I’ve had mobiles since the early days. I rarely drop them. After 5 years they still look brand new. Until recently.
Awhile ago I bought a Galaxy S7. Awesome supercomputer in a hand-sized package. Recommend highly. But the damn thing is very, very slippery.
So, yup, I dropped it regularly and eventually cracked the screen. Since it’s supposed to be waterproof and that was *the *big reason I bought that model, the cracked screen & dented corners were a showstopper despite the fact the phone still worked fine. I couldn’t risk getting it wet. So the insurance plan replaced it and now I have a shiny new one. That’s if anything even slipperier. Damn.
I abhor the typical rubber/plastic cases that slip around the back & sides and vastly increase the bulk of the phone. It’s already danm near too big to carry in a pocket. I sure don’t want to carry something 50% thicker and 10% longer/wider.
So here’s the challenge:
I’m looking for something to make it less slippery without making it materially bigger. I’m imagining doing something like attaching a patch of sandpaper, the hook side of Velcro, or some other nonskid on the back & a spot or two along the edges. But I don’t want something that’ll turn my front pants pocket inside out every time I reach for the damn thing. So not too grabby but less slippery than the phone itself. And thin; very thin.
Any clever ideas? Any experience with something that works?
I searched for the same thing. Fruitless. I had to settle on a dual material hybrid case, it makes the phone 1/3 thicker, but also took a running over from a bobcat (little bulldozer) and my car without damaging my phone, so its the best I could settle with. I’d love to keep the phone slim, but its a tradeoff for grip and durability. It sucks. We as humans can invent these marvels of technology, but nothing slim, yet durable to protect them.
I have something like this; by no means slim and small, but I have had my same HTC phone for 4 years without issue because of it, and I drop it a bit.
I know many folks hate them just like I will not carry one in my pocket.
I have a belt clip from Seidio that also has an impact resistant cast that protects the phone. I have dropped it (rarely) and the case around the phone that clips into the belt clip protects it and gives more to hold onto. Or just don’t use the belt clip and just the ‘case’.
I’ve a friend with an older iPhone, and I just took the case off of it for her. I couldn’t believe how big the case was. An Otter case. I’m sure it protected it very well.
I like the style of case that anomalous1 linked to. Both a little thicker & grippy means it doesn’t get dropped & the bonus of a kickstand on the back props it upright for viewing. (Actually, I prefer the dual portrait/landscape kickstand variety).
However, if you want to DIY it, think about gluing on (a part of) a bicycle inner tube. It can be cut to just the thickness of the phone & can wrap all the way around or just partway depending upon how you cut it. A little glue &…presto.
If I’m reading you right, the problem is that your phone is too slippery too hold onto.
Recently, I got a skin for my phone from Toast - they make wood veneer skins for a wide variety of phones and tablets. Now, I just got it for the look of it, but it is considerably less slippery than the bare Samsung Galaxy S8+ that I have. It’s very thin - certainly less than 1 mm, even with both the front and back.
Some care must be used in sticking it on, but if your hands are steady, it’s not that difficult. It is very well-designed in the way it wraps around corners, as well.
Exactly. I don’t want to “protect” the phone with some shock-absorbing wrapper. I just want it to be a little bit grippy so it doesn’t easily slip out of my hand.
I agree anomalous1’s belt clip is one way to square the circle of wrapping it in grippy rubber without overloading a pocket. By never putting it in a pocket.
That wood (or leather) from Toast is very, very cool. Thank you. I’m thinking that might be the ticket.
I just remembered that around here I’ve seen a thin silicone rubber “pocket” to glue onto the back side of the phone. It’s meant to be used as a mini wallet that can hold a couple credit cards, driver’s license, etc. So when out running or at the beach you can carry just your phone and leave your purse / wallet / etc. at home or in the car. But still have your essential cards with you.
I was thinking that for a first (read “cheap”) attempt I could try that as-is, or cut one up for material.
Thanks everyone so far, and please keep the ideas coming.
Egrips are basically exactly what you are looking for. I can rest my S7 on my hand at a 30 degree angle and it won’t slide off. On any normal surface it just won’t move.
It’s adhesive and doesn’t damage the phone. Only problem is it’s discontinued for the S7 so I got an iPhone one that was similar in size and cut it.
It sounds like you’ve found what you’re looking for. But just in case: You can always just add a few lines or dots with a hot glue gun. You’ll basically have hard wax adhered to phone which is easy to scrape or melt off if you want to replace it.
Yeah, they work pretty well. My wife drops iPhones like they’re, I don’t know, hot coals. I put a glass screen protectors (by Zagg? Does that sound right? Can’t remember) on her phone, and her screen is still intact after a few months, which is a long time for her.
I have a very thin case for my iPhone, with seven blue “gems” in an arc on the back. Doesn’t change the size of the phone, but the “gems”'are great for gripping.
I’ve always used Zagg screen protectors. The phone I broke didn’t have one; I installed it and it didn’t adhere well & promptly peeled off a couple days later. For $20 I was peeved enough about it to not promptly get another. Fast forward a couple months and bang: cracked screen.
Look into the PopSocket. Best 12 dollars I have spent in a long time. My right pinky finger was starting to deform and develop a callus from supporting my phone when holding it. Problem solved with the PopSocket.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Some of those cost more than my phone did! Wow. Needless to say, I have an entirely different strategy if it breaks. First, I’ll use the case/parts from the backups I bought at the same time. When those are used up, then another new, cheap, phone.
I mentioned attaching some other nonskid. A tape like that was exactly what I had in mind. I have most of a roll of it left after attaching a couple feet to spots on the boat. My expectation is, like 60 grit sandpaper, it’s way too rough and grippy and would turn my pocket inside out when pulling out the phone, or sand the earloop off my headset or wear holes in my pockets or …
Hence my desire for something a little more … subtle.
That is an unusably annoying website. I still don’t know what they sell because I couldn’t make it work on a tablet or on full-sized PC. But I did see several pictures of trendy young women waving phones. So there is that.
Not bitching at you. I just wonder what kind of trendy friggin’ loser created that utterly non-functional site.
Whoever they are, they should get off my lawn. Kids these days! Sheesh!!
