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Just got the Samsung S4, need a good protective case

2K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  mbhydro 
#1 ·
I am at the Bestbuy website, I see the Otter, Lifeproof and Ballistic cases.


$89.99 - LifeProof nüüd Waterproof Case

$79.99 - LifeProof fre Waterproof

$59.99 - OtterBox Defender

$39.99 - OtterBox Commuter

$34.99 - Ballistic Tough Jacket

Plus theres all these other brand names.......for Samsung S4.......

Brands

ADREAMA (8)
AFFINITY (3)
BALLISTIC (1)
BELKIN (4)
BUGATTI (4)
CASE-MATE (7)
CELLET (15)
DIESEL (2)
EXIAN (22)
GELGRIP (10)
GRIFFIN (1)
IFROGZ (1)
ISKIN (1)
KAJSA (5)
LIFEPROOF (2)
LOGIIX (5)
MUVIT (7)
OTTERBOX (2)
PUREGEAR (6)
ROCKETFISH (2)
SAMSUNG (5)
SEIDIO (5)
TECH 21 (3)
VETTA (2)
WHITE DIAMONDS (5)
 
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#2 ·
My Galaxy S3 lived in a cheap plastic case for a couple of years. That was sufficient to provide some shock absorbing when dropped.

The screen is supposed to be Gorilla Glass, so nothing is really needed. It is pretty touch, but nowhere near as scratch resistant as my iPhone 3Gs or my partner's iPhone 6. Still, I did not put a screen protector onto it, and after almost three years of not babying the phone, the screen is still good.

Not sure about the SG4, but the battery in my SG3 was really not up to scratch. I used the GPS a lot, and played videos, so I ended up going to a larger battery. This means using the back that comes with the battery, which makes the phone a different size.

I would suggest using the SG4 for a few weeks, and see if the battery is sufficient for you. Spending up to $100 on a case that will just be collecting dust should you need a larger battery does not seem like a good investment.
 
#3 ·
^^^ The above post has excellent suggestions.

I have a GS3 in an Otterbox Defender case. Has been dropped a few times, phone is virtually pristine.

I've just ordered another Defender case for it. What seems to be the weak link is the belt clip arrangement. Protects the phone well, but the clip to the belt gradually fell apart.

The new one is a purple / plumb (not terribly excited at that, but that's all there was without resorting to on-line).

Seeing as the GS4 is two models back, think carefully how long you'll have the phone and the environment it's in.

Since these phones tend to change models frequently, you might want to invest in two cases and put one away, as the cases generally available tend to follow the most recent models of phones.

Cameron
 
#4 ·
MY phone lives in an Otterbox Defender series. While it adds a little bit to the phones size it can fall and get tossed around with 0 issues

Looks mint every time I clean the case and phone
 
#5 ·
Well my last phone the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2x - Unlocked, from Fido seems to be a reject/returned and pawned off onto a "boxed" pay-as-you-go customer, hence me. Totally laggy, craps out, bogs down. I figure I get the S4, bigger screen but not too big.

I found out my S4 is a i337, I have Virgin Mobile, I go to GSMArena website, my phone aint even listed, only a bunch of i9500's series. I didnt realize the Settings|More|About Device actually listed it in model number, hence SGH-1337M, however its i337m. So I dont know if my phone is good, oldest of the S4 or what. I am just an average user, text, calls, 300MB of internet use, calender, alarm, notepad.

Bestbuy has the Seidio Active for $12, half off. I will start with that. My Ace2x I bought 4 cases for it, off ebay. Dont know when they come from China, if the rubber is safe, or has lead in it, to be frank with ya. I will try to hunt down the specs for the i337, but I am only assuming the # being so low, its an older then i9500 cell. Which case I will just return it to BestbuyMobile, and ask around the stores for the i9500.

Stock my battery seems to be 2600 mAh, from cnet.com, I have a $20 5Ah USB power stick, but
 
#9 ·
I found that out just now, its actually the North American and it looks like the people in Mexico got the same i337m phone as well. The 9505 is a octa chipset, while the 9500 is a quad, no difference really in performance, as the octa only uses either side using only 4 cores at a time. Got absolutely no info on the i337, in comparison to other SG-S4 models. If I go to GSMArena.com which has literally millions of cell phones on file, they have nothing, no specs, nothing, absolutely nothing for the i337m, which I would assume is their major market, the great and most powerful nation in the world, the USA. But yet no info on the i337m, which worries me even more. I got 9 more days to make my decision, before I return the beast of a cell. I paid $75 for it, thought it was free, so maybe I can get a better phone for $100 cash.
 
#10 ·
Your phone has the same specs as the AT&T Galaxy S4 (i337). On GSMArena, it mentions the i337 on the page for the i9505.

Essentially the primary differences come down to the modem/baseband, which determines what frequencies the phone supports. The "m" suffix just indicates it's the Canadian model (Samsung does this frequently).

So no, there's no worries about this being inferior to the i9505. Cell phone model numbers are just confusing.
 
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