[General Accessories] vectron:
This is a review of Otterbox cases for Galaxy Note 4, Commuter Series: http://www.otterbox.com/Galaxy-Note...html?start=2&cgid=samsung-galaxy-note-4-cases and Defender Series: http://www.otterbox.com/Galaxy-Note...html?start=1&cgid=samsung-galaxy-note-4-cases

Chances are if you stop any random person on a street and ask them to name one phone case – it’s going to be Otterbox. As a matter of fact “Defender” became part of our vocabulary referring to cases with tough multi-layer protection. Even in today’s highly competitive and over-saturated market of smartphone accessories, a lot of the people still put safety of their phones in hands of Otterbox cases. Here I got a chance to test their latest versions of Commuter and Defender series with my Galaxy Note 4.

I have seen Otterbox retail packaging boxes in the past and know they typically have a very nice presentation inside of a plastic clear box. I’m sure most of you are familiar with it or have seen it at Best Buy or your local carrier store. Since I received my review samples directly from Otterbox, they came inside of an environmentally safe carton box with a cool eco-friendly artwork where every part of the case was placed in a separately labeled small plastic bag. Regardless of packaging you receive these in, I would recommend saving it along with your purchase receipt. Otterbox is actually very good about their warranty process and though it states “one year”, I know of several situations where people submitted a claim with a picture of a damaged case and proof of purchase after warranty expired and received their replacement right away. Though you are paying a premium, you are also getting a reasonable support in return. More about the actual cases next.

Starting with Commuter Series, you get a dual layer protection with an inner silicone shock absorption layer and an outer PC impact resistant layer. In addition, Commuter case also comes with a film screen protector, to protect your display from scratches. The inner silicone layer has sealed power and volume buttons to keep dirt and dust away. Micro usb charging and headphone opening both have port covers to protect from external elements, though it also adds some pressure on the connectors when you have charging cable or headphone jack plugged in. From my personal experience, if this bothers you – you can always cut them off. Other port openings at the top, bottom, and back of the case have precise cutouts and perfect alignment with Note 4. It worth mentioning that bottom left mic opening is universal to accommodate every Note 4 including Verizon version with its shifted positioning.

The assembly of the case is straight forward where you start with an inner sleeve, making sure phone is fully inserted, edges are covered, and power and volume buttons are alignment, and then apply the outer shell. Once assembled, the case adds some bulk but at the expense of an additional protection. The inner silicone shell provides a decent front screen bumper allowing you to put phone face down. Also, you get a decent grip since outer plastic layer doesn’t fully cover silicone shell sides. Unfortunately, the outer PC shell is a bit slippery in your hands and could become a problem when placing your phone face up where it can slide easily off smooth surface if bumped. At the same time, smooth back cover means an easy way in and out of the pocket. Another observation, this case works well with most of the film protectors and some thin tempered glass protectors where silicone bumper of the inner layers shouldn’t lift the edges off. Also, S-pen opening was easy to access, as well as buttons having a nice tactile response without being too hard or too soft to push.

While Commuter series is considered to be their “slimmer” version, Defender series adds some serious bulk doubling your Note 4 in thickness and also extending it all the way around. It is a tough change to swallow considering Note 4 is big to begin with, but that is a price to pay for an ultimate protection – and that’s exactly what you are going to get! Starting with an inner interlocking PC shell you have a built-in screen protector and also another thin layer of shock absorbent material inside of that shell. A built-in screen protector is film based and has a cutout for home button. The assembly is a bit tedious going through interconnection of all the inner shell latches, but this also means it will stay together even during a most severe drop. On top of that, you have another silicone shock absorption layer placed on top of the PC shell. That layer adds another considerable amount of bulk, but at the same time makes a grip surprisingly good. Also, you don’t have to worry anymore about your phone sliding off the surface when placed face up. Of course, facing down you also have a considerable amount of front lip to keep it off the surface. Just keep in mind this is just a film screen protector where any direct impact will not protect your display. For that you will need a tempered glass protector, but in case of Defender can only use a thin layer to fit inside of the inner shell.

Just like with a Commuter, Defender has micro usb and headphone ports covered and protected from any dirt and dust. The rest of the ports have precise cutouts and perfect alignment, and mic opening at the bottom accommodates Verizon Note 4 as well. Also, S-pen opening is easy to access, as well as buttons having a nice tactile response without being too hard or too soft to push. Speaking of S-pen and a built-in screen protector, I found it having much smaller air gap spacing above the display and also S-pen gliding very smoothly without leaving any marks. Back from my days of Note 2, that gap was bigger where pushing on top of the protector felt disconnected from display and worked like vacuum sucking dirt through home button opening, and also I found scratch marks after using s-pen. I'm very glad Otterbox addressed all of these issues in their Note 4 model. There is only one issue which still remains where micro-usb port opening is limited by plastic guards of the inner shell that allow only use of an average or narrow charging connectors. It’s probably not going to be an issue for majority, but I do have to acknowledge that some micro-usb cables with a larger connector might not fit.

Last but not least, Otterbox also comes with a belt-clip holster which allows you to carry your Defender case attached to the belt. Considering significant size increase of Note 4 fitted inside of the Defender, it’s not going to fit easily inside of your pocket unless you’re wearing cargo pants. Thus, belt-clip holster will come very handy when you are outdoors. The Defender case fits inside of the holster both face in and face out. Typically for extra protection you would want to keep it face in, but there is also an advantage to place it face out since a belt clip locks in open position and doubles as a kickstand to place your Note 4 in landscape orientation to watch a movie or to play a video, etc.

Overall, I noticed with bigger smartphones people prefer to minimize and to slim down their cases. Even a slim case can enhance a phone grip and provide a very minimum drop protection. But it’s not enough if you are camping or hiking or work outdoors where your Note 4 going to be exposed to a rough handling. The choice between Commuter or Defender will give you some room to decide how much protection you need depending on your everyday activities, but regardless of your choice – both of the cases will give you a piece of mind with a decent drop protection. I know a number of people who got both of these cases with Commuter for everyday use and Defender for when they’re going biking or camping. Of course, everything is up to a personal preference, but if you require a maximum level of protection – Otterbox cases should be on your list of consideration.