bit more than I am accustomed to. For comparison, I have used a Vapor Pro before this case and they are sunk in slightly more than that. Although they are not impossible to push, they are a little more difficult than I would prefer especially when trying to push them with my thumb (holding it left handed). Since I use my nail for the mute switch there is no problems switching that on and off with the case.
As far as the headphone jack is concerned its also recessed quite a bit like the buttons. It's a very tight fit and I don't believe anything much larger than the apple headphones are going to go in with ease. I don't have a dock so I cannot comment on whether it works or not on one but I had no problem using charging cables (factory or third party similar in size).
As far as performance is concerned, I have not noticed any drastic drop in signal. So far no dropped calls even in places where a hovered between one and two bars without a case on. However, I have found low signal locations where I lost 3G signal on and off when normally I have just a slight (very slow) 3G signal. Overall there is a performance hit with this case but it is pretty small during the time I have been using it.
Overall, I really enjoy the Aeris Rail. It feels comfortable in the hand and functions well. Although there is a performance hit with the case on it is not large enough to be a huge concern unless you are consistently in a very low signal area. It is even less of a concern considering this case does not need a screwdriver to pop it on and off in case you are in an emergency and you need every bit of signal you can get.
