htc one: Seidio Active Case Combo for HTC One Review

The HTC One is a remarkable phone, it’s a nicely made device, just gorgeous really, but it’s thin and I think it’s rather fragile. I know I wouldn’t want to drop it from any height at all without fear of damage. Such a nice looking device as the HTC One needs to be protected, the phone just looks very nice and it would be a shame for anything to damage those great looks so this is certainly one phone that needs a rugged and durable case to protect it to keep it looking so good. One such case is what I have for review today from Seidio, the case is the Active and what I have is actually the combination set which actually includes the case and a handy holster so it will always be handy right on your hip. The case itself is two parts, an inner soft rubber layer and an outer hard plastic layer which together provide excellent protection for the phone inside. The case also has a built-in metal kickstand so you can set the phone up and view it easily and comfortably. The second part of the set is the holster which is made from hard plastic, it features a spring lock to hold the phone in place no matter what you’re doing. The case does have one small flaw though, read on to learn more….

Seidio Active Case Combo for HTC One Review

The Seidio Active Case Combo comes in a rather hard to open package. The container is both plastic and cardboard but the cardboard is firmly attached to the plastic and I really had to work at it and I ended up ripping it off and destroying it in the process. Not a big deal of course as most people don’t keep packaging, just thought it was worth mentioning.

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Once you get the cardboard off you’re left with the plastic outer case for the Active case. It’s hard plastic so it will more than protect the Active while in transit to you.

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The Active Combo is both the case and the holster. You can purchase them separately if you want as I know not everyone uses a holster.

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The holster actually locks onto the case with a spring clip on the top.

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The inside of the holster is a felt like material, that’s the part that the screen of the HTC One will be facing.

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The holster features a large and sturdy spring loaded clip and it can also can rotate so you can have the phone either vertical or horizontal or even angled on your belt.

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Inside of the Active case you’ll find installation instructions for the case itself and how to use the holster.

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The case comes assembled, but it’s in two parts really, a hard outer case and an inner soft rubber case.

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The Active case has a built-in metal kickstand so you can enjoy using your phone in landscape or widescreen mode which is great for video watching on the nice large screen of the HTC One.

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Here’s the two parts of the case separated, without the phone they come apart very easily.

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Here’s a few views of the soft and hard parts of the case for you:

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Seidio’s ACTIVE with Metal Kickstand Combo contains an ACTIVE with Metal Kickstand and ACTIVE holster. The ACTIVE with Metal Kickstand is the perfect companion for an energetic lifestyle. It provides shock absorbing protection with two interlocking layers in a thin case for your HTC One.

The built-in metal kickstand can be used in landscape orientation for a hands free experience when viewing multimedia, managing photo slideshows, and displaying clocks and calendars. The ACTIVE with Metal Kickstand does not support the device in landscape orientation.

The ACTIVE holster is felt-lined and features a face-in design to protect your device when carried. Use them together when you’re on-the-go and worry more about moving forward and less about your device.

ACTIVE with Metal Kickstand
- Overall thickness of only 2.2 mm
- Magnetic kickstand provides convenience by easily snapping back in when not in use
- Interior casing made from impact absorbing polymer and exterior skeleton provides extra protection at impact points
- Easy to put in and pull out of your pocket or purse and grooves for easy gripping
- Compatible with ACTIVE holster

ACTIVE Holster
- Felt-lined holster with face-in design keeps your HTC One safe
- Unique spring clip lifts for quick access and easy removal
- Adjustable swivel belt clip with 7 rotating angles
- For use with ACTIVE with Metal Kickstand case only

This product does not support IR Blaster on your device.

The Active case comes in two parts as you’ve seen, the soft rubber inside and the hard outside. Here’s both parts with my HTC One:

Getting the HTC One into the rubber part of the Active case is very easy, just slide the phone in and stretch the case over it. It couldn’t be easier really.

The case has openings for audio and microUSB ports along with both microphones. The volume rocker has a raised section to make it easier to feel where it is without looking. The top power button also has a raised section so you can feel where the button is.

To finishing installing the HTC One into the Seidio Active case you’ll need to put the back hard section on. To get that on does require a little bit of work as it is kind of tight, you just need to put the bottom part in first and then the top part is pulled over the rubber case.

On the back you can see the hard plastic part of the case blends right in with the rubber part.

There is an opening for the camera and flash and it is beveled to make sure the camera and flash and not obscured by the case. There’s also a small hole off to the right for the secondary microphone.

The back plastic section does not interfere with the ports and buttons of the HTC One, it’s the same as just having the rubber inner case on.

At the intro of this review I mentioned this case has one flaw, and here it is. The power button of the HTC One is also an infrared port or IR Blaster and you can control you home theater and other components with it, but sadly the Seidio Active case covers it up so you won’t be able to use it unless you take the phone out of the case. I’m not sure why they designed the case this way as to interfere with one of the features of the phone, but they did. To some people I’m sure this won’t be an issue but to others it might.

The case is slightly raised all around the edges of the front of the phone to make sure that the screen won’t touch the any surface you might set it down upon.

The kickstand is, as you already know, metal so it does a very good job of holding the phone up. The stand seems very stable and the phone should not fall over easily.

The last thing I want to show you is the case and phone in the holster.

The holster does a very good job of holding the HTC One secure, the spring loaded clip will hold the phone in place tightly and of course you’ll have to push it to get the phone out of the holster. I think the spring loaded clip is a great addition as it will make sure the phone stays in the holster and doesn’t accidentally fall out no matter how vigorous your daily activities might be.

Here’s the side views of the case in the holster, you can still access the volume button for the phone if need be.

The holster allows access to both the microUSB port for charging. The audio port is also open so you can connect a set of headphones to the phone while it’s still in the holster and you’re carrying it around so you can listen to your music on the go.

So that was the Seidio Active combo for HTC One and it has a price of $54.95 direct from Seidio. I checked on Amazon and I found the price to be $43.57, which isn’t bad for this case and holster.

Conclusion

The Seidio Active case for the HTC One can offer a great level of protection for the phone inside. The case offers two layers, soft and hard, to fully protect the phone from bumps and drops and should do a decent job at protecting your new HTC One. The case allows for quick and easy access to all of the buttons and ports on the phone. The case is thin, even though it’s two layers, so it’s not bulky and you can slip it right into your pocket to easily take it with you.

The holster is made of hard plastic and has a spring loaded locking clip to hold the phone in place no matter what you’re doing. The holster does not get in the way of the buttons or ports on the phone so you can still access them without removing your phone front the holster.

The only real drawback to this case in my opinion is the cover over the IR port. I don’t use it often, but I’d like to and I’d like my case to not only protect the phone but also allow access to all of its features. Yes the IR Blaster feature is an excellent addition to the phone but I’m sure not all people will use it so this might not even bother a lot of people. If you want this case or not would depend on your needs or wants really.