Review: Body Glove Side Case 15

The Body Glove Side Case is a case that manages the difficult feat of being attractive and visually interesting cases while still being subtle enough to not call too much attention to itself. Made from soft and sturdy scuba material with a strong magnetic closure, the Body Glove Side Case is going to keep your Pre securely in place, but the case’s relatively thin shell may not protect it from hard impacts. That said, it’s a more than adequate case for most and quite adequately will keep your phone at the ready and in style.

Functionality

As this is a universal case, the Body Glove Side Case isn’t a perfect fit for the Palm Pre. And that’s not a bad thing, as the lack of a hole in the bottom for pushing the phone out means you have to lift it up through the top. Thankfully, the case is 2-3 mm taller and wider than a closed Pre, allowing adequate wiggle and twist room for pulling the phone out with ease.

The top flap has two magnets that form a bond with the two in the shell that deliberate outward force is required to open the case; no brush against a desk or countertop is going to open this case. That’s not to say that it’s hard to open, just that by design it only opens out-and-up. The flap is also cut and stitched in such a way that it will close itself in the event that you forget after stowing your Pre.

The belt clip is covered in the same smooth scuba material as the main body of the case. The clip is adequately strong and should keep the case in place in most conditions. That scuba material, however, won’t provide a lot of protection in most conditions. While it will keep the phone dry and easily resists scratching, it doesn’t come with much cushioning, so a direct blow could result in a crushed phone. That’s not to say that other cases won’t have the same result, but the scuba material is notably thinner than you’ll see on leather cases. Of course, the large top flap does cover most of the outside of the phone, so two layers are at least better than one.

Style

If there’s any one perk to this case over the plain-Jane cases that many a user owns, it’s the visual design. The main body of the case is a smooth matte-finish scuba material with gray stitching. Contrasting gray scuba piping rims an inset section where the top closes down and the outside of the flap is covered in pliant sheet of rubber textured with a waving grid. The variety of subdued layers, colors, and textures make this case one of the more subtly attractive phone carriers on the market.

Conclusion

While holding your phone just fine and looking great, the Body Glove Side Case’s thinness isn’t going to do much to protect your phone. If you’re working in a low-risk area like an office, you can’t do much better than an attractive and slim case like this.

[The Body Glove Side Case is available in the PreCentral.net Store for $24.95, a discount of $5.00 off the list price.]

Pros

Slim size

Cons

Thinness won