Official Moto MPx Case- Review with Pics (not 56k friendly!)

[Guest Matt Kirby]

I've just got a free upgrade to a MPx200 (after my SPV died with the "stuck in headset profile" problem).

I decided to buy http://www.motorola-shop.co.uk/dextra/default.htm>Motorola's official case (£11.99 ex del), and I thought I'd do a quick review for you all.

First impressions are good; Moto’s website says to wait up to 14 days for delivery, but it arrived within two (although I have just noticed that the case seems to be out of stock at the moment). The picture on the website isn't too good - it's hard to see how well the ports line up for example - so I was wondering how well it would meet my expectations.

Fitting the phone in the case:

Upon receiving the case I noticed that fitting the phone in it is a bit awkward - it's a very tight fit.

Sliding the main part of the phone into the case requires a bit of wiggling and coaxing, and trying to fit the screen in afterwards seems almost impossible- but a bit of force manages to stretch the leather enough for it to slip over.

If you (like I) plan to keep the phone in it’s case all of the time this tight fit can only be a good thing; but if you plan to remove the phone from the case this will quickly become irritating.

Keypad and screen covering:

The case itself covers the entire keypad in plastic (including the 8 (or 7! :D ) way and action buttons), which partially wraps round to the left of the phone. Buttons are as easy to press as they are with any phone case, the plastic seems to be the standard thickness so doesn’t impede using the phone.

The screen is also entirely covered – which I think is good for protecting the screen from skin debris / sweat when held against your cheek. The plastic sticks to the screen quite well, which stops the top section of the case slipping when you open the handset (no Bluetak required!).

Cut-outs:

On the keypad section of the case there is a generous cut-out for the mic hole, this didn’t seem to center perfectly over the hole but it doesn’t obstruct it.

On the side of the phone the cut-outs line up surprisingly well – I’m used to phone cases not quite matching where they should and slipping during use, or being oversized to compensate.

On the right hand side of the phone there are cut-outs for both the headphone socket and the SD/MMC slot. These are a good size but the height of the leather does make opening the flaps a little trickier – although a fingernail usually does the job. The leather also stops short of the lanyard / wrist-strap slot, so if you have one of these you can continue using it.

There is only one cut-out on the left hand side of the phone for the rocker switch; this has no leather surrounding it so access is as easy as usual. The power switch has no cut-out and is covered in plastic. This does make pressing the button slightly harder, but this is only a problem if you power-cycle your handset frequently. The leather on this side of the phone starts to the right of the power switch, with a small window for the IR port which frames it quite nicely.

On the base of the phone there is a seemingly very generous cut-out for the USB / power lead. This lines up neatly around the area used by the cover-cap so this can still be used if required (assuming that it hasn’t been lost!)

The cut-out for the secondary LCD follows the shape of the blue oval surround, although doesn’t match up as perfectly as the other cut-outs. It doesn’t obstruct the screen in anyway so is only a very minor niggle.

Below this there is a raised metallic Moto emblem which looks quite snazzy, and below that there are three holes over the speaker. These let out a sufficient amount of noise and there is no noticeable drop in volume when the phone is in the case.

Belt Clip:

The case itself has a small round plastic disc on the back, which clips into the supplied belt clip. The belt clip itself feels quite flimsy, but seems to have sufficient flexibility within it to deal with everyday knocks and bumps. Above the disc there is a small plastic loop for attaching a lanyard or wrist-strap. This looks to be quite flimsy, but feels quite sturdy with no obvious “give” within it. I’m not too sure how this will survive during day-to-day use, I’d be inclined to attach directly to the phone rather than the case.

The clip attaches to belts quite well and the bottom of the clip curves up to prevent the clip coming away due to upward pressure. This does make removing the clip slightly awkward but it does prevent people easily snatching the phone and clip from your belt.

Locating the phone into the clip is a very hit and miss affair – most of the time the phone slips past the clip far to easily. The ridges that guide the phone into the clip have a very low profile so you need to be quite accurate to get it to latch. Using slightly more pressure helps, and familiarity may also help in time – this maybe one those “easy when you get the knack” things.

Removing the phone is a lot easier; there is a small latch at the top of the clip which you push towards the phone to release. When the phone rings there should be no problem removing it before voicemail kicks-in.

One novel feature of the clip is the ability for the phone to latch into certain positions. When the phone is inserted into the clip it doesn’t swing freely, but it is locked into the downward position. One quick rotation later and the phone is locked sideways, running along your belt rather than hanging down. Removing the phone from this position is also easy, and depending on which way you rotate it gives you easy access to the headphone socket or volume rocker.

Should you want to you can even hang the phone up-side-down, enabling you to flip open the screen and check something without removing the phone from the clip.

Overall:

Generally this case looks very good – quality leather and stitching and the plastic looks like it will survive for a while without cracking or splitting. The leather does protrude slightly from the lid of the phone, with a small ridge, but this is quite soft so is only aesthetically irritating.

The “build” quality is very good, everything lines up well and is very precise (with the exception of the oval on the top not quite hitting the mark). The case doesn’t impede any phone function (apart from using the cradle) and offers a good level of protection from everyday knocks and bumps.

The only downsides to this case are the skill required to attach the phone to the belt clip, and that if you wish to remove the phone from the case on a regular basis you will quickly become irritated with the tight fit and lack of “give”.

I would say that this is an ideal case for the MPx200 to permanently live in, if you plan on removing the phone frequently though I would recommend a pouch-style case.

Scores (out of 5)

Features: :D ;) :lol: :P

Value: :D :D :D :D :D

Overall: :D :D :D :D

Belt Clip side.jpg

Belt clip.jpg

Top Closed.jpg

Case Bottom.jpg

Case Right.JPG

Case Left.jpg

Perspective - Closed.jpg

Perspective - Open Side.jpg

Perspective - Open Top.jpg

[Guest awarner [MVP]]

Nice review :D/

The case seems berrer built than the Krusell and at a very good price.

As for the keypad covering, have you tried playing Eclipse with it on?

I normally remove my case as I find it gets in the way.

[Guest Matt Kirby]

I don't have Eclipse, but the pad does seem usable enough for gaming.

Having said that, if you normally remove cases to play games you'll probably want to do the same with this one.

[Guest awarner [MVP]]

Don't have Eclipse????

What is the world coming to? :D

Seriously it runs really smoothly on the mpx200 well worth getting ;)

[Guest Matt Kirby]

Maybe that'll be my next purchase....

[Guest smeg36]

I may have to pick up a copy of Eclipse soon. As for the case, the only thing I can see that would drive me NUTS and render the case unusable is the plastic over the screen. I don't mine screen protection, but that is the cheap kind of plastic that partially sticks to the screen. I don't think I could stand doing that to the beautiful screen on the MPx200. I just ordered a Vaja case, and it has plastic over the screen too, I sure hope it isn't the same kind as this case.

[Guest rkrishnamurthy]

The case looks much better than the one supplied with the phone (Asian version is supplier with one). In my personal opinion MPx 200 looks much better looking without the case...

[Guest AttentioN]

Nice review.

The part i think i like most is the transparent plastic for the IR and the hole for SD card compartment. :D

[Guest TANKERx]

I hate the plastic thing that goes over the screen. At best it spoils the view and at worst, it looks greasy and in need of a good wash.

[Guest]

But it does stop one's greasy face making the screen all sticky!