Galaxy S4 Case, Spigen Slim Armor Case for Galaxy S4 - Retail Packaging - White (SGP10204)

I've purchased plenty of phones and many cases for all my devices. When the product arrived, at first glance, the packaging was quite professional. Couldn't wait to pull it out of the packaging, and put it to the wringer.Installation:The soft plastic loosely wrap around the edge of the phone. The soft plastic may be soft, but the plastic is sturdy enough to be by itself to protect the phone.The harder part of the case goes over the soft wrap. Compared to various other hard cover over soft plastic, placing it on the is quite easily. Overall time, it will take you less than 20 seconds to put things on. Of course, the first few times, it may require you a few minutes to get used to its placement.Now for the tests..Slide test:Place the phone on my lap, the slanted surface, or balancing it over the curve lid of a storage container while I cook, when the phone rings and vibrates, the phone bounces and slides right off. Place it on my car dash board, and the phone slides like an ice hockey puck.Drop test:Yep. I have no problem testing the reliability of all the products I purchase. 1ft drop on the edges, no problem. Bounces right up. Accidental drop at 5ft on the back hard side and edges, no problem. The soft material is excellent at handling and distributing impact from the fall. The hard part protects the phone from damages, even though the bounce is less than the softer part.Pocket test:Yep. There's one. It's the lint and dirt factor. The soft plastic is a magnet for it. During warm days, especially riding my bike, the phone get moved around in the pockets. The soft plastic will scrap and bind to lint like nails to a magnet. The material actually remain nice and subtle, slightly dry, even during humid days and high sweaty body absorption by the clothes during sport activities. Soft part of the plastic created a non-slip.Accessories test:No issue with audio/mic and camera/video usages. No sensor blockage issue. LED in the back is as bright and unblock with or without the case. Buttons are easily pressed. Accidental pressing of buttons due to larger protrusion of the plastic buttons on the case is quite common, especially for the power button. Power connection for the micro USB is excellent. I use Media Bridge, Samsung default USB cable, old PC USB cables, and a few dedicated power micro USB head connector, all fits into the cutout of the soft plastic body.Price vs Quality/Reliability:I have no problem buying this, if it makes for other phones. I wish the back black plate has a bit of a grip to it, so my phone wouldn't be sliding all over the place on the surfaces. Of course, a bit of a padded mod will solve that. Would be nice to have it premade.

This's review of the white Spigen SGP10204 Slim Armor Case for the also white Samsung Galaxy S4.In general I hate cases and like my phones "naked" (except for the mandatory screen protector). But coming from much smaller iPhone S4 and Motorola Droid M and with my smaller than average male hands Samsung S4 feels unstable when holding and operating with one hand. On top of that by design the phone is slippery thanks to a very smooth back and rounded edges. Taking it out of the pocket feels to me like handling a thin and moist soap bar. Plastic construction doesn't instill confidence as well. All this made me convinced that dropping this phone is not "if" but "when" with latter happening fairly soon. Hence my decision to get the case.Here're my brief and subjective impressions:SUMMARY: Very nicely designed, crafted and looking case that strikes a decent balance between bulk and protection. But it still adds noticeable thickness and weight.PROS:* Inexpensive for what you get considering two part design and high level of materials and craftsmanship. Whole thing screams quality and attention to detail.* Very well made with exact tolerances and from nice materials, feels sturdy, both parts fit each other well and secure.* Two part design seems to promise good protection against fall, at least for the back, corners and sides (but see Con about the screen)* Fits the phone like a glove, very secure and with no creaking or "play".* Cutouts for phone controls, camera and inputs are very precise. There's no shading of camera and flash and plugs for all different headphones I tried fit well.* Button covers are well designed and don't make operate the phone any harder.* Relatively easy to put the phone in and take it out but not at the expense of the phone being loose inside the case.* Makes gripping the phone more secure because while the outer cover is smooth and glossy the inner black TPU part is non-slippery and has a nice feel to it.* Inside of the inner part is ribbed which not only adds to shock absorption but also helps the phone's back to "breath" and not being scratched by dust like it happens with some other tight cases.* You can use it without the outer TPU part or replace it with another color.* Comes in a very nice hard plastic case.* "Made in Korea" which somehow and probably pointlessly feels reassuring :)CONS:* It's all subjective but to me the case adds reasonable but noticeable increase in thickness and weight to an already rather big phone.* There's a wraparound "lip" over the screen but I feel it's too slight and wouldn't offer any protection if the phone falls screen down.* Covers for the power and volume buttons stick out too much adding to the overall width and make it harder to take the phone out if you like me and keep it in a front pocket of the tight jeans.* "Spigen SPG Slim" logo on the back is huge and since it's painted black "shouts" too much from the back of the white cover. Maybe I should try the "Metal Slate" replaceable cover which has a more subdued logo but I don't think it'll look good on a white phone.* I wish that Spigen would offer a white inner TPU case. Currently no matter what color is the outer part the inner one is always black.