SwitchEasy Lux Case for iPhone 4/4S Review
So let's go ahead and start off with the good points and progress from there on. It's made out of real leather, and the feel of it is readily apparent. It's soft and incredibly smooth, unlike most of the other cases out there, which uses silicon or rubber mixed with some plastics and the like. This feels truly high-end, the kind of product quality you've come to expect and love when you buy something from SwitchEasy. Although I'm not too sure, but I believe the insides of the case is also made out of leather and therefore, it will not scratch the antenna band on your phone unlike many of the snap-on cases; and the only reason I'm making this comparison is because in many ways, this feels like a snap on case more than a slide-in case. On the very top, we have a tab to keep the phone from sliding out, which is just the right length; not too short, not too long. I actually love this open top a lot more than I expected I would since then, you can basically fit any 3.5mm headphone connector into the jack without worrying about recession and compatibility issues that has plagued many of the iPhone cases out there. Towards the right hand side, we don't have any buttons and/or cut outs, which is definitely nice to see. On the bottom, there is a huge cut out with no dividers whatsoever between the speakers and changing port/dock connector. To some, this may be an advantage if you're the kind who often docks their devices on a music player or charging stand. But for the most part, I feel like SwitchEasy could've done a better job covering the bottom from scratches. Although the cut out is massive, as you can see from the pictures, the phone is securely put in place and there was never once where I felt like the phone is going to slide out from the bottom and smash on to the ground. Flipping over to the left hand side, we've got too markings for the volume rockers that were blended into the case pretty well in terms of texture and colour. It is not quite obvious, but it is there when you need it.
Since this is a slide on case, there are times where the phone would move a little around the case and therefore, when you try to hit the volume up/down switches, you might miss it once or twice. Certainly not a huge deal or deal breaker, but just something to note. Moving upwards, we get a pretty large cut out for the mute switch, which there is more than ample space for you to comfortably place the tip of your finger on. Flipping over to the back, we've got a pretty recessed camera cut out with black painted around it, presumably to reduce the chances of a flashback when taking pictures with flash. Kudos to SwitchEasy for thinking about the finer details like that. Moving down, we've got nothing more than a slab of leather and on the bottom right, we've got a protruding SwitchEasy logo in silver. In my experience of using the case extensively for two weeks or so, the logo got pretty scratched up since it's the only thing that's not uniform with the surface of the case. It reminds me of the Nokia N8's camera. Anyway, once again, this is not a huge issue as you'd have to look pretty closely to distinguish the scratches from the logo itself. During the period of testing, I've found that the back side of the leather case can be pretty dirty and will pick dirt quite easily. Obviously, this issue can be solved by picking a darker colour of the case but if white's your thing, then this is something you should take note. The stitches and general construction of the case is top-notch and is definitely comparable with the other SwitchEasy cases out there.
For a quick minute or so, let's talk about what you get with the packaging. For that price, you get two high quality clear screen protectors together with a microfiber cloth, presumably to ease the installation, and that's it. Nothing more. Whereas for a much lower price of $19.99 when you buy the SwitchEasy Eclipse, you would get a video viewing stand, jack/dock connector protector and a few others together with the screen protectors itself, which is of much better value. The accessories included is nothing to lose sleep over, but it's something SwitchEasy should take note. Overall, I love this case and I believe that you will too. It's pretty affordable considering it's entirely made out of leather and it will definitely protect your iPhone safely should you drop it. The screen protectors included is also a really nice touch from SwitchEasy.
Final Score: 8.8/10
A huge thank you to Mandy from SwitchEasy for sending this case out for review.
Michael Andrew