A few weeks ago Gary reviewed the HTC One Speck CandyShell Grip and scored it 3 out of 5. Today I will look at an alternative to this case from the same retailer.
The HTC One Speck GemShell Case is completely see-thru and is fairly expensive in the realms of phone cases so how does this case compare to the one Gary reviewed and how does it stand up to the official HTC One Hard Shell case I reviewed yesterday? .
[toggle title=”Price and Where To Buy” state=”open” ]$29.95 from Speck[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Materials” state=”close” ]The GemShell for HTC One has soft rubber corners with a hard plastic outside. The hard shell outside and soft buttons, bezel, and corners are molded together into one case, they do not separate. The soft part of the case and the touch-thru button protectors are made of TPE, the shell is a hard polycarbonate plastic. [/toggle]
[toggle title=”Build Quality” state=”close” ]Despite being made of two separate materials it’s very difficult to tell there is a join from the main casing to the sides. [/toggle]
[toggle title=”Port Accessibility” state=”close” ]It’s quite common for non official cases to have slightly off balance port cut outs however the Speck case seems to align well with the ports in general. The worst alignment is the secondary noise cancelling microphone which seems to sit a little too far to the left of the device.
If I have one complaint about the case it’s that the cut outs sit too high. Accessing the power button feels a little strange as the depth of plastic is greater than it needs to be. [/toggle]
[toggle title=”Fitting and Removing” state=”open” ]Fitting the case to the device is pretty straight forward however it’s tight fit causes a moment of panic as you either think it’s going to fit and fear you may damage the device in trying. (as seen in the video)
As for removing the case from the device, it’s pretty much the same as fitting it. You can’t help feeling you could cause damage to your phone however it’s worth saying that you won’t so don’t worry too much.
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[toggle title=”Protection” state=”close” ]Unlike the official HTC One Hard Shell case, the Speck case offers a little more protection as it’s a single unit with a solid mail and a softer border. If you were to drop your phone and it landed face down the damage would be minimal as would be the same if it were to land on a side first as it’s likely that the case would bounce to either the front or the back.[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Aesthetics” state=”close” ]Despite being see through and making the device look how it should it has a strange way to make it look ugly too from a front on / side on view.[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Good Points” state=”close” ]
- Protection Level
- Aesthetics
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[toggle title=”Bad Points” state=”close” ]
- Fitting and Removing
- Aesthetics
- Secondary Microphone Port Alignment
- Price
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