[General Accessories] vantt1:
Thinking of getting a cool metal bumper case for your smartphone? This post may be useful for those who plan to get a Sweet-Armor, Element Case, Deff Cleave(or similar metal bumper cases) for their Galaxy S3, Note 2, iPhone 5 or any device that has a metal bumper case made for it. If you also have one and have had some noteworthy experiences with it, or I am missing some pointers in this post, please share!

Charging/Data/USB Port

Because the case will add a noticeable amount of bulk to your device, you won't be able to use it with most charging/audio docks anymore unless you the appropriate extension adapter (like this, but for Micro USB) for it. Pretty much all data transfer cables will still fit.

Headphone Socket

Only the slimmest of headphone jacks will fit into your phone when using a metal bumper case. Samsung's bundled headsets, Apple Earbuds/EarPods, Monster headphone cables (not the L-shaped end) and most earphones/buds designed for portable devices will fit snugly into the case. However, DIY headphone jacks that you can buy from electronics stores, thicker Hi-Fi AUX cables, big studio monitor headphone cables etc. will NOT fit. If you want to connect the aforementioned cables to your armoured phone, you'll need a suitable 3.5mm to 3.5mm headphone adapter. There are cheap $1 Apple-style headphone splitters that you can buy off eBay, but from personal experience they are very bad. Sometimes one channel cuts out, the wiring of the left/right channels are reversed, or the 4th pole* in the jack serves no purpose but to hurt your ears if you unplug it whilst still having the earphones in your ear.

*Standard 3.5mm headphone connectors have 3 poles - left, right and ground. Some headsets designed for use with phones have a microphone and a call/play/pause music button, requiring a 4th pole.

The adapter that I recommend is the headphone adapter that comes with the Lifeproof cases for the iPhone 4/S/5 (pictured above, far right). It is gold plated and guaranteed correct wiring in all 4 poles.

Battery Door/Cover (Where Applicable)

Some phones have extended capacity batteries made for them which make the phone unable to fit into normal form-fitting cases due to the increased thickness. If you want to use one, most metal bumper cases leave the back of the phone open, allowing you to do so. They only allow a slight thickness increase, so I don't think the ugly third-party small/no-brand extended batteries will fit.

You may notice the metal bumper case has a slot which allows you to remove the battery cover just like you would without the case, but I advise you to avoid doing it that way. The case might not fit the phone perfectly, so removing the battery cover this way might damage it.

Recessed Touchscreen

The case fits onto the phone by sandwiching it between two halves - the top half fits around the phone's bezel around the screen. This will protect the front of the phone when it is placed face-down on flat surfaces, but will make the left and right edges of the screen harder to access. For example, if you want to use gestures that start from either side of the phone (i.e. Google Chrome switch tabs, Stock Browser quick controls, various sidebar/glovebox apps and PIE controls), the metal bumper case will make it less accessible. If you are a user of these edge-gesture apps, then you will need to get a screen protector that has a thickness of about 0.5-1 mm.

These include SGP Glas and the no-digitizer-circuit "replacement front glass" for your device that can be bought for a few dollars. It will make the screen level with the metal bumper's bezel, and offer much more protection than the plastic film screen protectors as well!

Signal Loss

Aluminium is bad news for signal reception, especially if it covers where the antenna is placed on the phone. On the Sweet-Armor for the Galaxy S2, the bumper practically covers the entire antenna (where the speaker is). Although I haven't experienced any major losses in signal, this might be a problem with some users.

That concludes the somewhat inconvenient experiences that I have had with my Sweet-armor gs2. Nonetheless, it is an awesome case which provides a fair bit of protection (I've dropped it twice onto a concrete surface from normal operational height, only leaving minor dents and scratches to the case). It has edges that are quite sharp to the touch, but they don't feel like they cut into your hand unless you're squeezing it with considerable force. Strangely enough, they can cut a hole into your jeans pocket if you get down to tie your shoelaces on a daily basis.

And sorry for the weird English that I use; it's not my first language!