Android By Sal Cangeloso Mar. 26, 2014 3:17 pm
The HTC One M8 landed*with much fanfare from HTC’s dedicated base of aluminum Android phone supporters. The original HTC One, now known as the M7, was known for its excellent build quality and the craftsmanship of its metal shell. The One M8 is no different, in fact it improved on the M7 in a number of ways. This leaves owners in an interesting situation: do you get this beautiful device and protect its outer shell with a case while hiding away that wonderful aluminum hairline finish, or do you boldly leave the case at home, living each day to its fullest, with your M8 unprotected from hazards of everyday life?
If you do opt for a case — and we in no way blame your for it — there are many good ones out there despite the fact that the phone is barely a few hours old. This article intents to round up the best options available and help you find the best One (M8) case for you. And now, on to the HTC One cases…
As you can see in the video, the Dot View case is quite cool. It’s also comfortable, relatively low profile, and has a hard, protective back. At $50 the Dot View isn’t cheap, but it uses nice materials and it’s genuinely something that adds a coolness factor to the smartphone, which is incredibly rare for a case. And because you can receive calls and see alerts with the case closed, it’s pretty useful as well.*The Dot View is available in a dark grey and then a variety of colors, though it’s not clear if all the colors will be sold in the US.
The other cases I demoed — the OtterBox and Case-Mate — were much less impressive. The Case-Mate is a clear plastic shell that’s super light, but it’s also flimsy and has no bells or whistles. The fact that it’s perfectly clear is great, but once it picks up a few scuffs the crystal-like transparency will be gone and you’ll be left with a translucent piece of plastic. The main benefit here is that you’ll be able to see the M8′s aluminum finish while keeping the back and sides of the phone relatively protected. We haven’t seen it yet, but Case-Mate’s Naked Tough seems like a better option.
The OtterBox is, as always, the case for people who want maximum protection. It doesn’t have a front flap but *it features a dual-layer design that pairs a soft, shock-absorbing rubber on the inside with hard plastic on the outside. And the OtterBox’s hard plastic is a whole different level than that found on the HTC Dot View or the Case-Mate, as it’s sturdier and clearly designed to take some punishment. That said the OtterBox case is bulky and isn’t something you’d want to use day-to-day, unless you have a nasty habit of breaking phones. Also, with this case on the One M8 you might has well have a phone made of plastic or possibly some form of scrap metal because the hairline aluminum will go completely unappreciated.
After these, you have all the other standard options available. The companies that fall into this category of good-enough products include players like Speck, Incipio, and Spigen. We haven’t tested out any of these yet, but they are normally perfectly acceptable options, plus there is the added benefit that you might be able to find at design that you liked in the past and buy it again, such as the Cruzerlite Bugdroid that turned out to be a fine Nexus 5 case.
The big thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that you’ll want to double check and make sure that any case you buy is for the “HTC One M8″ or the “HTC One 2014″ as there are still HTC One M7 cases on the market and the cases are not compatible with one another.
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The HTC One M8 landed*with much fanfare from HTC’s dedicated base of aluminum Android phone supporters. The original HTC One, now known as the M7, was known for its excellent build quality and the craftsmanship of its metal shell. The One M8 is no different, in fact it improved on the M7 in a number of ways. This leaves owners in an interesting situation: do you get this beautiful device and protect its outer shell with a case while hiding away that wonderful aluminum hairline finish, or do you boldly leave the case at home, living each day to its fullest, with your M8 unprotected from hazards of everyday life?If you do opt for a case — and we in no way blame your for it — there are many good ones out there despite the fact that the phone is barely a few hours old. This article intents to round up the best options available and help you find the best One (M8) case for you. And now, on to the HTC One cases…
- HTC One M8 Dot View case – $50
- HTC One M8 TPU case
- Case-Mate Barely There clear plastic case – $25
- Case-Mate Naked Tough – $35
- OtterBox Commuter series – $40
- Cruzerlite Sline TPU csae – $6
- Cruzerlite Bugdroid case – $13
- Spigen Case Slim Armor – $25
As you can see in the video, the Dot View case is quite cool. It’s also comfortable, relatively low profile, and has a hard, protective back. At $50 the Dot View isn’t cheap, but it uses nice materials and it’s genuinely something that adds a coolness factor to the smartphone, which is incredibly rare for a case. And because you can receive calls and see alerts with the case closed, it’s pretty useful as well.*The Dot View is available in a dark grey and then a variety of colors, though it’s not clear if all the colors will be sold in the US.
The other cases I demoed — the OtterBox and Case-Mate — were much less impressive. The Case-Mate is a clear plastic shell that’s super light, but it’s also flimsy and has no bells or whistles. The fact that it’s perfectly clear is great, but once it picks up a few scuffs the crystal-like transparency will be gone and you’ll be left with a translucent piece of plastic. The main benefit here is that you’ll be able to see the M8′s aluminum finish while keeping the back and sides of the phone relatively protected. We haven’t seen it yet, but Case-Mate’s Naked Tough seems like a better option.
The OtterBox is, as always, the case for people who want maximum protection. It doesn’t have a front flap but *it features a dual-layer design that pairs a soft, shock-absorbing rubber on the inside with hard plastic on the outside. And the OtterBox’s hard plastic is a whole different level than that found on the HTC Dot View or the Case-Mate, as it’s sturdier and clearly designed to take some punishment. That said the OtterBox case is bulky and isn’t something you’d want to use day-to-day, unless you have a nasty habit of breaking phones. Also, with this case on the One M8 you might has well have a phone made of plastic or possibly some form of scrap metal because the hairline aluminum will go completely unappreciated.
The big thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that you’ll want to double check and make sure that any case you buy is for the “HTC One M8″ or the “HTC One 2014″ as there are still HTC One M7 cases on the market and the cases are not compatible with one another.
More...
