Technocel Snap-On Cover w/ Holster

[AndyMcDroid]

My Technocel cover and holster arrived the other day, but I've been too busy to take/post pics until now. First, the cover fits like a glove, and snaps together easily, leaving no wiggle room once installed. The holster is reminiscent of the OG Droid holster sold by Verizon, but this one is designed for use only with the cover. The ratcheting mechanism on the belt clip is weak, allowing the phone to spin too freely. While this is a far cry from the belt clip on the shell/holster sold by Verizon for the Bionic, it's no worse than the belt clip on the previously mentioned OG Droid holster. My only other complaint is that the spring clip sticks out farther than I would like, but this seems necessary to allow the phone to push the clip out of the way when you're placing it in the holster.

But does it fit in the docks? Standard dock - yes, easily. Car/vehicle navigation dock - physically, yes; dock detection, no. But there's good news - at least for those willing to take a dremel or file to their dock. The problem with the car dock is that the phone with the cover installed sits too high in the dock for the USB connector on the dock to insert all the way into the phone - otherwise the phone fits fine, and the retaining latch easily reaches over the phone without having to force the phone into position.

I was able to remedy the problem with the USB connector by removing the back from the dock, removing the USB connector, enlarging the opening that the connector comes through (using a file), and slide the connector up about 3/16", epoxy the connector in place, and re-assemble the dock.

Here are some pictures of the cover, holster, and dock (pre and post surgery), as well as the installed dock, using the i.Trek IG-PSTARA sticky dash mount (small adhesive rectangle with post & ball).

Bionic Car Dock and Technocel case and holster pictures by MetroConnect - Photobucket

 

[GBH2]

Thanks for the review! Although, you don't really say what your overall impression of the case is.

Are you happy with it?
Would you recommend it?
How does it feel?(Soft touch? Cheap plastic? Nice rubbery grip or slippery plastic?)
What is the overall quality? (For OG Droid, I found the Seidio case/Holster much higher quality than the Verizon Shell/holster. I broke 3 in 1 year of the VZW while the Seidio lasted over a year and never broke)

 

[AndyMcDroid]

Sorry. I had a good bit of detail in my original post, but accidentally closed the browser window before posting. What you see above is a dejected attempt at reproducing the original.

I AM happy with it. For anyone looking for a spring-clip style holster and case, I would definitely recommend it. The outside of the case is rubberized, but could be more so and I would like it better, though it's not slippery at all as is. The glossiness of the inside of the case makes it appear cheap, but the case is actually thicker around the edges of the phone, so while I feel the phone itself would survive a fall with the case on, I'm not as confident regarding the survival of the case. It's definitely not an Otterbox (I had one on my Blackberry, so I know what they're like).

In the end, I like it enough that I modified my Motorola car dock to make it work with this case.

 

[ScorpionLance]

Can the phone be inserted into the holster with the screen facing out? im trying to find a case/holster combo that i can use with a car mount but i dont want to use the oem car dock.

 

[AndyMcDroid]

No. The phone does not fit in the holster with the screen facing out. The Otterbox Defender can go in the holster facing in or out. I believe the Body Glove case/holster faces out.

 

[ConqSoft]

Not bad, but I don't like the way they handled the noise cancellation microphone on the back. Making the camera hole bigger is a crappy way to leave it open IMO. All other cases just have a small hole there.

 

[ScorpionLance]

No. The phone does not fit in the holster with the screen facing out. The Otterbox Defender can go in the holster facing in or out. I believe the Body Glove case/holster faces out.

I wonder if it would with a little coaxing with a lighter? I had the Verizon shell/holster case for my incredible and I got it to work by heating and bending the side clips out a little.