Fr0stTr0n
Well-Known Member
Allight, like alot of you Note 2 owners, your Note 2 is your preeeeeeciousssssss 
Seriously, well no, seriously, it is OUR precious indeed and I personally like to take care of my expensive electronic toys to prevent mishappenings and expensive replacements.
Ergo, I learned this the hard and expensive way of being a total dumbass and ruining my beloved Note 1 back in October by taking it into the bathtub with me to websurb. Low and behold, I lost my grip on it and "splash" it went and in within 2 seconds, my Note 1 just wasn't the same anymore. Yeah, I had insurance with Asurion but honestly, who in the hell would wanna pay a $200 deductible for a refurbished Note 1 with the Note 2 out?
In any case, two weeks ago I managed to get a "Exception upgrade" through a local AT&T rep at store and got my second lovely new Marble White Note 2 after the first one had stuck pixels on it.
In any case, like alot of you, I went through and spend hours here and on web all around trying to decide what case to protect my beauty from the harshness that is gravity as well as typical daily use. I knew I would like the Otterbox Commuter from my last experience with Otter on my Droid X but the Samsung Case + also looked very nice, so being me, I bought both and finally got the Case + today to compare them side by side and here are my thoughts.
The Samsung Case + does look rather streamlined in comparison to the Commuter. Its not as bulky as the Commuter in comparison and doesn't increase the general phone size if your preference is to keep size and weight down. However, the first trade off is that because of the design, the Case + isn't as easy to grip as the Commuter thanks to it ribbed back, and larger amounts of silicon rubber to hold onto. Again, this will be down to preference but for me, the commuter is easier to hold onto by far.
The Case + will protect from slight dings, nicks, scratchs and banging your phone around in your pocket and accidently walking into walls, chairs ect.... The full wrap around of the Case + will assure that your your Note 2 will be generally protected and the fact that the buttons are covered to prevent debris from entering is also a nice bonus
Whats obvious from the start is that the Commuter is designed to take the punishment of any impact vs the Case +. The polycarbonate shell is essentially unbreakable by design and is nearly twice the thickness of the Case +. Along with the silicon body glove, the Note 2 is protected by nearly 4 mm's of case as you can see by the pen opening. I also found that the Case + causes the speaker output to lay flat on the table, allowing the speaker to be muffled where as the Commuter has a slight raised edge on the speaker hole, allowing it to function without a problem.
However, its easy to see the Commuter is designed with more protection from abuse in mind vs the Case +. The silicon rubber glove will help absorb shock and impact all around the phone were the Case + is pretty much just another layer of plastic.
Looking closely, you can see on the corners of the Commuters silicon glove there are "sectioned off" looking compartments. These are designed to help absorb the heavy shock from being dropped onto a hard surface on the corners of the phone. Again, the Case + basically has some semi flexible silicon on the edges but hardy enough to absorb the jerk that is gravity in carrying your phone to its death onto concrete
One thing I was surprised to find was that the Case + actually has a tassle loop on the upper left corner if you really wanted to "tassle carry" your Note 2. I dunno about you, but there is no way I would try to carry a phone as big and heavy as the Note 2 with nothing but the case clinging onto it with a tassle and though the Case + snaps on pretty firmly, I wouldn't trust it with my Note 2's life. Though it has to be said the buttons on the Case + are easier to push then the Commuters for obvious reasons
Another big difference is that the Commuter gives your Note 2 a good 3mm of screen saving space as a result of the body glove. This will ensure it will be very difficult for your Note 2's lovely screen to meet any sort of surface sans hitting a rock or very uneven surface like gravel or rock pit.
The Case + however barely gives you around 1mm of clearance on the screen when layed flat and because the semi flexible rubber on the Case + isn't very thick let alone shock absorbing, there as much better chance your Note 2's beautiful screen won't survive a hard smack on the surface beyond a cushy carpeted fall.
Another big difference between the cases is that the Commuter has nice big flaps to protect the headphone and charging ports when not in use. People who have carried phones in their pockets are full aware of how much dirt and crap can get stuck in those ports from previous experience on other phones that basically requires a toothbrush or compressed air to clean out. The flaps stay firmly in place against the hard shell with small built in tabs and because the silicon is rather slippery, the covers do not open very easily by accident.
All being said in done, its gonna be be up to your personal choice of what case fits your needs and usage of your Note 2. The smaller Case + might be a better choice for those who are small handed and or are extremely careful with their phones all around or carry their Note 2 in purses or handbags and such. It also does look sleeker if your more into the presentation of your $700 phone and just want basic protection to protect from every day usage vs having the phone naked and vulnerable.
The Commuter is much more ready to protect your $700 investment from the rigors of being dropped, mishandled and in general, saving you from the shock, misery and sadness of seeing your phone smashed to bits on the cold concrete.
That being said, the Commuter makes it easier for me to hold the phone and gives me a more comfortable and safe feeling in protecting my new beloved Note 2, so its Otterbox for this Note 2 owner.
Seriously, well no, seriously, it is OUR precious indeed and I personally like to take care of my expensive electronic toys to prevent mishappenings and expensive replacements.Ergo, I learned this the hard and expensive way of being a total dumbass and ruining my beloved Note 1 back in October by taking it into the bathtub with me to websurb. Low and behold, I lost my grip on it and "splash" it went and in within 2 seconds, my Note 1 just wasn't the same anymore. Yeah, I had insurance with Asurion but honestly, who in the hell would wanna pay a $200 deductible for a refurbished Note 1 with the Note 2 out?
In any case, two weeks ago I managed to get a "Exception upgrade" through a local AT&T rep at store and got my second lovely new Marble White Note 2 after the first one had stuck pixels on it.
In any case, like alot of you, I went through and spend hours here and on web all around trying to decide what case to protect my beauty from the harshness that is gravity as well as typical daily use. I knew I would like the Otterbox Commuter from my last experience with Otter on my Droid X but the Samsung Case + also looked very nice, so being me, I bought both and finally got the Case + today to compare them side by side and here are my thoughts.
The Samsung Case + does look rather streamlined in comparison to the Commuter. Its not as bulky as the Commuter in comparison and doesn't increase the general phone size if your preference is to keep size and weight down. However, the first trade off is that because of the design, the Case + isn't as easy to grip as the Commuter thanks to it ribbed back, and larger amounts of silicon rubber to hold onto. Again, this will be down to preference but for me, the commuter is easier to hold onto by far.
The Case + will protect from slight dings, nicks, scratchs and banging your phone around in your pocket and accidently walking into walls, chairs ect.... The full wrap around of the Case + will assure that your your Note 2 will be generally protected and the fact that the buttons are covered to prevent debris from entering is also a nice bonus
Whats obvious from the start is that the Commuter is designed to take the punishment of any impact vs the Case +. The polycarbonate shell is essentially unbreakable by design and is nearly twice the thickness of the Case +. Along with the silicon body glove, the Note 2 is protected by nearly 4 mm's of case as you can see by the pen opening. I also found that the Case + causes the speaker output to lay flat on the table, allowing the speaker to be muffled where as the Commuter has a slight raised edge on the speaker hole, allowing it to function without a problem.
However, its easy to see the Commuter is designed with more protection from abuse in mind vs the Case +. The silicon rubber glove will help absorb shock and impact all around the phone were the Case + is pretty much just another layer of plastic.
Looking closely, you can see on the corners of the Commuters silicon glove there are "sectioned off" looking compartments. These are designed to help absorb the heavy shock from being dropped onto a hard surface on the corners of the phone. Again, the Case + basically has some semi flexible silicon on the edges but hardy enough to absorb the jerk that is gravity in carrying your phone to its death onto concrete
One thing I was surprised to find was that the Case + actually has a tassle loop on the upper left corner if you really wanted to "tassle carry" your Note 2. I dunno about you, but there is no way I would try to carry a phone as big and heavy as the Note 2 with nothing but the case clinging onto it with a tassle and though the Case + snaps on pretty firmly, I wouldn't trust it with my Note 2's life. Though it has to be said the buttons on the Case + are easier to push then the Commuters for obvious reasons
Another big difference is that the Commuter gives your Note 2 a good 3mm of screen saving space as a result of the body glove. This will ensure it will be very difficult for your Note 2's lovely screen to meet any sort of surface sans hitting a rock or very uneven surface like gravel or rock pit.
The Case + however barely gives you around 1mm of clearance on the screen when layed flat and because the semi flexible rubber on the Case + isn't very thick let alone shock absorbing, there as much better chance your Note 2's beautiful screen won't survive a hard smack on the surface beyond a cushy carpeted fall.
Another big difference between the cases is that the Commuter has nice big flaps to protect the headphone and charging ports when not in use. People who have carried phones in their pockets are full aware of how much dirt and crap can get stuck in those ports from previous experience on other phones that basically requires a toothbrush or compressed air to clean out. The flaps stay firmly in place against the hard shell with small built in tabs and because the silicon is rather slippery, the covers do not open very easily by accident.
All being said in done, its gonna be be up to your personal choice of what case fits your needs and usage of your Note 2. The smaller Case + might be a better choice for those who are small handed and or are extremely careful with their phones all around or carry their Note 2 in purses or handbags and such. It also does look sleeker if your more into the presentation of your $700 phone and just want basic protection to protect from every day usage vs having the phone naked and vulnerable.
The Commuter is much more ready to protect your $700 investment from the rigors of being dropped, mishandled and in general, saving you from the shock, misery and sadness of seeing your phone smashed to bits on the cold concrete.
That being said, the Commuter makes it easier for me to hold the phone and gives me a more comfortable and safe feeling in protecting my new beloved Note 2, so its Otterbox for this Note 2 owner.
