When you get your expensive, new, shiny superphone, what’s the first you need to do?  Protect it of course.  There is nothing worse than a new phone that gets dropped, scratched, or even breaks.  Otterbox is one of the many manufacturers of cases for many many mobile devices including most of the Android smartphones you can purchase today.

Who is OtterBox?

Known as an innovator of protective solutions for the leading global handheld manufacturers, wireless carriers and distributors, we’ve got technology covered!

Starting with something as simple as a box, OtterBox was created in 1998 and built upon fundamentals of hard work, creativity and perseverance. Our cases are dedicated to all the klutzy, spontaneous, chaotic, graceless individuals who have broken a device or valuable due to their active lifestyle and like our customers, we’ve been there too!

The “innovative spirit” of founder and CEO Curt Richardson has promoted the development of our product lines from waterproof boxes into four lines of device-specific cases for today’s hottest technologies.

Similar to an otter’s fur, our original line of cases is waterproof. So to incorporate that element with the fun and playful disposition of the animal our CEO and his wife came up with the name OtterBox while brainstorming company names during a drive to Denver, Colo.

Like the animal that is our namesake, we’re a fun, creative bunch that likes to work hard and play hard too. We have in-house sales, customer service, accounting, engineering, public relations, marketing, web design, graphics, supply chain, human resources and our own warehouse.

OtterBox is located in one of the greatest cities in America – Fort Collins, Colo. Ranked #1 in 2006 and #2 in 2008 on Money Magazine’s “Best Places to Live” list, Fort Collins has easy access to the Rocky Mountains for biking, hiking, running, camping, kayaking, boating, skiing, snowboarding and other activities. Many of us use our cases every day, in the office, outdoors and around town and serve as excellent “guinea pigs” for new product testing.

Throughout the years, we’ve listened to customer feedback and attribute the evolution of our products to consumers who’ve challenged us to take the idea of a protective case to the next level.

At OtterBox, it’s not one person changing the world of cases, it’s a team!

Known as an innovator of protective solutions for the leading global handheld manufacturers, wireless carriers and distributors, we’ve got technology covered!Starting with something as simple as a box, OtterBox was created in 1998 and built upon fundamentals of hard work, creativity and perseverance. Our cases are dedicated to all the klutzy, spontaneous, chaotic, graceless individuals who have broken a device or valuable due to their active lifestyle and like our customers, we’ve been there too!The “innovative spirit” of founder and CEO Curt Richardson has promoted the development of our product lines from waterproof boxes into four lines of device-specific cases for today’s hottest technologies.Similar to an otter’s fur, our original line of cases is waterproof. So to incorporate that element with the fun and playful disposition of the animal our CEO and his wife came up with the name OtterBox while brainstorming company names during a drive to Denver, Colo.Like the animal that is our namesake, we’re a fun, creative bunch that likes to work hard and play hard too. We have in-house sales, customer service, accounting, engineering, public relations, marketing, web design, graphics, supply chain, human resources and our own warehouse.OtterBox is located in one of the greatest cities in America – Fort Collins, Colo. Ranked #1 in 2006 and #2 in 2008 on Money Magazine’s “Best Places to Live” list, Fort Collins has easy access to the Rocky Mountains for biking, hiking, running, camping, kayaking, boating, skiing, snowboarding and other activities. Many of us use our cases every day, in the office, outdoors and around town and serve as excellent “guinea pigs” for new product testing.Throughout the years, we’ve listened to customer feedback and attribute the evolution of our products to consumers who’ve challenged us to take the idea of a protective case to the next level.At OtterBox, it’s not one person changing the world of cases, it’s a team!

Otterbox offer 3 levels of mainstream case’s for most devices:

Defender Series:

The defender series is the rugged smartphone shell made from high impact polycarbonates and durable silicone.  This series offers the highest level of protection against scratches, dust, drops, bumps and shock.

Commuter Series:

The commuter series is slimmer than the defender series but still has a tough protective case consisting of a durable silicone mid-layer with a polycarbonates outer shell.  This series offers the middle level of protection against scratches, bumps and shock and features a smoother outer shell that slides easily in and out of your pocket.

Impact series:

The impact series offers the simplest protection of all the series but still has a tough protective case made of polycarbonates.  This series offers the lowest level of protection against bumps and dings.

They also offer other extreme protection cases or boxes which are waterproof and offer almost impenetrable protection for your devices.

The commuter series seems to be the most popular and is available for almost any device.  The case we received is from the commuter series for the myTouch 3G Slide and that’s what we are going to show you in the review and photos below.

What do you get?

The OtterBox commuter series case for the myTouch 3G Slide comes in a nice presentation box as shown here:

Opening the box reveals 4 parts:

• Rear outer shell
• Rear inner membrane
• Front bezel surround
• Screen protector

The inner membrane is placed inside the rear shell and can be easily removed if need be, but for the installation, you leave the membrane in place and snap the rear shell onto the back of your phone.  Small lugs around the case securely grab the edges of the phone and hold it tightly in place.

The rear of the case has a textured center with the OtterBox logo at the base.  All the  required cutouts are in the shell so none of the ports and connectors on your phone are obscured.

The quality of the OtterBox is excellent. They feel extremely strong and the fit into place almost flawlessly.  The exception is the front bezel that while it won’t be falling off anytime soon, seemed a little loose around the areas where it had no lugs to grab the frame of your phone.  This in no way detracts from the quality of this product and I would be fairly confident that if I dropped the phone with this case installed, it would have protection that could save me a serious amount of dollars.

Here are a few shots of the case installed on a myTouch 3G Slide:

I would have no problem in recommending the OtterBox products to anyone wanting the best protection your money can buy.

Head over to the OtterBox site and find out if the case is available for your phone.  If you already have a case, let us know which device you have and any thoughts in the comments below.

 

As the old saying goes, “A picture speaks a thousand words,” so here’s the entire gallery of the above photos.