Review: HTC One Poetic Borderline bumper case [VIDEO]
Ever since my HTC One Developer Edition arrived last week, I’ve been trying to find a nice case, for little money. For whatever reason, it seemed like every case manufacturer had their cases on back-order, with most cases not being available until sometime after April 28th (or at least, that’s what most of their sites were showing). Frustrated, I went for the cheapest case I could find on Amazon, one that would ship to my house in the shortest amount of time possible (lest my One suffer the same fate as my Nexus 4). Enter the Poetic Borderline bumper case for the HTC One.
I’m pretty well acquainted with Poetic’s accessories, having reviewed a slim case of theirs for my HTC Droid DNA in the past, and seeing a few of their bumpers equipped on friends’ devices. As far as their bumpers are concerned, I can’t say I was too impressed. From what I’ve seen, they looked kinda cheap with a mix between hard plastic and TPU. I’m not sure what possessed me to go this route for my HTC One, but I’m sure it had something to do with Poetic’s $10 price tag. Bad move, Chris.
What I received is one of the worst cases ever for my smartphone. Build quality with the Borderline case is cheap plastic mixed with TPU. Unlike my Droid DNA, the case fits — but just barely. Edges loosely fit along the sides of the device and overall there’s nothing premium feeling about the case in any way, shape, or form. Oh, and I haven’t even gotten to worst part: the freakin’ IR blaster is covered by the case. This is a huge oversight by the boys at Poetic, something they’re apparently addressing in an update:
“We are aware the issue of IR Blaster is being blocked. Update version will be released and ship on May 13th.”
To be fair, I guess it kinda makes sense. It is one of the lowest priced cases on the market (aside from buying direct from China). Since beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, it’s possible my issues with the case are minor, in which you might still find it worthy of a purchase. If that rings true for you, a link to the Amazon listing has been provided below, with a full gallery underneath. Just take my advice: you’re going to want to pass on this one.
[Poetic Borderline case ($9.95) on Amazon]
