Review: Body Glove Landmark Universal Case 8

While just a plain simple case, the Body Glove Landmark Universal Case is both an attractive and useful hip case. Not designed with the Palm Pre specifically in mind, the Landmark Universal case is a near perfect fit for the phone. Unlike some cases made for the Pre that invariably end up a very tight fit, the Pre fits in the Landmark Universal securely, but is still easily inserted and removed.

Functionality

As you’d expect the Body Glove Landmark Universal case holds your Pre just as well as any other case on the market. What’s important is how well it protects the phone and how easy it is to put it in and pull it back out. As far as protection is concerned, the exterior of the Landmark Universal is a soft brown leather-like (but not actually leather) finish that while supple to touch won’t likely provide heavy impact protection. But it should do adequately for most situations, so long as you aren’t rock-climbing or on the construction site.

To maintain a secure-but-not-too-tight fit, the sides of the Landmark Universal case a split and then filled with an elastic expansion joint that provides up to an extra 5 mm of girth, though the Pre only needs about 1-2 mm of that. A long magnetic tab provides closure across the top opening, its magnets are strong enough to pull the case closed from over two centimeters away. The leather-wrapped belt clip on the back rotates 90 degrees in either direction from vertical, though the base of the clip can lift slightly and get caught on your belt when trying to put it on. Once on, however, the clip is very strong and will hold the phone on your hip under all but the most extreme impacts.

All that said, the Landmark Universal case is much more encompassing than cases designed with the Pre in mind. With the top tab open, you can access the headphone jack, ringer switch, and power button (not that it will do you a lot of good inside the case). The side cut-outs are just low enough that you can grab the phone with a finger and thumb to lift it out.

Style

The Landmark Universal case is a neutral shade of brown that should work with just about everything but black and dark gray clothes. The simple design will be equally at-home on both slacks and jeans, and the smooth matte finish doesn’t call attention to itself like some other cases. A simple Body Glove logo has been branded onto the magnetic tab, but you can’t really tell that it’s a hand without close inspection.

Conclusion

The Body Glove Landmark Universal Case is a subdued hip case that will easily hold your Pre while providing adequate protection for most situations. The expanding elastic sides allow for a secure fit that’s not too tight and the strong magnetic tab will hold the Pre in even under the force of a roller coaster or rocket launch.

The Body Glove Landmark Universal Case is available in the PreCentral.net Store for just $19.95.

Pros

Soft Finish

Cons

No access to phone features