OtterBox Blues

I eagerly anticipated the arrival of an OtterBox protective case for my new Samsung smartphone.  My sister has one for her phone which is similar to mine.  The phone, that is.  Amongst all the rave reviews I had heard about the OtterBox, not once did I hear that there are two type of OtterBox cases: The Defender Series and the Commuter Series.  I received the latter.

As I opened the box I saw right away that this one was different.  I had been expecting a front and a back that snap together with a built in screen cover.  What I got instead was a rubber layer that grabs the sides and covers the back, a hard plastic layer that covers most of the rubber, and a separate stick-on screen protector.  First disappointment.

"Oh well," I thought.  "Lets try it."

I have one of these sticker type screen protectors on my Kobo Touch, so I'm familiar with the concept.  This one refused to go on straight.  It is also very under-size, the edges of the sticker clearly visible all the way around.  It looks cheap!

Worse still, where the Kobo has a matte screen, my phone has a very glossy screen.  Every flaw in the application is immediately and glaringly obvious.  I have tried cleaning and reapplying the protector four times now.  Somehow a little speck of dust always finds it's way under there.

I would be tempted to just go without the sticker except for three things.  One, the rubber forms a wavy frame around the screen.  Two, the plastic has rough unfinished edges.  And three, most infuriatingly, the screen on my phone (supposedly made of scratch proof glass) already has scratches. . .

I'm done.  This one goes back tomorrow.  I hope the Defender is better because these are supposed to be the best cases available.