Otterbox Impact Skin For Nexus One Review

When my friends at Otterbox sent me the Commuter case for my Nexus One, they also sent along the Impact series, so I could get a real good idea of the differences between the two product lines side-by-side. The Otterbox Impact series is a bit less hardcore than some of their other cases but still offers plenty of protection for your device. The skin is twice as thick as most other silicone skins that I’ve seen for various phones, offering much more cushion without really adding too much bulk. In fact, the Otterbox Impact series skin only adds about 3.5mm to the overall thickness of the Nexus One – maxing it out at 15mm. That’s not bad considering the amount of protection you receive.

The Otterbox Impact series case is made entirely of black silicone, which means you’re going to get a great grip on the phone, and there is a criss-cross texture around the edges to maximize this, as well. While initially I was concerned that the rubbery texture would make it difficult to slip my Nexus One out of my jeans pocket, I was relieved to find that it’s quite toned down and didn’t cause too much resistance.

The Impact case for the Nexus One has holes cut for the various outlets on the phone, including the proximity sensor, notification LED, both microphones, the camera, LED flash, 3.5mm audio port, and the microUSB charging port. This gives you easy access to the various ports without having to constantly remove the whole case.

The Otterbox Impact case for the Nexus One also comes with a custom-cut full screen protector to guard the front of your phone from scratches, along with an application card and cleaning cloth. As with the Otterbox Commuter case, the Impact case for the Nexus One leaves the bottom lip of the phone exposed. While I would have preferred some protection for this part of the phone, the current design is best to not block the trackball at all.

One of the things that sets the Otterbox Impact series apart from other silicone skins on the market is the inside of it. They’ve smartly added a pattern of pockets, which Otterbox calls ‘coring’ to really protect you phone from drops and such. It’s a nice design, and it definitely contributes to a more sturdy feel – I wasn’t brave enough to drop my Nexus One to test it, but you can feel the difference from the outside of the skin.

Overall, if you’re looking for a silicone skin to protect your Nexus One and provide a bit more grip, the Otterbox Impact skin is a great choice. It does add a bit more heft to your phone than other options, but the inner coring and edge textures provide a few extra features that make it worth the sacrifice, in my opinion. The skin is only available in black at the moment, though, so if you’re looking to add some color to your phone, you may have to look elsewhere.

Otterbox was kind enough to let me hold a giveaway for the Nexus One Impact skin, as well, which is pretty cool! If you’ve got a Nexus One, or know someone who does, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post, letting me know what color you would take the case in, if you could choose any color/pattern. Of course, the winner will receive a standard black one, I’m just interested to know what color you guys would choose if you could. I think you all know what I would choose…..

I’ll randomly pick a winner on Thursday, July 29th, so that gives you a few days to think.