It’s only been a few short weeks since the Philippine release of Samsung’s flagship mobile phone. This means new SGS3 owners like me have been gingerly babying their acquisitions in makeshift pouches or sleeves until purpose-built cases come out on the local market. Fortunately, a couple of different models are now gradually becoming available.

Today we look at the Speck Candyshell case. My sample case came in an attractive glossy two-toned black and grey finish. That color combination happens to work great with my white Galaxy S3.

The Candyshell, thankfully, does not add much heft or thickness to the already rather large Samsung. In fact, I felt that I had a more secure grip on the phone with the case installed, and that it fit better in my hand. The volume and power buttons and all the cutouts for camera, speaker and headphone were all well positioned and did not give me any problems. So I was getting ready to write up another ordinary, “yeah, it’s a nice case” review.

BUT! Here’s where my article takes a sudden turn. Speck touts the case as having two layers: the outer glossy shell, and a rubberized interior layer that offers shock absorption in case of suddden impacts.

Normally, I’d take their word for it but it turns out that this particular feature would be put to an unexpected torture test.

I went for a long bike ride in Nuvali last Saturday and had the phone in the zippered back pocket of my bike jersey. At some point during the ride, I must have used the phone and placed it back into the pocket without zipping it up. Back in the parking lot, sweaty and tired, I wanted to change into a dry shirt and so I yanked the jersey up and over my head. The S3 somersaulted into the air, spinning in sickening slow motion, and landed hard on the pavement. I immediately let loose with a barrage of syllables that rhyme nicely with “Duck Duck Duck”.

When I picked up the phone, I feared the worst. There was a deformed bump on the power button side of the case and the phone’s onscreen volume slider was trying to max itself out and making an incessant beeping sound. The screen and bezel, thankfully, looked intact.

Once I peeled off the Speck case, the volume slider stopped trying to max itself out. In absorbing the shock, the Candyshell’s rubber interior layer had deformed and temporarily pressed up against the volume button. I turned the phone over and over in my hands and checked all the hardware buttons and everything seemed to be ok. *long sigh of relief*

So there you have it. After having only been on my phone for less than 48 hours, my Candyshell review case is no longer usable, but my phone still is. Consider me a Speck fan!

Philippine Retail Price: P1,200

Coming  soon to your nearest Digital Walker branch

PROS:

• Simple and good looking
• Comes in five attractive colors
• Doesn’t add too much weight or heft to your S3
• May possibly save your phone’s life!

CONS:

• Hey, it saved my phone. I refuse to criticize anything about it.

Vic

Vic spends entirely too much on gadgets. So rather than try and kick the habit, he decided to become the Reviews Editor of Technoodling. Now, he has a perfectly good excuse. It's not an addiction: it's a job. His favorite noodle: Pappardelle.

email: vic@technoodling.netwebsite: http://www.technoodling.net