Review: Otterbox Palm Centro Defender Case

I’ve got a friend who owns a Sprint Palm Centro “RED” which she drops all the time. I rarely drop phones, but when I came across Otter’s new Defender Series, one model of which supports the Palm Centro, I jumped on it and and sent off for one. I’m super careful with anything electronic. I don’t mean that to say that I lock them up and never use them, but I also try my best to never put these typically fragile devices into too many dangerous situations. My friend has replaced her phone already, and she’s only had it for six months! Of course, no matter how careful you are, it never hurts to be prepared, which is why the Defender Series attracts me so much. 

The ethic behind the Defender Series is to provide the best possible protection without limiting access to or diminishing the value of the device which the case protects. After ensconcing my black Centro in the case, it becomes protected from the elements (aside from full emersion) and yet is remarkably easy to use. It is certainly chunkier, and somewhat heavier, but if you are prepared to protect your phone against almost all damage, then you’re ready to use this case.

The case is very smartly designed. It comes in three components which work very closely together to provide several layers of protection to your Centro. In the box, the case comes mostly assembled in that the hard shell and the soft cover are already joined. Taking apart the case involves removing the rubber soft cover, then splitting the seams to split the hard shell into front and rear shells. Inside the case was a thin, rubbery sheet which had the impression of the frontside of a Centro on one leaf. I soon figured out that this is the internal protection. The internal sheet also acts as a screen protector, using static to neatly attach to the display. The cover is perfectly clear, as well, making it very easy to see through. You can see the parts in the image below.

Once you’ve neatly placed the internal cover where it goes, you slip the front of the Centro into the front hard shell which has the added benefit of stopping the internal cover from moving around any more. Then you pull down the back cover, position it, then slip on the back shell. The two halves snap together easily enough to hold them firmly, but when I took it apart again to take the image you see to the left it wasn’t difficult to get them separated again. Once the whole kit ‘n kaboodle is together, you pull the rubber cover on and fit it to the cutouts and pins which hold it to the shell. Now its all one unit and ready to rock. 

The Defender case isn’t water proof, but it is somewhat resistant to dust and moisture. The case is very nicely designed to offer access to all of the ports and controls on the Centro. There is a clear port on the back for the camera and a grill for the speaker which has a dust cover preventing dust from getting into the case. There is another filter protecting the earpiece on the top front of the handset, as well. To the left of that there is a passthrough which lets you see the power/alert light. There are rubber actuator buttons on the left side which let you control the buttons for volume, ringer, and the option button right through the case. At the bottom of the front of the case there is an internal horn which directs speech into the microphone which is located at the bottom of the phone.

To get to the stylus and the Silent switch there is a peel-out rubber cover. Its very easy to open, and once you’ve practiced with it a bit, a snap to close again. There is another such cover on the bottom of the case which allows access to the sync/power port and 1/8th inch headphone jack. That one is a tad more difficult to close, but it shouldn’t be very often that you have to open it. Overall, the fit of the case is nearly perfect and doens’t creak a lot or limit your access to anything. Sound quality even seems to be improved, especially through the microphone which the case smartly redirects to the front, therefore pointing right at your mouth. 

The feel of the case is wonderful. It sits well in the hand and greatly increases the grip without making it too much heavier than the handset itself. Pushing controls and using the touchscreen through the protective cover is easy. Even using the Centro’s dinky QWERTY keyboard works just fine. In fact, the case may be improving my big-fingered accuracy, which is a feat but can’t be confirmed. The case itself comes with a belt pack which the case firmly snaps into. It takes a good tug to pull the handset out, but if you want this case, then you’re likely looking for protection, which includes not dropping it from your belt. 

I’m quite pleased with the case and the design, fully knowing what the case was designed for. Otterbox has created yet another unquestionably capable, mission-specific case, adding another notch to its already notched up case belt. The Otterbox Defender Series case for Palm Centro is available now and can be had for US$49.95.