Case-Mate Tough Case for Samsung Galaxy S2 - Black

I bought this case as soon as I had my new phone. The galaxy s2 is very thin and I didn't want any damage done to it if it was dropped etc.
This case is brilliant! very tough, feels nice and is great quality. I have dropped my phone a few of times since having it and it just bounces with the case on, no damage was done at all.
Comes with two layers, a soft rubber innner case and the thicker and more solid outer case. It also protects the front by the small rubber lip being higher than the front screen, if it lands face down the screen isnt touching the floor.
I would highly recomend the case mate brand and this particular case especially.
I have also got the clear screen protector that you stick on to avoid any scratches to the screen, worth buying to protect the front as well just in case.

OVERVIEW

There is a story to tell about using protective cases with the Samsung Galaxy S2 (SGS2)... the story of the dreaded SGS2 Echo Problem. This review is intended for people who are looking at buying the Case-Mate Tough Case but are concerned about this echo problem. For those unaffected by the echo issue, sorry for the rambling and please just skip to my conclusion below.

ECHO PROBLEM

There is a serious issue with the Samsung Galaxy S2 that needs to be brought to light, namely the "echo" problem when the phone is used with a protective case such as the Case-Mate Tough Case, or any other case for that matter. This fault has affected a number of SGS2 users. Just Google "galaxy s2 echo problem" and you'll see what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, if your phone is affected then you're one of the unlucky ones because, as I found out, it is a hardware fault with the phone!

I bought my SGS2 a few weeks ago, and started looking into which case to get. This Case-Mate Tough Case sounded ideal for my needs, but I was concerned about a few reported "echo" issues (you'll see this mentioned in some reviews on this page). So I looked at reviews for other SGS2 cases from other manufacturers and I found similar reports. Then I found lots of reports on forums of people getting this problem with various cases. Confused and concerned, I decided to order one of the cheap cases made from TPU that you'll find everywhere for a few quid, and my plan was to use this while I decided on which high-quality case to buy.

When the cheap temporary case arrived I popped it on the phone and my first caller, without prompting, complained about their own voice being echoed back to them. To say that I was gutted is an understatement, especially after spending all that money on the phone and committing to a two year contract if I couldn't even protect the phone with a case!

After a bit more experimentation, I found what others had found: that the echo disappeared if I (a) switched off noise reduction every time a call was established, or (b) just used the speakerphone feature, or (c) removed the case from the phone. Updating the phone's firmware to the latest version made no difference at all.

To cut a long story short, I eventually called Samsung UK. Their response was shockingly dismissive, and you could tell they had been pre-programmed to completely deny that this issue existed. They told me that unless I was using the official Samsung case then they couldn't help me. As you may know, the official Samsung case is a thin piece of mesh plastic that clips to the back of the phone and offers virtually no protection at all! I'll talk more about Samsung's appalling cover-up in my review of the SGS2 (don't get me wrong, I love the phone!), but it is interesting to note that Samsung were going to sell an official case similar to Case-Mate's Tough Case but then withdrew it from sale. Google "samsung galaxy s2 d30 dual shell case"... this is now shown on just a couple of websites as "discontinued". I believe it was withdrawn because it highlighted a widespread problem with their own product, the SGS2.

I eventually took my SGS2 back to my mobile provider, and demonstrated the problem. Luckily they offered to exchange it, and I was amazed to find that the echo problem disappeared completely! I tried my cheap TPU case - no echo. I bit the bullet and ordered the Case-Mate Tough Case - it arrived, I fitted it... still no echo! :- The problem had been isolated to the phone itself. There is nothing wrong with the Tough Case, and there is nothing wrong with the cheap TPU cases or any of the other cases that have "echo" complaints against them.

If your SGS2 is affected by the echo problem, then ANY protective case that you put on your phone will cause the other party in the call to hear their own voice a fraction of a second after they speak, making a conversation a complete nightmare. Some cases might make the echo louder than others, but if your phone is affected then any case will cause you grief.

CONCLUSION

The Case-Mate Tough Case is an awesome case, and gets 4 out of 5 stars for perfect fit, protection of the phone and rugged good looks. This is the one that will probably stay on my phone for as long as I own it, just because I know it will extend the life of the phone and allow me to sell it on in a couple of years time in "mint condition". The case does add to the weight and thickness to the phone, but I think this is a small sacrifice for the extra grip and protection it provides (the naked phone is slim & slippery and wouldn't do well in a confrontation with concrete or tarmac). Note that the hard outer shell of the case is a slighly rubberised plastic, which is grippy in the hand but still slips in and out of the pocket easily. I've deducted one star because the case came without a screen protector, which is quite surprising for the price.

At first I thought I'm not going to put a case on my S2, because only one I liked was Samsung original case which didn't provide any protection except on the back. But if phone falls it usually fall on the corner, witch wasn't protected with Samsung's original case.
I had Case-Mate case for my wife's HTS desire S and I liked it very much, but I thought this case would be very bulky and as I read online forums it would give echo for person you calling.
But since case wasn't that expensive here on amazon I thought I would give it a go.
So when I got the case and put it on the phone I was surprised it didn't add much bulk to the phone despite being two layer case, silicon and plastic. And I love the grip that coating on the plastic provides.
But what I feared most happened, when I called my friend he complained about the echo he was hearing,he would hear everything he was saying back on his phone. SO I was very disappointed because I liked the case a lot. My phone Samsung galaxy S2 at that time was running Android version 3.x.x Honeycomb. I started to look online how to fix the problem. Some people where saying it's hardware problem, some blamed the case and where cutting out bigger holes for microphone and that helped them to get rid on echo effect.I didn't want to tamper with case because it would look ugly, so I thought I look for software fix. S2 has two microphones, one on the bottom and one on top for noise cancellation, and that was causing echo when the phone was in the case.
But then miracle happened. My phone company (Vodafone) started rolling out android update for S2 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich, and suddenly after update the echo was gone. So the problem was with the phones software not the case at least in my situation. For some people I read was the hardware problem with the microphone itself, so I'm not saying the software update going to fix everyone's problems.

I'm very careful with my phones, but yesterday after having case almost for the month, I was pulling my phone out of the pocked from pants ant it felt on asphalt, bouncing around. When I picked up the phone it had couple scratches, it basically hit all corners when it was bouncing. I thought scratches would stay, but I brushed them with my thumb and they disappeared, like nothing happened. I never taking my phone out of this case :)I Would recommend this case to anyone with Samsung Galaxy S2.