Accessory review: Body Glove protective cover for HTC One S
It’s been a little while since I reviewed the HTC One S for T-Mobile, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s time to stop talking about cases. In fact, a good-looking, durable case is often the first thing one buys after investing potentially hundreds of dollars into a smartphone. But how does the Body Glove protective cover for the One S perform? Is it worth your money, or are there better options out there?
Read on to find out!
The Body Glove protective cover comes in standard packaging, i.e. cardboard and clear plastic. It’s really nothing special, and does not look especially premium. In fact, I originally thought it was actually a gel case because of the name and how the case looked through the packaging!
Actually, in spite of my initial impressions from the rather generic packaging, this is one of my favorite cases for the One S. Once you unpack it, you’ll see what it’s really like.
It has a hard, clear plastic back, with protective strips that easily peel off. In other words, this really allows the true beauty of the phone’s color shine through.
This case very easily pops onto the phone, and it’s also very easy to pop it off when needed. But still, it fits very snug; there’s really no discernible wiggle room.
The plastic sides are also extremely easy to grip thanks to the grooved texture; it would be hard to drop this thing! The gray plastic between the ridges is also soft to the touch and feels very premium.
As you can see, the ports are all easily accessible. However, I have one small gripe about the volume buttons: since they are covered up by this case, they’re a little hard to push. The case also prevents you from feeling the “click” of the buttons, so it’s difficult to tell how hard I need to push, and I end up pushing too hard – this might affect how long the volume buttons last in the long run.
However, top buttons are all easily accessible, because the case is cut out just perfectly to keep them exposed. The same goes for the microphone at the bottom.
The case also includes a cut-out for the rear speaker, which is a very nice and very appreciated touch. However, the Body Glove logo overlaps with the Beats Audio logo on the back – that seems poorly planned, and it doesn’t look very good in practice.
The rear camera is also protected, even though it’s exposed. It is not flush, like with some other, thinner cases, and this is definitely a good thing.
I really like the color of the case, and the fact that it’s clear on the back; it goes great with the color of the phone. The case itself is also very minimal, while providing great protection at the same time. At first glance, someone who isn’t famililar with the One S might even think you’re not using a case at all! As an added bonus, it adds virtually no weight to the phone.
I’d be worried about the plastic back scratching over time, but I’ve not used this long enough to find that out. It also seems like over time, dust might be able to accumulate between the phone and case, or be attracted to the ridges, but again, this hasn’t been an issue yet. (This does seem to affect most cases, though, so it will probably be unavoidable.)
This is by far my favorite case for the phone yet – it’s got a premium look and feel for a very reasonable price, and provides great protection. I’ve knocked off one star due to the issue with the volume rocker that I mentioned above, but other than that, I don’t think you can go wrong with this case.
The Body Glove protective cover for the HTC One S is available in T-Mobile stores for $29.99.
