Customer Reviews

Seidio SURFACE Case for Palm Pre - Black

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

As frugal as I am, it was hard to order this case after seeing all the other "cheaper" options. I did my research though and everone said get this one, even though I hadn't seen it in person. After receiving my Seidio case two days ago though, I say it's absolutely worth the money. The feel of it is hard to describe. It's a rubberish feeling semi-hard silicon? It has the same feel of the back cover for the Touchstone, if you've seen it.

The best thing I can say about it, and the ultimate reason to get the Seidio is that once you snap it on, it feels like it's part of the phone. I used to work in a phone store and always hated all the aftermarket cases because they felt like you stuck a cheap piece of plastic or rubber on your nice elegant phone. Not this one, it's like they were made for each other.

I had the Rocketfish one from Best Buy for the last month and even though they look the same in pictures, let me tell you, the Seidio is 10 times better. The rocketfish is a cheap hard plastic, that hinders your buttons and feels like it doubles the size of the phone.

The only bad thing I can say is that since it's a thinner case, it may not protect the phone as well as one of the other thicker cases if you drop it. However, imo, that trade-off in adding the bulk and clumsiness of a thicker case is not worth that little extra protection.

The case itself fit well and was easy to put on. It should protect agents small drops as it is a thin case. The main reason I bought this case was that it promotes that it works with the Touchstone. When I went to use it I found that the case was thick enough that it would start to charge but disconnect and then reconnect over and over and yes I did not add the extra padding that came with the case as it says it will prevent it from working with the Touchstone. I have three Touchstones and it did the same thing on all of them. I did find if you place it just right on the Touchstone it may work but it would just be easier to attach the USB cable instead. In conclusion not a bad case but don't count on playing well with your Touchstone.

This case has many 5-star reviews. I suspect the reviews were written soon after the user got the case, put it on the Pre, and was impressed with the fit, finish, the attractive minimalist design, matte finish, and that it's the only case that still allows you to charge via touchstone. I give it one star b/c what good is a case that you won't be able to use in a month?

One of the main reasons I bought this case is b/c of the high praise from pre cen tral (seemed like everyone's standard case there) and the fact it's touchstone capable. If you have a Sprint Pre, you know that the touchstone back is not included unlike the Verizon Pre Plus (edit 5/17/2010: Pre Plus will be avail for AT&T and it will include touchstone back and the charger! Sprint continues to fail by by selling the original Pre, not Pre Plus, and without any accessories, yet it's still $150 in many cities!). I thought Seidio's back can replace Palm's touchstone back and it was only after I received the package that I discovered that I needed to buy a separate touchstone case (another $20). Side note: these accessories can cost some good change - $26 for Seidio case, $35 for touchstone charger, and another $20 for touchstone back. This is after having just spent $ 1 30 on a new Pre at Radio Shack with a 2 year contract. If you're new to Pre, make sure you use your Pre for at least a month and happy with it before you start plunking down money for expensive accessories.

Back to the topic: The case is way overpriced for what it is. It's just 2 pieces of plastic (plus a foam insert for the back cover when you're not using a touchstone cover). Depending on where you buy, you'll spend anywhere from $22-30+. The plastic is quite thin, however this is a good thing b/c it also feels quite strong, so it will not add significant bulk to the phone. That's one of the main differences compared to the $5 plastic cases on ebay. Plus it's feather light. Fit is perfect. The thinness is the reason why touchstone works. If you're familiar with touchstone, with the regular touchstone cover, the magnetic field makes the phone snap into place quite firmly onto the charger. This is putting a thin piece of plastic in between the touchstone cover and the touchstone base. So the phone doesn't "snap" as firmly onto the charger and you have to more or less find the sweetspot (you'll know it when you feel it), but once on the charger, the phone stays on. Unfortunately, as others have mentioned, the magnetic bond is too weak to make it stay in place in a moving car.

For those wondering, the case does not protrude into the gesture area or impede gesture or the slider mechanism whatsoever. How is this achieved? By making the tabs that clip the case onto the phone as small and unobtrusive as possible. And THAT is the major flaw. There are 4 tabs at each corner of the top cover and bottom cover.

I lovED the case. Then on day 3, the bottom-right tab snapped off. No, I did not abuse the phone nor the case (it's a new phone, remember?). This is just during regular use. You have to understand, these tabs are VERY VERY small and thin. To give you an idea, each tab has a width of a dental floss and only about 3mm long. It's really just a matter of time before they give out and break off. So the back cover with 3 tabs now became a bit loose but still usable. B/c the Pre has legendary fit and finish (ha!), the loose back cover only added to the slightly loose slider mechanism and the overall, the phone felt cheap and old. Fast forward a month and today, the bottom-left tab broke off and now the back cover is pretty much useless. I've had the case little over a month.

Obviously, I'm not the only one with this issue. You can find countless other reviews about the tabs breaking. Don't think we are the few unlucky ones. Given time, this case will break. It will happen to you. You will not be the exception.

So until Seidio addresses the major design flaw, you may be better off investing in a different case. If touchstone is important to you as it is to me, then you may want to consider getting one of those Zaggs clear films on the front - the film advertised as being used "to protect helicopter blades" that wrap around the corners and edges of the phone, not just the flat top surface. The back cover won't need protection b/c the touchstone cover has a rubbery, scratchproof finish and is replaceable.

I've read one reviewer saying Seidio replaced the case for free so I will be contacting Seidio soon to see if I can get a free replacement as well. But even if they did that, do I want to keep repeating a pattern of having to ship the broken case and get the new one?

Update 5/17/2010: I actually contacted the seller (authorized dealer) about the case and they replaced it promptly for free. I just had to ship it to them, which cost me just two stamps and an envelope. This time, I got to enjoy it for about a month, then unfortunately, one of the tabs broke. I'm done with this case. I'll look into getting a clear film for the top while using the touchstone back.

With everything said, I cannot recommend this case. Save your money and look for alternatives.

Update 7/20/2010: AGF now makes a case that's touchstone compatible. Google "agf grt pre case". That said, I have been enjoying not having a case on my pre which also means I don't have to put up with the bulk and the headache of it breaking. In the beginning I thought I needed a case instinctively to protect my new investment. But with anything, with enough use, the amount of care and attachment dwindles over time. I just have a screen protector film in the front and a touchstone back. I bought the screen protector film off of e bay (5 for $3 shipped) and while it's not Zaggs and does not cover the entire front surface (does not go to the curved corner areas), it's good enough for me. Zaggs is overpriced anyway.

This is a great phone case! It holds very well to the phone and DOES WORK with the touchstone charger! It adds almost zero bulk to the phone at all. It was very easy to place on the phone! It took me about 15 seconds. I have seen a lot of the cheap Pre cases out there at Best Buy and other retailers. This IS NOT one of those. It is a very high quality case that you can tell was carefully constructed! I just ordered one for my wife's Pre about 5 mins ago.

I will admit that the Seidio Innocase is the best looking and feel case out there. Believe me, I have bought two. However, this case is not sturdy at all and the prongs that hold the case are VERY, VERY EASY TO BREAK. In addition, the prongs will wear over time and probably eventually break. I've been through two full cases in just 3 months. The case is light and provides a perfect feel and fit for the palm pre. However, when dropped, the case pops off and this is where you will most likely break the prongs. You will eventually drop your palm pre no matter how careful you are, (like me). Even trying to remove the case too quickly could ruin the case. If you have no problem buying a new case every two months, I invite you buy this case. If not, find something else.

Pros: Awesome fit on the Pre, Great feel, Little bulk added to the phone.
Cons: This is the deal breaker: the little clips that hold the case to the phone break way too easy.

Summary: The Seidio Innocase is a joy of a case when its attached to your Palm Pre. But that's the kicker...the tabs that hold it to the phone break from normal carrying the phone in your pocket. I thought maybe the first time it broke was random and requested a replacement. But literally after 3 days of using the replacement case it broke again and reality sank in. The Seidio Innocase wasn't meant to be. I really wanted to use this case and the potential is there, but not until the tabs issue can be fixed. The search continues....

I received my first innocase in the beginning of August and it lasted less than a week before one of the small tabs that holds the front section of the case failed. I figured it could have been defective, so I returned it to Amazon and they promptly shipped me a new case. The second one lasted for just under three weeks before it had a tab failure on the front section. I think the design of the phone with the "slide" makes it very difficult to design a low profile case for it. I would not recommend this case to other Pre owners.

After much searching I found the perfect product for my Pre. Ordered and received as expected. Easy to attach. Looks great, feels great. Fantastic protection. Until two weeks after I had received it, set it on the couch arm and it fell off onto the carpet - broke one of the top cover snap/retaining pins. Life expectancy - short. Am bummed. Back to the search for the perfect protector.

I purchased these cases for both my and my wife's Pre at $30 each. Both Pre's had Ghostarmor installed and this posed a challenge for installing the Seidio cases. These cases were designed to fit the Pre snugly so the extra width added by the Ghostarmor prevented the cases from snapping and holding. They tabs would constantly lose their grip and come loose.

Within 2 weeks some of the tiny tabs snapped on my wife's case. Luckily it was within the 30 days and Seidio sent a replacement for free. We had to replace my wife's Pre and decided to use the case without the Ghostarmor. The case didn't fit as snugly as the previous one had with Ghostarmor installed. The phone seemed to bounce around within the case. Eventually the top half of the case broke in half right were the micro usb cut out was.

The tabs began to break on my case as well after about a month of having it installed. Even with some tabs broken the case still clung to my phone although it caused an annoying squeaking noise when I'd type. The top half of my case eventually broke in the same place that my wife's had.

When the case fit the phone and the tabs weren't broken off I loved it. After the tabs started breaking it became an annoyance. I wouldn't recommend this case to anyone at any price until they're able to fix the issue with the tabs breaking.

I ordered this cover back in November of 2009. I shared many of the same comments as those who are writing their reviews 2-7 days after receipt. Here's the kicker. There are tabs which hold the entire product together, and if one breaks, the case is useless. Long story short, after 3 weeks with the first product, the tabs broke (not with a drop or user mistreatment). Seidio promptly replaced, and after 3 weeks, the tab broke again on the replacement. Their customer service was beyond adequate, however, there is a design flaw imbeeded in the manufacturing process of the case, that will result in the tabs breaking. If they address that issue, the product is great. You will see a similar comment in many of those who are reviewing this unit AFTER they have had it for a month or so.