OtterBox Defender Case for HTC Thunderbolt Smartphone Review

Looking over the Defender

The Defender is a dual layer case. It consists of a hard polycarbonate inner shell wrapped with a silicon sleeve. All that is then carried in a heavy duty holster.

The back of the holster has a large ratcheting belt clip that can be turned to fit how you want to carry the phone.

The clip can also lock in the open position and pull double duty as a stand for the portrait or landscape modes.

The case itself is very nice. It has an integrated screen protector. The screen protector is set such that the screen hovers slightly over the screen and not resting directly on it. The screen protector also does not cover the entire phone. There is an opening for the ear piece at the top. This makes the call sound clear to the user, but also can eventually lead to stuff getting between the screen and the protector. The screen is also recessed, so if you drop the phone on its face then the ridge around the case will hit before the screen will.

At the top are the power button, and the top head phone port cover and noise canceling mic opening. The power button is raise slightly to make it easier to press.

Same for the side volume rocker, the button even has the + and signs on them in case you forget which was which.

On the back we can see there is a diamond texture in the silicon skin. This same texture is on the sides as well. Helps with getting a good grip on the phone. The skin also has cut outs for the kickstand, camera and flash. The sides of the recesses for the camera lens and flash have a matt finish this will help prevent funkiness from showing up in images and videos taken with the phone.

Under the thick outer silicon skin is the polycarbonate hard case.

The inner case is a two part case. There is a foam pad in the back of the case to help cushion the phone from drops. The two halves snap together for a nice snug fit.