Since I bought my Platinum case for my Tour, I haven’t looked back. The only true contender to that case would be this Speck case. The reason behind that is because of the hard plastic cover over the screen. I have always seemed to like hard, plastic snap-on cases but hate how they wear out over time. Speck seems to have found the answer to this problem.

It has a “latch” style flap on the bottom rather than it being a snap-on all the way around. So the snap-on part on the top is not really snapped on. It’s placed in the correct grooves then the bottom is latched, avoiding any issues with wear from excessive changing of cases.  It also comes with a sturdy hard plastic holster, with a swivel belt clip. The only draw back that I have found with the holster is that the phone slides into it, rather than snapping in. This, throughout the duration of about five hours of use, has resulted in quite a few micro-scratches down the front of the screen cover.

The back of the case is a matte clear plastic, which I really like. This matte finish is a lot harder to scratch than the glossy front. On the top part covering the lock and mute keys, unlike most cases that leave this area unprotected, the buttons are covered by flexible plastic that still allows use of the keys while not sacrificing the protection. There is also a negative side to this; it makes the top keys very sensitive (I also have an invisible shield and this may not be the issue without that installed).

The case seems to fit the device very well and seems to block a little more dust that any other snap-on style case I have used to date. My only true problem with the case is the actual material of the case and holster. Since they are both hard plastic, it appears as if they may be too brittle. One hard fall, and this case may be done. I prefer a little bit of a softer plastic, they seem to absorb the impact of a fall a little more and withstand that fall as well. I may be wrong, but I like this case a good bit and don’t feel like doing a field test with it.

Pros:

Lightweight and form-fitting.

Comes with a sturdy holster.

Doesn’t change the appearance/size of the phone too much.

Protects screen and top two buttons.

Doesn’t seem as prone to wear and tear like most snap-ons.

Can still see notifications while in the holster.

Cons:

Very hard plastic may be brittle.

Scratches very easily.

Makes top buttons very sensitive.