Over the past few months, both my older son and I have broken the belt clip that comes with the standard Blackberry 88xx case; a friend has broken the same clip four times since acquiring a 8830 last winter; my younger son dropped his 8100 about four or five feet such that the keyboard became non-functional. I also was having problems with the case occasionally falling off my belt (and made sure to remove my Blackberry from my belt whenever there was a chance it could accidentally fall into water).

At CES last January I attended the Showcase event on the Monday evening and came across the OtterBox booth where they were handing out the OtterBox 1000 waterproof cases, representative of the design considerations OtterBox takes into account in all their products. I also signed up for their monthly email newsletter. From their website:

Our cases are dedicated to all the klutzy, spontaneous, chaotic, graceless individuals who have broken a device or valuable due to their active lifestyle. Like our customers, we've been there too! From the beginning, we have protected valuables through innovation. This “innovative spirit” has allowed evolution in our product lines to safeguard the hottest technologies such as iPod's, smartphones, PDA's, Tablet PC's, laptops and other devices. We take the idea of a protective case to the next level so customers can find the ideal solution for any work environment or adventure!

A month ago I received one of their monthly emails, which recalled all the recent adventures described above. So I made an enquiry to see where they were sold in Canada and, given the issues I had run encountered as described above and my presence on Skype Journal, my contact offered to send me an evaluation Defender case for my Blackberry 8820.

The complete package comprises three layers that enclose the Blackberry: a clear plastic film which is "wrapped" around the Blackberry, a ruggedized plastic shell (with appropriate openings) and a silicon (rubber-like) outer case. In addition it includes a molded belt clip which is designed to wrap around any standard width belt. (Sorry ... no ultra-wide cowboy belts!) The OtterBox-enclosed Blackberry slides quite securely into the belt clip, held by a unique molded plastic "interlocking" pattern within each component (see image below). The Blackberry's "auto keyboard lock" feature is sensitive to the insertion of the Blackberry into the belt clip. OtterBox claims they protect against moisture (it's not waterproof, however), bumps, drops and scratches. They have really thought through all the aspects of operating your Blackberry in a normal, uninhibited manner.

I have now used the OtterBox for over three weeks, including under conditions that would have caused my original Blackberry belt clip to break. Most importantly I can certainly confirm their statement: "All functions of the phone remain fully usable through the case, and all ports are accessible through convenient Silicone plugs." Even the trackball is dealt with in a manner such that it loses none of its critical sensitivity. There is no difference in keystroke action on the keyboard and those side buttons, such as volume control, work perfectly fine. The only issue I encountered was smoothing out the initial plastic film that wraps around the Blackberry prior to inserting it into its shell. Basically your objective is to minimize or eliminate bubbles over the display. At my OtterBox contact's suggestion I found it was best to clean the inner side of the film with eyeglass cleaner and then rub the palm of my hand such that a very thin film of oil from my hand was left on the inside of the film; then scrape a plastic (credit) card over the display. Whatever was left of any bubbles was not noticeable when the screen was active and on.

Final confirmation: I just bought an OtterBox for the 8110/8120/8130 for my younger son's birthday to use on the 8110 Pearl he acquired to replace his broken 8100. And I have recommended it to my older son and the friend who broke four belt clips in four months.

Otterbox also provides cases for iPhone, Palm, HP and Symbol PDA's and smartphones. They also provide waterproof cases for digital cameras, MP3 players and other small items.

And there was no problem using iSkoot on my Otter-encased Blackberry while riding commuter trains to/from the Canadian iPhone launch yesterday. By the time I got home I had learned about all the iBrick issues via Twitter4Skype.

Tags: OtterBox, Blackberry, PDA case, protective case

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