Having seen the video of the HTC One X drop test, regardless of how well it stood up I decided it was time for a case. I’m not usually one for phone cases, but having dropped a cool £450 on this phone, I’m a little more protective of it. 

So what did I settle on? An official HTC case for one, but this one combines screen protection, a hard shell, and a kick stand all into one. The HTC One X Hard Shell with White Flip Stand — try saying that 10 times fast. 

First we’ll look at the price. I got this one from play.com for £19.99 with free UK delivery. It’s really nice too. It comes in white, just like my phone, and being an OEM product the One X fits into the hard shell perfectly. The top and bottom are uncovered for access to the headphone jack, on/off switch and microphone. The two sides have spaces for the volume rocker and charging port, and the back has a space for the speakers. On its own, the hard shell is a really nice, sturdy feeling case, and I’m pretty sure its exactly the same as the hard shell which retails at the same site for £17.99. 

Probably the best point about the hard shell though is the way it protects the camera. You have to look really, really close, but it sticks out just a tiny tiny smidgen past the camera lens. When resting it on a table though for example, that tiny amount is adequate to keep the scratch prone lens away from the surface. There’s a close up photo after the break below to show you. 

The £2 extra over the hard shell alone is where the flip cover/kick stand arrangement has been added. On one side we have leather — or a very close approximation to leather — and the side facing the screen of the phone is a kind of microfiber polishing cloth type of material. It feels really soft, which is comforting when it’s nestled up to your prized phone. It also provides valuable friction to keep the phone upright when being propped up as in the image at the top. 

So the piece-d’ resistance – the flip stand. The front is attached to the hard shell via a leather foldable piece that acts as the stand. Coupled with the friction between the hard shell and the microfiber and this thing will stand up for hours. I sat it on a desk a couple of days ago, and streamed a movie from Netflix with the phone stood like this. No trace of movement throughout. Really nice. 

So that’s all the good stuff, but it can’t all be good right? Correct. The biggest problem I found is that because it flips out to the side, using it and calling people is quite awkward if you want to hold the phone to your face. It’s also a little like holding a book open when you’re using the phone, and one handed use with your left hand is right out. The other downside, is that having it propped up and plugged in charging is practically impossible. The angle at which the phone is elevated renders it almost useless if it’s plugged in. Granted, this is more to do with the design of the phone, but as this is a HTC case it might have been better to flip out the other way, thus leaving the charging port available. I can’t really use it with a clock app as a bedside clock, which is why it bugged me.  

It may sound like I’m on a bit of a downer with this case, which isn’t totally true. Yes, it has some niggles which I’d prefer weren’t there. However, as a phone case, an accessory for protecting my phone it excels. Everything is covered, it’s well made, sturdy and doesn’t really add masses of weight or thickness for what it offers. It’s a really nice case with a party trick that is definitely worth having. My biggest question now is how long it’ll stay white.

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