[Galaxy S III Accessories] kevinraymondhk:
Sweet Armor

Sweet Armor is a Korean company that produces premium metal cases for mobile phones. Currently, it has produces cases for three popular Android phones, the GS2, GS3 and the GNote.

Sweet Armor Galaxy S3 Titanium Rainbow

Packaging

The packing is not bad at all compare to SGP or other companies. As you can see in the pictures, the case protected by four soft foams inside the box, which I think is very thoughtful, as this is a very expensive case, no one would like it to be damaged during the shipping.

Inside the box, there are 8 Philips screws and a little small Philips screwdriver. The build quality of the screwdriver did surprise me a little while. The screwdriver is well built and it is magnet, which can certainly help your installation of the case, the screws are very small.

There is one thing that may be disappointed- there is no manual inside the box. You may say it is easy to figure out how to install the case but I think it would be nicer if there were a manual inside the box along with a USD72 dollars case.

Built Quality

The built quality of this case is 10 out of 10. The case is very solid and the colouring of the case is very well done. It is definitely one of the best cases in the world with no doubt. The edges are smooth and the cuttings are perfect.

On the case, there are two holes on the left side of the case, which allow you to put a string strap. Although I do not use a string strap, I think these two holes are very nice as some people may want to put a string strap onto a phone and most of the cases/ phones nowadays do not provide this.

Also, there are two button covers at the position of the power button and the volume rockers. These not only help to prevent dust getting into the gap between the phone and the case, but also help to make the buttons easier to access. I have no problem in using the power button and the volume rockers when I using this case. The buttons are sensitive and “clicky”.

This case does add some weight to the phone. However, the weight is very small. You can definitely feel the weight but the weight is acceptable. you would not feel the phone too heavy, in my personally opinion.

I have used a lot of cases in the past, from the cheap Ebay cases to SGP expensive cases but there is no cases that can give me the Sweet Armor case can give me. All the cases that I used in the past kept gave me a very “plastic feeling”. When I tried to hold the phone very tight, I felt like I was going to break the phone. But when I am using the Sweet Armor case, it gives me a totally different feeling of the phone. The case is very solid and when I try to hold the phone very tight, I do not feel any “plastic feeling”. The case gives an extra strength to the phone to against the force from the outside, and this makes me feel the phone more “solid” and steadier when I am holding it.

Although this is a metal bumper, it provides a little lift at the back of the phone, which prevents the back of the phone from scratching. So it does not have the common problem that most of the bumpers in the market have.

For your information, during the time I use this case, there is no reception/NFC problem for me.

However, there are some problems about the case, too. The headphone and the micro USB cut outs of the case are not big enough, so if you are using an expensive pair of earphone like the Westone 4R, TF10 pro, or other head phones, you may need to find a extend 3.5mm cable; if you are using a dock such as the Samsung OEM dock, or the Zen dock, you cannot use the docks when you are using the case unless you uninstall the case. Sweet Armor might needs to make a bigger cut out for these two ports in the next edition of the cases.

Talking about the installation of the case, it is very simple. The case only requires one screw at every corner of the phone (total: 4 screws). However, when you try the swap the SIM card or battery of the phone, you will find the case does not come handy. There is no way for you to do any of the things that I talked above if you forget to bring the screwdriver with you. Therefore, if you are a person who usually swaps your SIM card or change battery, this case may not suit you.

There is one more issue about the case, for the people with small hands, like me. The case will makes the phone wider and taller, so it will make it harder to use the phone with one hand.

Conclusion

Overall, considering the price of this case, I would not say the built quality surprises me, as this is what a $72 case has to have. The case is very solid, very beautiful and stylish, and very thin. It can certainly handle a few drops from a certain height but you cannot expect it can protect your phone from 2 meters height. For normal daily usage, I think this case does its job. And if you are looking for a luxury metal bumper, I think this is one of the cases in the market you should consider.