*** The Official Samsung Galaxy S III ACCESSORIES Thread ***

Caporegime
Joined
4 Jul 2004
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30,700
Received this today. Unfortunately they didn't have the white/silver when I first ordered, but I still think it looks pretty good with the black.

sY07E.jpg

8WDlY.jpg

jLT1o.jpg

Excuse the dodgy pictures. It's absolutely perfect in the flesh; it doesn't look or feel cheaply made like 99% of cases from Hong Kong. Definitely pleased and surprised.

I tested signal before and after. It turns out my signal went above -105 without any cover on but got better once I put the metal cover on. :confused:
 
Soldato
Joined
31 May 2005
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2,806
Received this today. Unfortunately they didn't have the white/silver when I first ordered, but I still think it looks pretty good with the black.



Excuse the dodgy pictures. It's absolutely perfect in the flesh; it doesn't look or feel cheaply made like 99% of cases from Hong Kong. Definitely pleased and surprised.

I tested signal before and after. It turns out my signal went above -105 without any cover on but got better once I put the metal cover on. :confused:

Looks nice ...maybe it acting as an antenna :p

Where did you buy it from ?
 
Associate
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19 Aug 2008
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Bournemouth
This official Samsung car mount works on multiple phones, not just the S3 unlike the S2 car mount I had which only worked on the S2 and only when not using a case which was a double whammy of a negative for that mount.

Have Samsung learnt the error of their ways and improved this new mount? Let's find out...

This kit comes in 3 parts, the S2 mount comes in 2:
samsung-veh-mount_1.jpg


The ball joint clips into this socket while the screw tightens the fit:
samsung-veh-mount_2.jpg


Unfortunately Samsung didn't leave room for arm adjustment so the number of ways to point the mount is very limited again, just like the S2 mount, you need to have it quite high up on the windscreen to get decent movement of the head:
samsung-veh-mount_3.jpg


samsung-veh-mount_4.jpg


Ultimately it still suffers one of the main flaws I found on the S2 dock, lack of adjustment and being aimed at windscreen mounting only as opposed to dashboard discs (see pic below). It's less advanced than the S2 mount because it doesn't have a socket the phone sits into to activate car mode, but if it did it wouldn't work on other phones whereas this one will work on almost any phone that's of compatible width as both side arms retract in and out.

So it's just a car mount that's tough and sturdy in motion, it doesn't vibrate and the suction is very strong but for what it costs I'd much rather recommend the Nokia CR-115 with a bit of DIY to the stock arm padding (remove them and replace with thinner pads) to work on phones as wide as an S3 because you get better movement and a slimmer profile for easier storage. It also costs less than £10 depending on where you shop. I also think it's by far the nicest looking mounts out there and because it's a genuine brand made one, it's good quality too.

Nokia CR-115:
samsung-veh-mount_comp-nokiacr115.jpg

Nice review, thanks, was just wondering is that with the rock case on? if so it fitted on the samsung one ok?
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Sep 2008
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5,492
Well seems I've joined the "something has scratched my S3 screen but no friggin idea what" club. The scratch is absolutely tiny and barely visible but now i know its there..... grrr
Ah well... for the first time in 4 years of smart phone ownership I shall be buying myself a screen protector :mad:
 
Man of Honour
Joined
2 Jan 2009
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60,696
Well seems I've joined the "something has scratched my S3 screen but no friggin idea what" club. The scratch is absolutely tiny and barely visible but now i know its there..... grrr
Ah well... for the first time in 4 years of smart phone ownership I shall be buying myself a screen protector :mad:

Not much point now. :p
 
Caporegime
Joined
4 Jun 2009
Posts
31,567
Another one!?!?! :eek:

What the hell.......have Samsung told little fibs about the GG 2, so in other words it's thinner and also weaker than normal GG :p



Once again, just shows that it can happen though, no matter how careful you are :(
 
Soldato
Joined
2 Nov 2007
Posts
4,184
So I now have five cases,

Rock Quicksand (Fake) (£1): Does not cover top and bottom, lip comes just above screen level. Looks good and has a nice texture (velour meets sandpaper?) which makes the phone easier to hold/use. Would NOT trust it for protection as there is not enough coverage, only grip and aesthetics.

Rock Quicksand (£7): Little higher in quality. Slightest bit thicker and the texture is more pronounced. Ditto on protection.

Nillkin Hard Case (£7): Same coverage as the rock cases, but a little more lip above the screen and it's a bit thicker and stronger. Dimpled back but not quite as grippy. Again, ditto on protection.

S-Line Wave Gel Case (£1): Mine fit quite poorly (very loose at the sides). Decent thickness and lip above the screen but feels cheap. Would provide fair protection.

Random Gel Case (230801879462) (was £1): Perfect fit and grips well but has mould lines and could do with being thicker.

I think I'm going to have to try some more gel cases out, maybe the Rock and Nillkin offerings to see if they offer decent fit and quality. I'm not bothered about screen protection (Orange Care), I just want to feel comfortable when I toss my phone down somewhere in case it lands elsewhere or bounces, and protection from minor drops. The hard cases without top and bottom protection don't provide that. Although they do look good, and the genuine ones are quality built.
 

mrk

mrk

Man of Honour
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The top and bottom protection is only an issue for the clumsy handed though. If you let slip your phone when it's sporting a genuine ROCK case then you need to take action against those greasy palms IMO! It's not easy at all to have the S3 slip when it's in the ROCK case as the texture and grip is above almost all other cases, even on your lap it has excellent friction so won't slip.

By comparison the official S3 mesh cases has no side protection which is even worse as those sides are larger and because it's the top and bottom that clips on to the phone, the mesh case will most likely fly off because the contact area to clip onto is so small unlike the tightly fitting ROCK/Nilkin cases.
 
Soldato
Joined
2 Nov 2007
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4,184
The top and bottom protection is only an issue for the clumsy handed though. If you let slip your phone when it's sporting a genuine ROCK case then you need to take action against those greasy palms IMO! It's not easy at all to have the S3 slip when it's in the ROCK case as the texture and grip is above almost all other cases, even on your lap it has excellent friction so won't slip.

By comparison the official S3 mesh cases has no side protection which is even worse as those sides are larger and because it's the top and bottom that clips on to the phone, the mesh case will most likely fly off because the contact area to clip onto is so small unlike the tightly fitting ROCK/Nilkin cases.

Unless you have a case made of glue or welded to your hand then accidents can happen, and the Rock case isn't a miraculous degree ahead of any others with some sort of grip to them. I don't regard it as much of a protective case (limited amount, but too much left exposed), just one with aesthetic, tactile and use benefits. I require all round protection.
It's unfortunate that these cases would end up either too tight or too thin if they covered more of the phone. :/

The mesh cases look ridiculous, I think they're just designed to humiliate and punish your phone so protection isn't a concern.
 

mrk

mrk

Man of Honour
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South Coast
Accidents can happen but probability suggests it's less likely to happen than some would have you believe. It's going to have to be a big accident to damage a phone housed in a Nilkin or ROCK case, for example. IN which case I doubt any case would have done any better.

You have insurance, why subject your phone to being uglier by putting a full surround case on it? Just saying :p

Anyway, I've bought and been sent many cases over the S2/S3 ownership and the ROCK case is certainly one of the best I have seen yet with more grip than any other hard case although the matte textured gel cases are grippier but are of a looser fitting by nature of the material they are.
 
Associate
Joined
3 May 2011
Posts
56
S-Line Wave Gel Case (£1): Mine fit quite poorly (very loose at the sides). Decent thickness and lip above the screen but feels cheap. Would provide fair protection.

I feel the same and don't know why the official ones don't have all round protection. My s line wave gel case isn't loose at the sides at all, it's a tight fit, even more so since fitting the silver battery case. Maybe you got a faulty one. What about a flip case? Bulkier I know, but provides good all round protection.
 
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