Installation is not as hard as some reviews will have you believe. You just have to make sure to clean the device properly before you attempt to fit the membrane cover over the screen and keypad. The rest is easy and fairly straight forward. Just make sure the dust filters line up with the holes they are meant to be protecting, clip the 2 sides of the hard case together, slip on the silicon cover and you’re done.

In The Field:

To put these through a real life test I thought I would just go about my daily routine of work (I’m not a writer in real life, in case you hadn’t guessed). My weekly routine normally includes; working on construction sites,small amount of office work, servicing automation equipment in industrial and commercial situations (including coolrooms and freezers) and then there is the typical weekend of 4×4 ing and sport (Baseball). All of that combined with 24/7/365 after hours callout that I’m also on (gives me a legitimate excuse to carry my BlackBerry on me at all times) should give these 2 cases a pretty good workout.

My first concern was that OtterBox might not have designed the case as BlackBerry had intended and placed a magnet in a specific spot in the case to switch the unit off when holstered. (I did the ‘wave over’ thing with my Curve before I assembled it all and couldn’t get the screen to switch off). All my fears were squashed when it did exactly what BlackBerry had designed it to do when I first put it in the holster. Another thing I have read in other review is how bulky these cases are. This is one thing that I did not consider to be an issue as the size increase is only minimal. Apart from carrying 2 BlackBerrys around with me all week, I had absolutely no hassles from either case and they protected one (or 2) of my most prized possessions to the fullest. The positive click upon re-holstering gives you that sense of security that your BB is going to be in the same place you left it when you need it next.

I used to have to make sure I had reasonably clean hands before sending an email or making a phone call before, but with the full keypad protection offered by the included membrane, this is something I don’t have to worry about anymore. The only part of the BB exposed to the outside environment is the trackball itself (and that is only when it is out of the holster). All of the buttons are still usable whilst in the OtterBox and there is an attached silicon rubber plug that fits in snuggly over the earphone/charger/sync port so you do not need to remove the device from the case to charge or sync.

Every item on your Pearl or Curve is usable while it is in the OtterBox case and the only thing I found to be a problem was a ‘Battery Pull’ reset. (As BB owners we all have to do these once in a while).(I’m sure I have seen an application some where that allows you to do a reset from the screen…I will check it out and let you all know…). The sound remains uninterrupted by the case as the speaker (and microphone) just have a dust filter over the top. The status LED is still visible although only partially whilst in the holster.

One point I would like to make very clear… These cases Do Not make your Curve 0r Pearl waterproof, so I don’t want any reply’s that read “My BlackBerry is no longer working after I decided to go for a swim (or shower, surf, car-wash etc) after reading your review. I thought you said they are indestructible. When should I expect you to send me a new BlackBerry? The 9000 series looks great. Do you think I can have one of those?” The answer to all the above questions is No…(I don’t even have the rumored 9000s yet) They are Not Indestructible!!! Other things you can not do to your BlackBerry whilst it is in the OtterBox included, but not limited to; shooting it with a high powered weapon (like the one pictured above), dropping it from a very tall building (actually no building over 1.5m tall is recommended), throwing it out of a perfectly good (or crappy) aircraft at 30,000 ft, using it as a ball when you have mis-placed your baseball, etc, etc, etc.