[AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note I717] :
Trident Aegis Mini Review

I ordered the Trident Aegis. Had it on the phone for a week or two. I'm no longer using it, but here is a tiny review.

Link to case:

http://www.tridentcase.com/case/samsung/samsung-galaxy-note/samsung-galaxy-note.html

Looks:

I ordered the blue one. The blue was a bit off from the picture but it was well within reason. Very bright/vibrant. The black hard plastic bit that slides over the rubber was not my favorite. Has a texture to it, kind of looks like ABS plastic or something (no idea what plastic it is). Also, like many plastics, it got a scuff from paint off a white baseboard in my house, and it was damn near impossible to get off. Overall, the case looks great out of the box and on initial install.

Fitment:

The case goes on very easily. Everything lined up perfectly. Headphone opening was marginally larger than Speck Candyshell, but you still won't be plugging anything major into it without light modifications. The rubber flap covering the headphone is nice, the one for the USB port never feels like it pops into place because it's surrounded by rubber, whereas the headphone port flap is surrounded by the plastic and seats nicely into its position. Overall fit and finish is definitely nice. The inner rubber slides very easily onto the phone, and the black plastic outer case slides very easily into position over it. Often, throughout the course of the day, the rubber around the earpiece would sort of tuck back under itself, likely from pulling it in/out of my pocket. This was very annoying and a result of how extremely flexible/pliable the rubber portion of the case is.

Protection and Usage:

The case feels very sturdy in the hand. It makes the phone feel significantly larger, although there are obviously even larger cases available...this case seems larger than it is, possibly because of the way they have squared the corners a bit to add some extra rubber there. It also adds a bit of weight. The phone still fit in my hand nicely, and wasn't large enough to force me into two-handing it the entire time. The rubber pads (which stick through the black plastic and invite a few curious looks at times) on the back provide a decent amount of grip when you set the phone on its back. If the phone is set facedown, there isn't as much grip as I would like, as the black plastic is very slippery and tends to be resting on the surface.

My only issue with the case is the corners. The rubber inner liner is very flexible, and the hard case does not cover the corners at all. If you press at all on the flexible rubber corners, the rubber can slide right past the corners. I don't believe it would ever be an issue in a drop, but it does not instill a great sense of security when you can just lightly press the corners of the case and move them a great amount. The rubber around the earpiece I mentioned in fitment was also very annoying in every day usage. Once it rolled under itself, I usually had to remove the black plastic portion to get it to sit back flush where it should be (I know, very fast/easy fix, but I hate doing it over and over).

Overall:

Overall, it is a cool looking case, especially if you need/want something to go out with, in a color other than black or white. I believe it would protect the device in a drop, and it did for me in tiny drops around the house (never really tested it luckily), but the inner rubber is so flexible it simply does not instill confidence. I trust my Speck Candyshell, and Case-Mate Tough Case more for serious usage. I am currently using the Cruzerlite Androidified TPU in green, and prefer it over the Aegis as well, even though it's minimal amount of rubber may not protect as well in an extreme drop. The Aegis has a few neat features like the flaps for the USB and Headphone, as well as the rubber protruding out the back for slip resistance.

The Trident Aegis seemed like a good idea at the time, and I liked it for maybe the first 10 minutes. I tried to get into it for two weeks and it never happened.

Love it or hate it. I don't think there is an in between with the Trident Aegis.