OtterBox and Incipio Cases For The Motorla Atrix 4G Smartphone Reviewed

Otterbox Impact Series Silicone Case

The Motorola Atrix 4G is one of the latest and greatest Android powered phones available on the AT&T network and became famous as the first dual-core smartphone thanks to the NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor that powers the device. The Motorola Atrix is also pretty expensive as the standard 2-year contract price is $199.99 and the no commitment price is $549.99. If you happen to drop and break the Motorola Atrix 4G then you are going to be faced with an expensive repair bill or having to fork over $549.99 to buy another one. Today we are taking a look at four cases for the Motorola Atrix 4G that aren’t that expensive and will help protect your new smartphone!

• Otterbox Impact Series – $19.95
• Incipio Feather Ultralight – $24.99
• OtterBox Commuter Series – $34.95
• OtterBox Defender Series – $49.95

The four cases that we will be looking at today feature manufacturer’s suggested retail prices that range from $20 to $50 and differ greatly in how they work. We’ll be covering each one and let you figure out which one is right for you.

We will be looking at these cases in order of price, so first up is the least expensive case. The lowest costing case of the four that we have just happens to be the $19.95 Motorola Atrix 4G Impact Series Case by OtterBox. The part number on this exact case is MOT1-ATRIX-20-E4OTR_A and the only color this type of case is available in happens to be black. OtterBox is a well known brand that has been around for many years, so they don’t need any introduction to our readers.

The Motorola Atrix 4G Impact Series Case comes with directions, a small screen cleaning cloth, a screen protector and a screen protector applicator. The directions and all the included information was pretty basic, but it gives you just enough to get the job done. You only get one screen protector, so be sure to read the directions closely and apply it on a clean surface as you don’t want dust getting on the surface of your phone or the protector. Having a self-adhering screen protector is nice as you don’t have to worry about scratches and skuffs on your Atrix. Device specific screen protectors typically run from $1-6 each, so part of this cases costs includes that price.

The Impact Series by OtterBox is their simplest protective solution and is made of compression molded silicone with an inner coring that absorbs impacts. You can see the square mesh that makes up this inner matrix in the image above.

The Impact Series is very durable since it’s made from silicone and we’ve used this series on other phones in the past with good success with nearly two years of use before they start to show signs of being worn or getting torn. typically with this type of a case they begin to stretch out after a year and usually start to crack around some of the areas that have been cut out for functionality. For example we used an impact series case for our Blackberry Bold and it protected out phone flawlessly after numerous drops and didn’t get damaged from that, but it ended up tearing at the corner of where the screen is. Our best guess is that some like a set of keys in our pocket got under the lip and snagged it, but we aren’t certain.

The inner corners of the OtterBox for the Motorola Atrix are designed to dissipate impact AWAY from your device, so for light drops it will give you much better protection. Turning the case inside out you can take a better look at the inner corners that help dissipate the energy from an impact away from the device as the ribbing adds extra bump and shock protection. This feature is hidden from the outside, but is hands down one of the most important features of this case.

The OtterBox Impact Series fitted the Motorola Atrix 4G nicely and gave is nicer and more secure feel. The thickness of this case does take away from the slimness of the Atrix, but what you give up in style and feel you make up for with the shock absorption of the case. Notice that the case covers the edges of the front of the phone to hold the case on. This also doubles as protection as when you sit the phone face down on a table the silicone will be touching and not the face of the smartphone. The one issue with a silicone case like this is that dirt like lint and hair can get trapped under the edges of the case and if you just toss it in a purse and bunch it around with other stuff you might find that it can pop off in extreme situations.

OtterBox left all of the necessary areas that need to be accessed on the Motorola Atrix 4G exposed. This is nice as you don’t have to remove the case or fiddle with a cover when charging the phone, but it does leave it open for pocket lint or other debris to get inside. Otterbox says that the silicone used for the Impact Series provides a non-slick grippy texture for good handling and we have to agree with that. The Impact Series case doesn’t show grease, but it does like to pick up hair, dust or anything it possible can. We too the case out of the box and put it straight into our light box and as you can see from the image above it still has some stuff on it even after we picked stuff off!

The OtterBox Impact Series case for the Motorola Atrix 4G is a very good case for light abusers and can be found for $9.54 plus $5.11 shipping from Amazon.com, which is well below the MSRP. For $14.65 the OtterBox Impact Series case sets the bar high for the next three cases.