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Introduction
Having had my HTC Desire for a few months I’ve had to treat it with kid gloves and respect so far, as I’ve been using the Desire without a protective cover of any kind. This has been a problem to be honest as the Desire’s thin profile and slippery surfaces leave it very vulnerable, which has made it a prime candidate for slipping through your fingers and dropping onto a hard surface. This could mean at least a repair, or at worst a replacement device, and I’ve had a few near misses I can assure you! So you could say I was rather relieved and pleased to hear that I would be testing and reviewing the Noreve HTC Desire Tradition leather case; let’s see how it fares.
Product: Noreve HTC Desire Tradition leather case
Supplier: noreve.com
Price at time of posting: €39.99
Product Specifications:
- Elegant case realised in top quality handcrafted leather
- Compatible with smartphone HTC Desire & HTC Bravo
- Access to basic functions (multiple openings on the leather)
- Practical, thanks to its snap closure
- Protects the device in an optimal manner
- Speakers stainless steel mesh protector
- Slim and padded design
- Camera lens access
- Headphone access
- Opening for charge and syncronization
- Beautiful interior lining embossed with the Noreve logo
- Completely removable plastic belt clip included (61303C)
Note
For intensive users, Noreve recommend: the metal clip (61304C), sold separately
A big thank you to Julien at Noreve for supplying the review sample
You can find a large range of covers for many devices on the Noreve website here.
Aesthetics
The Noreve HTC Desire Tradition leather case arrived safely through the post in a padded Jiffy bag which protected the already sturdy inner plastic packaging well. The full product specifications are printed on the back of the insert in the plastic inner casing.
Once removed from the packaging you are left with the Noreve HTC Desire Tradition leather case. Mine came in the rather gorgeous colour of Sandy Vintage that perfectly contrasts with the dark bronze of my HTC Desire, and came presented in a rather lush looking padded box as you can see. The case has a very small profile just like the HTC Desire so they should be a good match, we shall find out!
Materials
Once the case is removed from the box you can see that there is another small package inside that contains the belt clip accessories which are shown in more detail further down. As soon as you lay your hands on the case you can immediately feel and see it is a quality product. This carefully crafted case oozes class, the leather used around the casing looks to be the best available, and the stitching is immaculate.
The attention to detail is amazing too, from its detailed front badge, to the cut outs for the camera lens and easy access to the phone's USB and headset connectors, the speaker cut out even has a stainless steel grille fitted!
Here we have the full contents of the Noreve HTC Desire Tradition case, which includes the belt clip and necessary fittings including a screwdriver; this is required for the assembly and fitment of the belt clip which is detailed further on. Again every component is very detailed and of the highest quality.
Please note the inside of the case is also finished to a very high grade, with a rather striking embossed padded finish, and there are no protrusions at all, so you can rest assured that this case will offer excellent protection for your valuable HTC Desire.
Construction and fitment
When I first slid the HTC Desire into the Noreve Tradition leather case it felt just right, not too tight and not too loose, with a good solid feel. The edges and top of the case's support that secure the Desire at the bottom are very rigid and have been stiffened, but do have a small amount of flex, there is also protective padding all around too. So again Noreve seem to have got the design spot on.
Inside the case the black embossed flap that covers the screen and the back of the HTC Desire is excellent too, again there is a small amount of flex in the stiffened cover but still affords plenty of protection to the device's screen and back with its inbuilt padding. I'm pretty amazed that Noreve have achieved such a slim form factor for a leather case protective cover.
Once the case is fastened up all areas of the HTC Desire are protected, even though the device's sides are exposed they and the corners are still protected by being overlapped with the aforementioned slimline protection, as you can observe in the photos.
There are precision cut outs on the Noreve HTC Desire Tradition case for the camera lens, microphone and speaker, and also for the USB and headset connectors. The finish around the edge of the cut outs is very well done and looks very neat, and access to the side volume control is a doddle. Again this shows that a lot of thought and attention to detail has been put into the construction of this case.
Belt clip
If you want to use the belt clip that's included with the case as many people do, it's just a simple matter of removing the existing flush fitting screw, and replacing it with the knurled version with the supplied screwdriver. It is important that you don't under or over tighten the screw for obvious reasons. This then allows for the fitting of the belt clip by sliding it on into the postion you require it until it clicks, it is then very safely secured.
As you can see below the belt clip can be fixed into any one of eight angled positions, including horizontally or vertically. This then allows you to carry the phone in whatever position you prefer. It's a simple matter of pressing in the spring loaded button on the end of the clip and rotating the belt clip into your required position. The belt clip does obscure the camera lens when vertical, but this isn't a major issue as it's easy to rotate out of the way if you wish to take quick snap.
Pros & Cons
Looks good with its slim form factor Extremely well made Affords excellent all round protection Fits superbly Easy access to connectors and controls Great value for money considering the quality
The belt clip can block the camera lens when verticalConclusion
This is an easy one to sum up as I have to say that the Noreve HTC Tradition Desire leather case gets a big thumbs up from me. I would definitely recommend it because it's so well made with superb attention to detail, and offers excellent protection for your Desire in a very slimline form factor, I can't really fault it.
As for value I think it's well worth the €39.99, I have seen lesser quality leather cases costing double this price, so all in all an excellent buy, well done Noreve!
Boz @ smartphonegurus.com
