The Case-Mate case comes in a very nice box.


That aluminium bit is actually aluminium!

Taking the case out of the box... The case isn't that heavy. But 'heavy' is kinda relative. Anyway, first thing I can see is the inside of the casing. Sadly. the inside dun look as nice as I expected it to be (after all, supposedly 'premium' brand -- approx USD35 plus shipping). The inside seemed 'rough' in terms of manufacturing quality. But still its ok.


OK, how does it look with the Note 2?

[attachmentid=3314687] [attachmentid=3314695]
That's the Case-Mate with the stand. Power button and also the volume button is covered/ protected. The sides are mainly rubber, except for the back and also the top part.

The back...
[attachmentid=3314702]

This is where I think this Case-Mate fails. As you can see from the photo above, the rubbery part actually 'comes out'. So when lying flat on the back, depending on where you press the phone, it might 'rock' a bit.

As for how much bulk the casing adds to the Note 2, the stack of 20sen coins (7 coins) will give you an indication.

As for the other holes (microUSB port, stylus, speaker, camera), the cut is impressive. It does not look rough like the inside.
[attachmentid=3314713] [attachmentid=3314715]

The back being 'glossy', as you can see, there's already a bit of scratches on the casing, for just about 2 weeks usage... Still, better the scratches on the Case-Mate than on my battery cover.

If you're wondering how come my battery cover looks a bit 'carbon fibre' (from the photo of the casing with the opening for camera), I've also got the iDefense carbon fiber skin on the battery cover. That one is just to differentiate the phone when its naked.

What else?

When using the stand, home button is on the LEFT. I'm used to holding the phone (landscape) with the button on my right. So, another slight minus point for this Case-Mate casing.

At this price, sadly I'll have to say this is probably my only Case-Mate purchase for Note 2. Not to say it's not good, but it just don't have the wow factor and any seriously impressive reason for me to get another one. If I do decide to get another casing, it'll very likely be some other brand.