Today we’re looking at a couple elegant yet affordable cases from BoxWave. These are the Minimus Brushed Aluminum case and the Black Leather Book Jacket.
Click here to see a video slideshow of the cases
BoxWave has one of the most thorough lineups when it comes to the Galaxy Note 2. They really deserve a lot of credit for taking a chance on a great full selection of cases. They are trying to make the market themselves rather than wait to follow others and that’s bold. We like bold a lot because bold means innovation. While we see the plain plastic snap on shells in abundance as well as the occasional flip case mimicking Samsung’s original, the iProducts still have all the fun with case design. BoxWave offers Note 2 cases with metal, real wood, synthetic leather, kickstands, and a full aluminum enclosure case called the AluArmor Jacket. We looked at a snap on back case with real metal inlay, and a synthetic leather stand case called the Book Jacket. I enjoyed both for different reasons.
Minimus Brushed Aluminum Case – Great clean look, this case is a clear plastic hard shell snap on case with a real sheet of aluminum inlaid on the back. This is not a vinyl sticker. Brush you hand over the metal and it’s cold to the touch. A great feature is that the minimus case is available in 5 different vibrant metallic colors. Black, silver, purple, pink, and blue are all the same price and they all look great. All the cutouts match up well. The camera hole is a little tight but it has not affected my shots at all to date.
One point of caution here, people worry about metal cases as they might interfere with your phone’s signal. Unfortunately, while wearing the minimus case, my note 2 would consistently lose one full bar of reception. This might be my specific phone or area, but be warned. The metal itself is applied to the outside of the case so this can scratch and patina over time with use. A small lip wraps around the front of the screen to protect when the phone is placed face down. Know when you purchase this case that this is a decorative case and not necessarily a protective case. I’m careful with my phone and I’m glad to have the style of the minimus. If you’re clumsy though, don’t chance it. Look at something like the Book Jacket instead…
Black Leather Book Jacket – The book jacket is a type of flip case but it has many advantages some flip cases we’ve reviewed in the past. To start, nobody is trying to pass this off as genuine leather. This is synthetic, but it feels great to the touch, it’s plush, and there was no odd chemical smell that you’ll find in most synthetic material cases. The Book Jack protects all 4 corners of the phone while allowing unobstructed access to all the phone’s ports and buttons. Of course the famous S-pen is easily accessible as well. The cover has one fairly deep channel cut into it which does a great job of grabbing and holding your phone in the landscape mode. A great feature is that the clasp that holds the phone closed also acts as a stopper if your phone slips out of the channel. Extremely unique is the thickness of this case. Most of the flip cases you will find out there offer a flimsy, thin, cardboard or plastic sheet for a cover. The Book Jacket is padded and it feels safe. The downside of this thickness and a drawback for the Book Jacket is that there is NO CUTOUT FOR THE HOME BUTTON. This is a large oversight for a Note 2 case. All versions of the phone include a home button and the cutout relieves pressure and avoids accidental button pushes. To remedy this though, it is extremely simple to disable your home button wake feature using root explorer program available in the Google play store. That issue fixed, the Book Jacket is a very well made case. I’m using it as my daily case at the moment and considering the price, it’s a great value. The Book Jacket is available in black, white, and red. Important Note! There is no cutout on the front of the case to allow you to see the notification light. If you depend on this you'd need to improvise by maybe drilling a small hole.
Thank you again to BoxWave for supplying their product for review.
How much: The Minimus Brushed Aluminum case can be yours for $17.95 and the Book Jacket will set you back $29.95
Both cases and more are available on boxwave.com
If you haven’t, click here to see a video slideshow of the cases from more angles
ENJOY YOUR GADGETS!
@gadgetPOP
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